This past week, the NASCAR Cup Series had its lone in-season off week, as the series took a break for Father’s Day and to take some much needed time away from the track after 17 straight weekends spent at race tracks across the U.S. Following that brief break, the series returns to action this week in the Nashville area, which is the site of the Ally 400.
The third edition of this race, which began in 2021, will be televised on NBC, and we are set for some nighttime racing at Nashville Superspeedway, with the race set for a 7:00 pm ET start time.
Each of the previous two years, a Hendrick Motorsports driver has taken the checkered flag in the Ally 400.
On the way to claiming the NASCAR Cup Series championship in 2021, Kyle Larson picked up one of his ten wins that season in this race. Last year, Chase Elliott crossed the finish line first, beginning a stretch in which he finished first or second in five consecutive races.
Larson and Elliott are among the leading favorites to land in Victory Lane on Sunday, as is Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron. Who else is a top contender to take the win? Let’s take a look at the latest Ally 400 odds.
Odds to Win the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Ally 400
- Kyle Larson +500
- Martin Truex Jr. +600
- Denny Hamlin +750
- Kyle Busch +800
- Chase Elliott +800
- William Byron +900
- Ryan Blaney +900
- Ross Chastain +1100
- Christopher Bell +1200
- Joey Logano +1800
- Tyler Reddick +1800
- Kevin Harvick +2000
- Bubba Wallace +2500
- Ty Gibbs +3300
- Alex Bowman +3300
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. +4000
- Brad Keselowski +5000
- Daniel Suarez +5000
- Chris Buescher +8000
- Chase Briscoe +10000
- Aric Almirola +10000
- Austin Dillon +10000
- Ryan Preece +15000
- Austin Cindric +15000
- Erik Jones +15000
- A.J. Allmendinger +25000
- Michael McDowell +30000
- Justin Haley +30000
- Harrison Burton +30000
- Corey Lajoie +50000
- Noah Gragson +50000
- Todd Gilliland +100000
- Ty Dillon +100000
- J.J. Yeley +100000
- Josh Bilicki +100000
- Brennan Poole +100000
Ally 400 Predictions and Picks
Prior to last week’s break, the most recent stop on the circuit was Sonoma, where Martin Truex Jr. won the Toyota/Save Mart 350 for the fourth time.
That win put him second behind Jeff Gordon for Toyota/Save Mart 350 wins, and it propelled him to the top of the NASCAR Cup Series standings.
NASCAR Cup Series 2023 Standings (Following 16 of 36 Races)
- Martin Truex Jr. – 525 points
- William Byron – 512
- Ryan Blaney – 501
- Ross Chastain – 501
- Kevin Harvick – 500
- Kyle Busch – 496
- Christopher Bell – 493
- Denny Hamlin – 462
- Joey Logano – 444
- Kyle Larson – 440
- Chris Buescher – 430
- Brad Keselowski – 424
- Tyler Reddick – 420
- Ricky Stenhouse – 400
- Bubba Wallace – 354
- Alex Bowman – 331
Entering the Ally 400, Byron remains the only driver this season to win back-to-back races. Will that continue to be the case?
Truex had only one top-ten finish in his first seven races this season, but in nine races since, he has two wins, three more finishes in the top five, and two other finishes in the top ten. In his last three races, he has finished third, fifth, and first.
It won’t take much for Truex to better his previous Ally 400 finishes, as he finished 22nd in 2021 and repeated that finish in last year’s race.
With the run that he has been on, Truex should be a popular pick in top-five and top-ten finishing position bets.
If previous success at Nashville Superspeedway is of importance in addition to what they have done recently, so should Larson. Along with his 2021 win, he finished fourth in last year’s Ally 400. Larson has finished 29th or worse in six races this season, but he has finished inside the top four six times, including two wins.
Will we see Ross Chastain have a good weekend? After finishing 29th, 22nd, and 22nd in consecutive races, Chastain finished 10th at Sonoma, and he has finished second and fifth in the first two editions of the Ally 400.
I will have my eye on all three of these drivers this weekend, along with Ryan Blaney, who finished third in last year’s Ally 400, has been a solid qualifier throughout this season, and had finished in the top ten in six of seven points-paying races before a 31st-place finish at Sonoma.
But ahead of qualifying, I’m inclined to keep riding on the Hendrick bus. Sure, that decision didn’t pan out in the three previous races. But with previous success at Nashville Superspeedway to his name and the potential to win anywhere at any time, I like the prospect of a winning weekend for Larson.