2026 Focused Health 250 Race Picks
Date/Time: Saturday July 11th, 2026. 7:00PM (EST)
Where: EchoPark Speedway
TV: CW
The Craftsman Truck Series and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will both be in action on Saturday for a NASCAR double header. While the Truck Series will be road course racing at Lime Rock Park in the early hours on Saturday afternoon, the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series is slated for superspeedway style racing in the evening hours at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta. Earlier this year, Sheldon Creed had a breakthrough win at EchoPark Speedway when he won the Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250. EchoPark Speedway has yielded first-time winners in each of the last two races in Atlanta with Creed earlier this year and going back to Nick Sanchez’s win in this race a year ago. As a result, we will have plenty of betting options to consider for Saturday’s Focused Health 250!
Last week, Brandon Jones earned his first victory of the season in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series’ return to Chicagoland Speedway. Fortunately, we had targeted Jones in both win (futures) and H2H formats due to his underrated skill set at similar low-grip venues. While we will attempt to keep the momentum rolling on Saturday, we will be faced with a much more difficult handicapping challenge. EchoPark Speedway is one of those drafting venues that can shuffle cars around with ease. While it’s easier to protect track position at Atlanta compared to the likes of Daytona and Talladega, the racing can be just as volatile. As a result, these races are usually not favorable for bettors from a win-percentage perspective. However if we focus on the ROI and betting value narrative, we can find a long-term sufficient betting strategy. We just hope the long-term and short-term both end in our favor Saturday afternoon!
From a handicapping perspective, I believe we can look at prior performances at EchoPark Speedway as a primary angle but also consider similar performance metrics across all of the drafting-style venues. As many may be aware, Austin Hill has been the best superspeedway driver in O’Reilly Series history and he boasts an impressive resume at EchoPark Speedway which featured 5 wins over the last 8 races. While Hill has been unstoppable at this style of racing, we have seen the margin close this season as well. The J.R Motorsports/Rick Hendrick cars have shown a lot more speed at the superspeedway races this season which have made it harder for drivers like Hill and teammate Jesse Love to dominate the track position battle. As a result, I don’t think anything is certain going into Saturday’s Focused Health 250 especially from a historical perspective.
O’Reilly Notes – Atlanta
- Austin Hill has the most wins (5) among active drivers at Atlanta.
- Justin Allgaier (2021), Nick Sanchez (2025), and Sheldon Creed (2026) are the only other former winners at Atlanta.
- Austin Hill has won 5 of the last 8 races at Atlanta.
- Corey Day finished 4th in his only start at Atlanta back in February.
- Nick Sanchez has finished in the Top 5 in all 3 career starts at Atlanta.
- Jesse Love has finished 6th or better in 3 of the last 4 races at Atlanta
- Sam Mayer has finished 7th or better in each of the last two starts at Atlanta.
- Rajah Caruth finished 8th in his only start at Atlanta back in February.
- Sammy Smith has finished in the Top 10 in 4 of the last 6 races at Atlanta.
- Taylor Gray has finished 9th or better in each of the last two races at Atlanta.
- Brandon Jones has finished 9th-14th in each of the last 5 races at Atlanta.
- Chevrolet drivers have won the last 5 races at Atlanta.
- The eventual race winner has started from the Top 5 positions in 9 of the last 10 races at Atlanta.
Performance Data
The data below is the combined average driver rating from the first 3 drafting races of the season at Daytona, Atlanta, and Talladega.
