The first race of the NASCAR playoffs will take place at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend, as the Quaker State 400 will be staged. The pressure on the leading drivers will increase in this opening race of the round of 16, with just three races being on the schedule for drivers to secure a place in the round of 12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This weekend\u2019s Quaker State 400 marks the start of the NASCAR playoffs, as it forms one of three races in the round of 16 stage. It is one of two races to be staged at Atlanta Motor Speedway during the 2024 season, with this weekend\u2019s contest being competed over a total of 400.4 miles, which is made up by 260 laps at the track. The first stage will see 60 laps completed, before 100 laps are contested in each of the final two stages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cale Yarborough is the most successful driver in the history of the race with six victories, while Chevrolet has been the dominant manufacturer in the race after winning 20 times, which includes victories in all editions of the race since 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
William Byron comes into this weekend as the reigning champion after landing success in a rain-impacted 2023 edition last year. Other recent victors in the Quaker State 400 include Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, and Kurt Busch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kyle Larson moved back to the top of the Drivers\u2019 Championship standings last weekend after securing a finish in fourth. However, that was his highest finishing position since winning the Brickyard 400. Christopher Bell moved up to second last weekend after claiming a second straight third-place finish. William Byron and Ryan Blaney dropped places last weekend after finishing in respective finishes of 30th<\/sup> and 37th<\/sup>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This will be a fascinating start to the NASCAR playoffs on Sunday, and a number of drivers have leading chances. However, we like the chances of William Byron to claim success, and bounce back to form. He has an excellent record in this race after landing victory in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The first race of the NASCAR playoffs will take place at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend, as the Quaker State 400 will be staged. The pressure on the leading drivers will increase in this opening race of the round of 16, with just three races being on the schedule for drivers to secure a place […]","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":11682,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3023],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar"],"yoast_head":"\nQuaker State 400 Odds & Picks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Driver<\/th> Odds<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> Ryan Blaney<\/td> +1000<\/td><\/tr> Joey Logano<\/td> +1100<\/td><\/tr> Kyle Busch<\/td> +1200<\/td><\/tr> Denny Hamlin<\/td> +1200<\/td><\/tr> Brad Keselowski<\/td> +1300<\/td><\/tr> William Byron<\/td> +1400<\/td><\/tr> Chase Elliott<\/td> +1500<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n