Alright, NASCAR fans, get ready! The Quaker State 400 hits EchoPark Speedway this Sunday, and while Ryan Blaney is rolling off the line from pole position as the +1000 favorite, Mike McClure's legendary computer model just dropped a bombshell: it's fading Blaney entirely, predicting he won't even sniff the top 10!
The Blaney Problem Is Getting Hard To Ignore
Seriously, this isn't some shot-in-the-dark guess. McClure is a straight-up professional DFS player, racking up over $2 million in career winnings. His powerful prediction model? It simulates every single lap of NASCAR action a whopping 10,000 times! This thing has nailed an incredible 30 winners since 2021, even calling Denny Hamlin's back-to-back wins last month at Michigan and Pocono. So when it says to bet *against* the favorite, you gotta listen. The numbers for Blaney just aren't adding up lately. He started the season strong, snagging a win, a runner-up, and a third place finish all within his first eight starts. But then? Poof. He's got zero top 5 finishes over his last 11 races. And it's not just him. His Penske team, while having historical success at EchoPark, has been battling vehicle issues. Four of their last six starters in Atlanta have been involved in accidents, with none of those six even placing better than 10th. Blaney might be starting on pole, but that's no magic bullet for him, he only has one victory across 18 career poles. That's a brutal stat, and the model is calling it like it sees it.The Keselowski Comeback? This Model Thinks So!
But hey, it's not all about who's gonna tank! McClure's model has another juicy surprise for us: it's incredibly high on Brad Keselowski at +1800, projecting him to make a strong run towards the title! This guy is a two-time victor at this very track, putting him in elite company with legends like William Byron, Joey Logano, and Chase Elliott who've also won here twice. Keselowski has six top-3 finishes at EchoPark, including a killer run at this exact race last year. He knows this track, he's got the history, and those odds? That's what you call a steal if the model is right. It's a wide-open field, with nine drivers sitting between +1000 and +1400, including Kyle Larson (+1100), Logano (+1100), and last spring's Atlanta winner Tyler Reddick (+1200). Even Denny Hamlin, who's sitting atop the Cup Series standings, is a +1400 option. But it's Keselowski the model thinks will make the biggest splash. So, get ready for the green flag to drop this Sunday at 7 p.m. ET for the Quaker State 400, the third big race in the NASCAR In-Season Challenge. Will Blaney somehow prove the model wrong, or will Keselowski deliver a shocker? We're all gonna find out together. And for all of McClure's specific best bets, you know exactly where to head.This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.