NASCAR Ambetter Health 400 preview: Favorite, underdog, top storylines

When the Cup Series visited Atlanta in February 2024, fans saw a historic three-wide finish that should be used by NASCAR as promotional material until the end of time. Atlanta has become one of the hottest tickets in NASCAR, and with three- and four-wide racing becoming the norm, the quality of the racing will be scrutinized heavily this weekend as fans hope to see history for the second year in a row. 

Can William Byron go back-to-back? 

Fresh off a second consecutive victory in the Daytona 500, Byron is looking to win another drafting-style race at Atlanta. He won the first Cup Series race at reconfigured Atlanta in 2022 and again in 2023. He has quietly become one of the best superspeedway racers in the sport, and will look to assert his dominance with another Atlanta win Sunday. 

Can anyone take down Ford? 

Chevrolet made it to victory lane at Daytona, but Ford was clearly the fastest manufacturer in the 500. Team Penske Fords led a combined 125 laps, and RFK Racing and Front Row Motorsports are always quick on superspeedways. Fords — in particular, those owned by Roger Penske — are also usually the best at working together on superspeedways, which usually results in more organized marches to the front late in races. 

The inherently chaotic nature of superspeedway racing doesn't guarantee that a Blue Oval will win Sunday, but it'd be surprising if a Ford doesn't lead the most laps at Atlanta.