| Driver | Average Rating |
|---|
| Jesse Love | 107.0 |
| Sheldon Creed | 100.7 |
| Austin Hill | 100.5 |
| Sammy Smith | 97.2 |
| Corey Day | 91.5 |
| Brent Crews | 91.1 |
| Carson Kvapil | 89.7 |
| Parker Retzlaff | 88.4 |
| Brandon Jones | 87.9 |
| Justin Allgaier | 86.4 |
| Rajah Caruth | 86.1 |
| Sam Mayer | 85.2 |
| Dean Thompson | 82.2 |
| Jeremy Clements | 81.8 |
| Taylor Gray | 76.9 |
| Nick Sanchez | 75.0 |
| Jeb Burton | 74.1 |
| William Sawalich | 70.2 |
| Blaine Perkins | 67.1 |
| Jordan Anderson | 64.8 |
| Ryan Sieg | 63.4 |
| Patrick Emerling | 62.2 |
| Brennan Poole | 60.0 |
| Josh Williams | 57.8 |
| Harrison Burton | 56.4 |
| Anthony Alfredo | 56.0 |
| Nick Leitz | 52.7 |
| Josh Bilicki | 52.6 |
| Garrett Smithley | 51.9 |
| Kyle Sieg | 51.1 |
| Patrick Staropoli | 50.4 |
| Lavar Scott | 50.0 |
| Mason Maggio | 49.7 |
| Joey Gase | 46.5 |
| Ryan Ellis | 44.2 |
| Carson Ware | 38.8 |
Betting Targets
I don’t think anyone would argue with putting Austin Hill at the top of the list this week considering his incredible superspeedway resume and incredible resume at Atlanta. Any time these drafting-style speedways show up on the calendar, Hill is the guy to beat in the O’Reilly Series. With that said, it is really hard to justify taking Hill at less than 3-1 odds especially with the improvement we have seen in the speed department from the other Chevrolet teams at the superspeedways. In fact, Hill’s teammate Jesse Love has better performance metrics this season at the superspeedways and also the best performance metrics over the last two races at Atlanta. Like Hill, Love is another potential target that is clouded by poor betting odds.
If we are going to look for true betting value, I believe Corey Day and Sammy Smith are drivers to put towards the top of the list. Day has already won this season at Talladega and ran very well at Atlanta back in February with a 4th place finish. Despite those performances, Day is currently listed in the 12-1 odds range which warrants immediate consideration. Sammy Smith has also been very consistent at this style of racing and is one of the more underrated superspeedway talents. While I don’t like Smith’s current form because the team has been struggling, he is getting some serious value in the 20-1 range. In reality, there are a lot of drivers in that intermediate betting range that are capable of winning. It’s just hard to trust anyone from a consistency standpoint. Perhaps we could consider Sheldon Creed to go back to back based on his overall metrics at the superspeedways. However, that is still a huge trust issue any time we back Creed for a victory.
If we look even deeper into the field, I think we can find some other potential betting targets with even better odds. Both Parker Retzlaff and Anthony Alfredo are in the 40-1 odds range. Both Viking Motorsports drivers have shown serious speed in recent weeks which has surprised everyone. To make matters more convincing, both Retzlaff and Alfredo have flashed success at the superspeedways despite always piloting underpowered equipment. With both drivers listed at 40-1 odds or better, I believe both drivers can be considered in futures (win) and prop bet formats. Behind those drivers, I don’t have much confidence in any huge long-shots. However, I will mention that Dean Thompson, Brennan Poole, and Blaine Perkins are among the candidates that could be fliers in fantasy or prop bet formats. All 3 of those drivers have higher ceilings than current betting odds suggest and could provide some low-risk/high-reward possibilities.
2026 Focused Health 250 Race Picks
*FINAL*
Jesse Love +450 (1 unit)
Corey Day +1200 (.75 units)
Sammy Smith +2000 (.5 unit)
Rajah Caruth +3300 (.5 unit)
Parker Retzlaff +4000 (.5 unit)
H2H Match-Ups and Props
Parker Retzlaff +750 finishes Top 5 (.5 unit)
Nick Sanchez +800 finishes Top 5 (.5 unit)
Two Team Parlay
Austin Hill +275 wins the Focused Health 250
Chase Briscoe +275 wins Group B (Hamlin, Bell, Cindric)
*Caesars*
Risking .5 unit to win:
+650
