The starting lineup is set for the opening race of the round of 8 of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Who are the favorites?
After a chaotic end to the second round of the four-round, 10-race 2021 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs this past Sunday, the three-race round of 8 is scheduled to get underway this coming Sunday afternoon.
The Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 is scheduled to lead things off in what is the final round before the Championship 4, and it is everybody’s hope that this year’s race will take one, not four, days to finish.
Where is the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500?
The Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 is a 334-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Texas Motor Speedway oval in Fort Worth, Texas. This track hosted a race back in June, but it was the non-points-paying All-Star Race, a race which was won by Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson.
Texas broadcast information
NBC is set to broadcast the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 live from Texas Motor Speedway beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, October 17. Start your free trial of FuboTV today if you have not done so!
Who is on pole at Texas?
NASCAR’s starting lineup formula, which will be used for all three of the races in the round of 8, has Larson starting this race where he left off in the All-Star Race: P1. Set to join him on the front row is Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin.
Here is the full starting lineup for the 2021 Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Starting Lineup
1st – Kyle Larson
2nd – Denny Hamlin
3rd – Kyle Busch
4th – Ryan Blaney
5th – Joey Logano
6th – Chase Elliott
7th – Brad Keselowski
8th – Martin Truex Jr.
9th – Tyler Reddick
10th – Chris Buescher
11th – Christopher Bell
12th – William Byron
13th – Matt DiBenedetto
14th – Alex Bowman
15th – Austin Dillon
16th – Michael McDowell
17th – Kurt Busch
18th – Bubba Wallace
19th – Daniel Suarez
20th – Cole Custer
21st – Erik Jones
22nd – Aric Almirola
23rd – Ryan Preece
24th – Kevin Harvick
25th – Ross Chastain
26th – Chase Briscoe
27th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
28th – Anthony Alfredo
29th – Corey LaJoie
30th – Quin Houff
31st – Ryan Newman
32nd – Justin Haley
33rd – Josh Bilicki
34th – Cody Ware
35th – B.J. McLeod
36th – Garrett Smithley
37th – Joey Gase
38th – David Starr
39th – Timmy Hill
Texas betting odds
Take a look at the updated betting odds for the eight remaining championship contenders in Sunday afternoon’s race, courtesy of WynnBET.
- Kyle Larson: +275
- Chase Elliott: +550
- Denny Hamlin: +550
- Martin Truex Jr.: +600
- Kyle Busch: +600
- Ryan Blaney: +700
- Joey Logano: +1000
- Brad Keselowksi: +1200
Texas betting prediction
After winning a series-high five races in the regular season and one race in both of the first two rounds of the playoffs, Kyle Larson is the clear favorite and hard to pass up at +275.
Did we say “five”? That number is really six if you include his win in the All-Star Race at the very track that is set to host the round of 8 opener, and that win was particularly impressive because of how many times he had to drive to the front with all of the crazy rules and field inversions which took place throughout that six-stage event.
Make your pick now on WynnBET.
Of course, the package used for the June race is not the one that will be used for this Sunday’s race, but Larson has won at all kinds of tracks with multiple different packages since joining Hendrick Motorsports behind the wheel of the #5 Chevrolet this year.
Another driver to watch is Kyle Busch at +600. Despite no longer being in championship contention at the time, Busch ended a 33-race win drought at Texas Motor Speedway in last year’s playoff race at the track. This year, he is in championship contention, he already has a win at another 1.5-mile track (Kansas Speedway), and he is looking to get back to the Championship 4 for the first time since 2019.
As for a driver you probably should not bet on, Chase Elliott stands out. Texas Motor Speedway hasn’t been a historically strong venue for the reigning champion, and he has not been particularly strong with the high-downforce, low-horsepower package that is set to be used for the race so far this year.
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