The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Texas Motor Speedway for the 2022 Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500. It’s the first race of the next round of the playoffs after four drivers were eliminated last week. This is a track where clean air and being out front matter as long green flag runs are the norm. That’s how Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch won the last two Cup races at the track.
That’s good news for the favorites to win outright this week starting with favorite Denny Hamlin who comes in at +550. Hamlin has won at this track three times in his Cup career. Kyle Larson is the defending track winner and comes in at +650 after a stunning Texas win last time the Cup Series visited Texas Motor Speedway by leading 256 of 336 laps!
Can Larson repeat that effort – possibly? But he’ll have to avoid any engine issues that have hit him recently.
Here are the favorites to win the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 outright:
Denny Hamlin +550
Kyle Larson +650
Christopher Bell +700
Chase Elliott +850
Kyle Busch +900
Four of the five favorites listed above are still in the hunt for the Cup Series Championship. Kyle Busch was eliminated last week following the Bristol Night race along with Kevin Harvick. Both drivers have Texas wins on their resume with Busch winning the fall Texas race in 2020. Earlier this year at the track Harvick finished 5th with Busch finishing in the 8th spot.
2022 Autotrader EchoPark Automotive Preview
Date: Sunday, September 25, 2022, 3:30 pm EST
Track: Texas Motor Speedway
Type: Oval, Asphalt, 1.5 miles, 4 turns
Race Distance: 500 miles, 334 laps
Defending Track Winner: Kyle Larson
TV/Radio: USA/Peacock/SiriusXM/PRN & local affiliates.
This is the first race of Round Two of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Sixteen drivers qualified to race for the Championship. Four drivers were eliminated after the Bristol race last week.
No. 1 Chase Elliott
No. 2 Joey Logano
No. 3 Ross Chastain
No. 4 Kyle Larson
No. 5 William Byron
No. 6 Denny Hamlin
No. 7 Christopher Bell
No. 8 Ryan Blaney
Cup Series Playoff Cut Line (Before Texas)
No. 9 Chase Briscoe
No. 10 Alex Bowman
No. 11 Daniel Suarez
No. 12 Austin Cindric
Eliminated after Bristol
Kyle Busch
Austin Dillon
Kevin Harvick
Tyler Reddick
2022 Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 Predictions
Kyle Larson +650
Kyle Larson is a known powerhouse when it comes to tracks like Texas. At least that was the case when he captured the Cup Series Championship. Larson showed his intermediate track skill with his dominating win here last season. Larson was out front for 256 of 336 laps. That is an amazing stat and hard to look past. The only fade on Larson is engine issues that have hit him three times this season.
Joey Logano +1800
Joey Logano has not won at Texas since 2014. But he’s finished 10th or better in his last ten trips to the track. He’s also finished every lap of every one of those races except for earlier this season when he lost an engine. Logano seems to be running under the radar during the postseason as he’s moved to the 2nd spot in the playoff standings.
Kevin Harvick +1800
Kevin Harvick was eliminated from the Cup Series playoffs after the Bristol Night Race. But much of his problems during the first-round races were not of his doing. Being wrecked by other drivers ended two races early for him. Then last week at Bristol he was one of the best cars on the track as he constantly battled for the lead. Texas is a track that he runs well at. In his last ten races at Texas, he’s banked 3 wins, 7 top-five runs, and 9 finishes inside the top ten.
Others: Ross Chastain (+1200) would like to put his last race at Texas Motor Speedway behind him as he finished 28th and several laps down. But this is a completely overhauled team and he’s in great equipment. Bubba Wallace (+1800) has been one of the strongest drivers over the last 15 races and won at Kansas only two weeks ago.
2022 Autotrader EchoPark Automotive Betting Lines
Denny Hamlin +550
Kyle Larson +650
Christopher Bell +700
Chase Elliott +850
Kyle Busch +900
Ryan Blaney +1000
Ross Chastain +1200
Martin Truex Jr +1200
William Byron +1200
Tyler Reddick +1400
Joey Logano +1800
Darrell Wallace Jr. +1800
Kevin Harvick +1800
Alex Bowman +2200
Daniel Suarez +3300
Austin Cindric +4500
Erik Jones +6600
Chase Briscoe +8000
Ty Gibbs +9000
Chris Buescher +9000
Brad Keselowski +9000
Austin Dillon +9000
Aric Almirola +10000
Ricky Stenhouse Jr +25000
Michael McDowell +25000
Cole Custer +25000
Noah Gragson +35000
Justin Haley +40000
Harrison Burton +50000
Todd Gilliland +100000
Ty Dillon +100000
Landon Cassill +100000
Corey Lajoie +100000
BJ McLeod +100000
Garrett Smithley +100000
Cody Ware +100000