NASCAR Cup Series Predictions at Talladega
Chase Elliott celebrates in victory lane following his 2022 YellaWood 500 win.
The NASCAR Cup Series heads back to Talladega this Sunday for the YellaWood 500 at 2PM EST on NBC.
Chase Elliott won last year’s race in a thrilling photo finish with Ryan Blaney. It’s the most recent Cup win for Elliott as he’s still winless in 2023.
Brad Keselowski +1100 | Top 3 +350 | Top 10 -150
Entering as the favorite, Brad Keselowski only sits at +8 points to the cutoff, and heads to a track where he’s looking to break the records. He enters with six Cup wins at Talladega, tied for second with Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Brad’s been long overdue for a win since the move to RFK Racing, he finished 5th in the Spring race and pushed teammate Chris Buescher to a win at Daytona in August. Keep an eye on Brad this Sunday.
Bubba Wallace +1400 | Top 3 +400 | Top 10 -140
Last week was the one that got away from Bubba Wallace at Texas. He went from being locked into the Round of 8 to being just -2 points on the cutoff. Bubba’s won in the past in 2021, and was leading at the white flag in the Spring before a bad block on Ryan Blaney ruined his chances at winning. With the Charlotte Roval being the cutoff race next week, there’s no chance that Bubba doesn’t go for the win at Talladega.
Denny Hamlin +1600 | Top 3 +400 | Top 10 -140
Denny Hamlin has started on pole in four of the last six races at Talladega, including the Spring race earlier this year. His last win came in 2020 after a controversial last lap finish, but since then his best finish has been 5th from last year’s Fall race. But with Denny being +37 to the cutoff, it’s safe to say he won’t mix it up for the win in the first two stages…until the third and final stage of the race.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. +2000 | Top 3 +630 | Top 10 +125
The 2023 Daytona 500 winner might be eliminated from the Playoffs, but Ricky Stenhouse Jr is still looking to add another win on the season for JTG Daughtery Racing. With back to back Top 10 runs heading into Talladega, the momentum that he’s carrying will help as Stenhouse Jr looks to return to victory lane at the track he got his first career win at in 2017.
Erik Jones +3000 | Top 3 +700 | Top 10 +170
There’s no one more consistent in the NextGen at Talladega than Erik Jones. He’s finished 6th in three straight races, and has recorded a Top 10 in six of his last seven starts at Talladega. Jones has not had the best of seasons in 2023, but he’ll be looking to end it on a high note by reaching victory lane this weekend.
Justin Haley +6500 | Top 3 +1600 | Top 10 +350
Justin Haley’s best run of the season came at the Chicago Street Course, where he finished 2nd to Shane Van Gisbergen. However, he’ll be looking to better that this Sunday at Talladega. Haley has two Xfinity wins at Talladega, not to mention he’s always been a front runner at the Superspeedways over the last five seasons. He’s looking to be the biggest upset winner this weekend.