The NASCAR Cup Series moves to the Talladega Superspeedway for the GEICO 500. The green flag drops Sunday at 3 p.m. ET with the race televised on FOX. Below, we analyze the GEICO 500 odds and betting lines, with NASCAR picks and tips with odds from BetMGM sportsbook.
GEICO 500: What you need to know
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Friday, June 19 at 4:50 p.m. ET.
Sunday’s run at the Talladega Superspeedway is the first on a superspeedway track since the Daytona 500 opened the 2020 Sprint Cup Series season. That seems so long ago, as the stands were packed during pre-COVID 19 days. However, Talladega will actually host 5,000 fans in the frontstretch grandstands/towers, and there will be a limited amount of motorhome spots available outside of the track, too.
- Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott (+800 for Sunday’s race) won the spring race at Talladega last season, while Penske Racing’s Ryan Blaney (+1100) took checkers in the fall race at the Alabama superspeedway.
- Talladega’s tri-oval is 2.66 miles long, compared to Daytona International Speedway, which is 2.5 miles long. There are four turns, and those turns have a 33-degree bank with a slight bank or fifth turn in front of the main grandstand.
- Each of the past five winners have started fourth or lower in the grid, and 15 of the previous 16 winners have started from the outside of Row 2 or lower.
- Ford has dominated this track in recent years, posting eight victories in the past nine starts.
Who is going to win the GEICO 500?
BRAD KESELOWSKI (+850) leads all active drivers with five victories at Talladega, so the Penske driver has to be considered a must-bet option, especially considering Ford’s dominance in recent seasons.
Keselowski has seven top-5 finishes, 11 top-10 showings and 293 laps led in his 22 career starts with a 16.0 Average-Finish Position (AFP) and four DNFs.
JOEY LOGANO (+900), Keselowski’s teammate, picked up a victory in the spring 2018 Talladega race, and has raced to Victory Lane in three of the past nine Cup races at Talladega Superspeedway. In 22 career starts, Logano has finished inside the top 5 on eight occasions, leading 319 laps and posting a 16.2 AFP.
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CHASE ELLIOTT (+800) has been a quick study at Talladega, picking up a win in eight Cup starts at the track. In addition, he has three top-5 showings and four top-10 finishes, while racking up 126 laps in the front of the pack and turning in a 13.25 AFP, second among active drivers with at least three career Cup starts at the superspeedway.
Talladega Superspeedway prop bets
ARIC ALMIROLA (-110) has stepped up his game in recent seasons, bringing it home inside the top 10 in each of his past seven Talladega starts. As such, he is a SOLID BET TO FINISH INSIDE THE TOP 10 yet again. The defending champ from the fall race, Blaney (-200) is a little on the expensive side even for a top-10 finish. While yes, he won last season at the track, he had posted a 23.8 AFP in the previous five runs at ‘Dega. A better bet might be Ryan Newman (+185), as he has finished inside the top 10 in four of the past five runs at the superspeedway.
For Talladega, you can take part in group betting. If you’re new to betting, this simply means you choose one driver among a listed group of four. Whomever places highest cashes a winning ticket. In Group 3 betting, AUSTIN DILLON (+250) is a good play in the group with William Byron (+215), Matt DiBenedetto (+250) and Christopher Bell (+275).
Among the best finishing position matchups, take LOGANO (-118) to finish better than Denny Hamlin. ALMIROLA (-115) is a good bet to outpace Alex Bowman, while DILLON (-118) is also worth playing against DiBenedetto.
Talladega Superspeedway long-shot bets
RICKY STENHOUSE JR. (+2000) is always worth a look at superspeedways. He picked up a win here during the spring 2017 run in his Ford, while starting from the pole position. In 13 career Cup starts here, he has five top-5 showings, eight top-10 runs and a 11.62 AFP, leading all active drivers.
ALMIROLA (+2000) is also worth a roll of the dice, posting a win, four top-5 runs, eight top-10 results and 46 laps led with a 15.35 AFP in his 20 career Talladega starts. And, as mentioned, he has cracked off seven straight runs finishing ninth or better, including the win in the fall of 2018 at ‘Dega.
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