The NASCAR Cup Series heads East to Richmond, Virginia on Sunday for the Federated Auto Parts 400, the 24th race of the season. Last weekend's FireKeepers 400 turned out to be a wild one, with Kevin Harvick ending a 65th-race winless drought as he captured his first win of the season. Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace pushed him to the absolute brink, but Harvick held on. Keep reading for the Federated Auto Parts 400 picks.
Heading into Sunday, Martin Truex Jr is the early favorite at +500 odds, followed by Christopher Bell, Hamlin, and Kyle Busch, all at +700. Surprisingly, Cup Series leader Chase Elliott sits back at +1000 after a couple of poor showings the last two weeks where he finished outside of the top-10. Before we get into the preview, odds, and predictions, make sure to check out our how to bet on NASCAR page.
Federated Auto Parts 400 Odds
 | Odds |
|---|---|
| Martin Truex Jr | +500 |
| Christopher Bell | +700 |
| Denny Hamlin | +700 |
| Kyle Busch | +700 |
| Chase Elliott | +1000 |
| Kyle Larson | +1000 |
| Ryan Blaney | +1200 |
| Kevin Harvick | +1400 |
| Ross Chastain | +1400 |
| Bubba Wallace | +1600 |
| Joey Logano | +1600 |
| William Byron | +1600 |
| Tyler Reddick | +2000 |
| Alex Bowman | +2200 |
| Daniel Suarez | +3000 |
What You Need to Know
- What: Federated Auto Parts 400
- Where: Richmond Raceway, Richmond, Virginia
- When: Sunday, August 14th, 2022
- Green Flag: 3 pm ET
- Race Distance: 300 Miles
- Laps: 400
This is one of the fan-favorite tracks in the NASCAR Cup Series because of its unique D shape. Drivers can reach some very fast speeds which results in pure entertainment for the spectators. They will go around the track a total of 400 times and drive 300 miles. The green flag begins at 12 PM PT and 3 PM ET at the Richmond Raceway. Truex Jr has actually won this race twice in their last three years, also taking home first in the 2019 edition.
Breakdown And Analysis
Truex Jr heads in as the frontrunner and it's absolutely crucial he finds a win here. He's currently outside of the top-16 and in serious jeopardy of missing the playoff cut. Thankfully, Toyota has won five of the last seven races in Richmond, which is a very good sign for Truex. He's familiar with this track and has enjoyed the utmost success here before. Truex has yet to secure a first-place finish this season, but he's finished top-five on three occasions.
Harvick is another guy you simply can't ignore after what he did last weekend. Harvick also tends to race well on shorter tracks like Richmond, which is a big reason he needs to be considered a contender for Sunday. Prior to winning in Michigan, Harvick also raced well in Indianapolis and Pocono, even though the numbers didn't exactly show it. New Hampshire, Gateway, and Phoenix are all similar tracks to Richmond and Harvick secured top-six finishes at each. He is at +1400, which could be a huge moneymaker if he pulls another win off in the Federated Auto 400 picks.
Chase Elliott was in tremendous form before the last two races, where he finished in 16th and 11th, respectively. The leader had a span of five races where he won three and finished as runner-up in the other two. It was truly the run of the season. No other driver in NASCAR put together that type of consistency. Although he's slipped up a bit lately, Elliott still sits a whole 119 points above Ryan Blaney, capturing four victories and eight top-five placings. Given how well he's driven all season long, you just can't overlook Elliott.
Over to another Toyota driver in Christopher Bell, who has the second-best odds at +700. This is understandable given their success at Richmond. Bell has been in good shape lately, finishing fourth at Pocono and winning New Hampshire, where he actually beat out Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. The same thing could potentially happen here as these cars are dominant in Virginia. Bell is seventh in the Cup Series standings and searching for his second victory of the campaign. He's also had success in Richmond, finishing top-five in both races on this track in 2021 and Bell has never finished worst than 15th here. He could be worth a shot in the Federated Auto 400 picks.
Denny Hamlin is the other Joe Gibbs driver who is towards the top in odds. But, he sits in 17th in the Cup Series table right now. Hamlin did finish in third spot last weekend in Michigan though and could ride the momentum and find a result in Richmond. He also finished in sixth a few weeks back at New Hampshire.
Final Picks
There is a few bets worth making for Sunday's race. I'm liking Harvick to secure a top-five finish because of his past success on these short, quick tracks. Also, I truly think Elliott is just too good to not contend here. He'll finish top-five as well.
As for the winner, I'm going to go with the favorite, Martin Truex Jr. No one needs a victory more than him and he owns the Richmond speedway.
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