NASCAR YellaWood 500 betting odds and value picks

The NASCAR playoffs roll on this Sunday afternoon in the YellaWood 500 from Talladega Superspeedway (2:00 p.m. ET, NBC).

The Cup Series’ biggest track tends to be the most chaotic on the calendar, and that’s reflected by the odds bookmakers are offering. Denny Hamlin – who punched his ticket to the Round of 8 with a victory in last Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas – is listed as the +800 favorite, and is the only driver on the board at lower than +1000 odds.

Here are our top three selections for the YellaWood 500.

Chase Elliott (+1000)

Chase Elliott might have caught Hamlin at Las Vegas if he had a couple of more laps, but he can use that momentum from his second-place finish to his advantage at Talladega on Sunday.

Since recording his second win of the season at Road America on July 4, Elliott has seven Top 10s over his last 10 races, leading at least one lap in all but two of those events. The No. 9 Chevrolet driver was 24th in the April race at Talladega, but hit the Top 10 in three of his previous four starts at the Alabama oval. That includes his victory at ‘Dega in April of 2019.

Elliott will start in third place, by virtue of NASCAR using its performance-based metric to set this week’s field.

William Byron (+1200)

Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, William Byron, also has a good chance to find victory lane in the YellaWood 500.

Byron has just one Top 5 in his last five races – a third at Bristol two weeks ago – but he’s enjoyed recent success at superspeedways. The No. 24 Chevrolet driver picked up his first ever Cup Series victory at Daytona last August, and has finished second and fourth, respectively, in his last two trips to Talladega.

Byron will begin his day in 10th place as he tries to stay in the championship chase.

Tyler Reddick (+2500)

Though he’s no longer in the playoffs, Tyler Reddick is clearly still driving with his head held high. He pieced together a solid sixth-place finish at Las Vegas last week, and returns to one of his favorite tracks on Sunday.

Reddick has finished seventh in each of his last two trips to Talladega. He also has a win in the Xfinity Series over this course from 2018 to fall back on. The No. 8 Chevrolet will roll off the grid in 13th place.