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The Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs will continue at Talladega on Sunday with the YellaWood 500. It Was Kurt Busch who won last week to give himself an automatic berth in the next round. The win was all the more surprising when you consider that the Las Vegas track has been one that Busch has had zero luck at in the past. The overall results from that race had an impact on the standings, with Kevin Harvick seeing his lead at the top cut to just 2 points, with Denny Hamlin, his closest challenger, finishing well ahead of Harvick in Las Vegas. There are just 2 more races, including this one, before the field is cut to 8, so let’s take a look at the favorites for the YellaWood 500 so you can make your bets against their NASCAR odds.

NASCAR Cup Series: YellaWood 500 Odds & Picks

Brad Keselowski (+900)

While many would suggest that the Cup Series is looking like a 2-horse race between Harvick and Hamlin, Brad Keselowski would almost certainly disagree. He does have some work to do to run those other two drivers down, but he is sitting just off the pace in 3^rd and ready to strike. You do have to say that Keselowski needs some wins coming down the stretch, as he looks to add to the 4 that he has already won this season. He does have 5 career wins at Talladega, but his last one came back in 2017. Since that win, he has not finished better than 13^th in 5 starts. That does not bode well for a man that needs points to maintain a serious challenge.

Chase Elliott (+900)

If the top 8 were to be decided today, Chase Elliott would be moving on, but with 2 races still to come, he is far from sitting in a comfortable position. He still looks like a decent bet to move on, but a win here would certainly help his cause. Elliott has just 2 wins on the season, which is why he is in the awkward position that he currently finds himself, although he does have 17 top 10 finishes out of the 30 races run to this point. He had a win and an 8^th place finish at Talladega last season, but had a poor showing there earlier in the year. If he can match his 2019 performances, he will be in a much more comfortable spot in the standings.

Denny Hamlin (+900)

Hamlin has a good run at Las Vegas last weekend, closing the gap at the top of the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings and getting within 3 points of Kevin Harvick. Could we potentially see a change at the top this weekend as Hamlin goes in search of his 7^th win of the season? Hamlin has performed well at Talladega in recent years, but you need to go all the way back to 2014 to find his only win at that track. That said, he has delivered 3 top 5 finishes out of his last 4 races there. A similar type finish might just put him on top.

Time is running out for the chasing pack to run down Kevin Harvick and win it all, with Denny Hamlin posing the most serious threat. Who will make a move, and who will be cut when the field goes from 12 to 8 in a couple of weeks?

I have read enough, I need to place my bet now. What to do?