The NASCAR circuit heads to Atlanta for the second race of the 2026 season on Sunday, February 22.
After Tyler Reddick captured the checkered flag on the chaotic final lap in Sunday’s Daytona 500, NASCAR moves to the Peach State for the Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway.
Christopher Bell is the defending champion of this race, which was previously named the Ambetter Health 400 the last three years.
Let’s look at the top Autotrader 400 prediction and picks to win for Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, starting at 3:00 p.m. ET on FOX, including driver picks for PrizePicks, where you can cash in on your NASCAR Cup Series picks.
{{core_offer_banner="/style-system/ui-components-playbook"}}
NASCAR Autotrader 400 Picks, Payouts, Favorites to Win
Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, and Ryan Blaney are the top three favorites to win the NASCAR Autotrader 400, a 1.54-mile, high-banked track, known for pack-style racing.
Elliott is a slight favorite of the three, returning a 7.69x payout ($100 pays out $769) on PrizePicks Team Picks if he wins outright.
Logano is the second favorite to win the Autotrader 400, with an 8.33x payout. William Byron (10x payout), Austin Cindric (11.11x), and Kyle Larson (11.11x) are right behind with a 10x payout if he wins, via PrizePicks Team Picks.
- Chase Elliott 7.69x
- Joey Logano 8.33x
- Ryan Blaney 9.09x
- William Byron 10x
- Austin Cindric 11.11x
- Kyle Larson 11.11x
- Christopher Bell 14.28x
- Denny Hamlin 14.28x
- Kyle Busch 14.28x
Team Picks data is live as of writing and is subject to change.
NASCAR Autotrader 400 Trends, Race Stats
Here are some stats and trends to get you set for the NASCAR Autotrader 400 on Sunday, including insights on our Autotrader 400 prediction town.
- The last repeat champion of this race was Jimmie Johnson, who went back-to-back in 2015 and 2016.
- In the 2025 event, Joey Logano led for 83 laps, but finished 12th. Bell won the race despite leading for only 1 lap.
- The biggest long shot to pick up a victory in Atlanta since 2020 was Daniel Suarez in 2024.
- Logano (2023), William Byron (2022), and Ryan Blaney (2021) were three of the big-name winners prior to Suarez's long-shot win.
- Blaney finished fourth last year and second in 2024: the only driver to place in the top-five twice in the last two years.
- Atlanta hosts two races every NASCAR season, with the second event occurring in July.
- Logano has been feast or famine at this track, winning a spring and summer race since 2023, but also finished 12th or worse four times in this stretch.
- Kyle Larson hasn’t had much luck in Atlanta, placing 30th or worse in five of the past eight tries. However, Larson was on the cusp of his first Atlanta win last February, finishing third behind Bell and Carson Hocevar.
{{core_offer_banner="/style-system/ui-components-playbook"}}
2026 Autotrader 400 Picks & Driver Predictions
Here are four top Autotrader 400 picks to target in Sunday's NASCAR race. Our PrizePicks picks for the Autotrade 400 are headlined by four drivers: Chase Elliott, Austin Cindric, Christopher Bell, and Alex Bowman.
To calculate NASCAR points, 1 point is received for a stage win, while the race winner picks up 40 points; second place receives 39 points, and that number decreases by one for each descending finish.
Chase Elliott – 30.5 NASCAR Points, 10x to Win Autotrader 400
- Elliott finished fourth at the Daytona 500, good for 37 NASCAR points.
- In 14 career races in Atlanta, Elliott owns a pair of victories and nine top-10 finishes.
- In five of the past eight races since last September, Elliott has racked up at least 33 NASCAR points.
- The Chevy driver closed in the top-8 in consecutive races six times in 2025.
Austin Cindric – 30.5 NASCAR Points, 10x to Win
- Cindric struggled to a 34th-place finish at last Sunday’s Daytona 500. It marked the fifth time in the last eight races he closed at 30th or lower.
- The Ford driver hasn’t picked up at least 31 NASCAR points in 12 consecutive races.
- His last top-10 finish (which earns 31 points) came at Richmond last August, placing fifth at the Cook Out 400.
- Cindric crashed out twice in Atlanta last year, finishing 28th in the February race and 38th in the June event.
Christopher Bell Projection: 30.5 NASCAR Points, 14.28x to Win
- Bell didn’t finish the Daytona 500, crashing in the final laps and placing 35th.
- Last season, the Toyota driver won three consecutive races after Daytona, starting with his first career victory in Atlanta last February.
- In 2025, Bell finished 29th or lower five times. In the following race, he placed in the top-10 on four occasions.
- In eight of the past 10 races, Bell closed eighth or higher, good for at least 33 points each time.
Alex Bowman Projection: 26.5 NASCAR Points, 22.22x to Win
- Bowman posted a pair of top-5 finishes in the last three races in Atlanta.
- He looks to rebound this week after completing only 123 laps and finishing 40th at Daytona.
- Since 2023, Bowman has been an excellent starter during the season. In the last 21 races held in February and March, he finished in the top-10 an incredible 13 times.
- Bowman picked up three top-10 finishes in 2025 after he didn’t finish the previous race.
Make NASCAR Autotrader 400 Picks on PrizePicks
The NASCAR Autotrader 400 looks to follow up on last Sunday’s exciting Daytona 500, with the drivers hitting another big 1.5-mile track this week.
There’s never been a better time to add to the excitement of every lap of the NASCAR Autotrader 400 than with PrizePicks.
There are numerous driver projections on the NASCAR board for Sunday; just pick at least two driver projections to build your Lineup on PrizePicks. Or, make your picks on race winners on Team Picks, now available in 34 states!
Check out the Playbook throughout the season for more NASCAR picks, predictions, and analysis for every Cup Series race.
