The YellaWood 500 race at Talladega is going to be one of the most exciting events of the 2023 NASCAR season. The evidence of this is that none of the participants is given the Talladega odds shorter than +1200.
Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski are co-favorites, followed by Denny Hamlin who’s priced at +1400. Chris Buescher and Joey Logano are given NASCAR odds of +1500 each, while there are three drivers with +1600 odds – Kyle Busch, William Byron, and Chase Elliott.
Given that the odds are so close, whoever wins on Sunday, won’t be a big surprise.
2023 YellaWood 500 Odds
| Moneyline | Odds |
|---|---|
| Ryan Blaney | +1200 |
| Brad Keselowski | +1200 |
| Denny Hamlin | +1400 |
| Chris Buescher | +1500 |
| Joey Logano | +1500 |
| Kyle Busch | +1600 |
| William Byron | +1600 |
| Chase Elliott | +1600 |
*Odds taken from FanDuel on Thursday, September 28.
When, Where, and How to Watch?
- Place: Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln, Alabama
- Date: Sunday, October 1, 2023
- Time: 2:30 PM ET
- How to Watch: NBC
2023 YellaWood 500 NASCAR Preview
Even though he’s not seen as the main favorite, William Byron has confidence on his side. He’s coming off a win in the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400, the result of which is that he’s now at the very top of the standings.
Speaking of standings, Denny Hamlin and Chris Buescher are just behind them, but they too aren’t seen as top favorites either. Instead, the role of the main Talladega favorite is shared by Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney.
The latter has a pretty good record on this track, even winning it once in 2019. Still, the man with the most success at Talladega in recent years is Joey Logano, who’s won this event twice in the last eight years.
Then, there’s last year’s winner, Chase Elliott, who’s still looking for his first win of 2023. He didn’t make it into the Round of 12, but the reason for that is that he missed seven races in the regular season.
YellaWood 500 Prediction
Anything can happen on October 1, but our vote goes to Denny Hamlin. The fact is that he’s one of the best drivers in NASCAR in 2023, if not the very best one. He’s also in the Round of 12, with title ambitions. Currently, he’s second in the standings but a win at Talladega would bring him to the top. We think that’s good enough motivation for him to go all-in on Sunday.
Plus, he seems to love driving at this racetrack, the fact being that he won it three years ago. Further, in last year’s race, Hamlin finished fifth.
Pick: Denny Hamlin to win the 2023 YellaWood race.