“Between Bets” is an article series revealing our staff’s best wagers across the NFL, NASCAR and PGA Tour. This edition’s bets feature our favorite wagers for the 2024 GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Author’s note: Superspeedway races are so unpredictable that the best of the best NASCAR bettors and content creators pay little to no attention to them from a gambling standpoint. That’s not how we roll, however – but be forewarned, these picks are just as much from a random gut feeling as they are from the stat sheets.
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
2024 GEICO 500 Betting Picks
Joey Logano (+1100)
Ford will be a popular choice this weekend with the champion and superspeedway juggernaut Ryan Blaney and feel-good story Brad Keselowski looking for their first wins of 2024. But I’ll side with Joey Logano just below them at +1100.
The No. 22 has had hot and cold stretches on superspeedways. Logano won Atlanta in 2023 but hasn’t won at Talladega since 2018. His best finish at ‘Dega in the Next Gen is 24th… so in my mind, the hot and cold is due to heat up this weekend.
Bubba Wallace (+1500)
Bubba Wallace used to be a superspeedway specialty bet, but as both he and 23XI Racing continue to improve, the No. 23 has been a much more well-rounded pick. He’s still a damn good superspeedway pick, however, and an outright play at +1500 is well worth it.
Wallace is one of those checkers-or-wreckers drivers here; his 2021 win at Talladega is his only top 10 at the track. A trio of Daytona runner-up finishes and a fifth recently at Atlanta lead me to believe the 23 will be a hotter pickup than a fresh batch of the McDonald’s fries on the side of his car.
Martin Truex Jr. (+2200)
None of the data leads you to believe Martin Truex Jr. (+2200) will be a great pick for Talladega. He’s never won at a superspeedway in his career and has more DNFs (21) than T10s (16) on drafting-style tracks.
But if Dale Earnhardt can finally win a Daytona 500 after 20 years, Truex Jr. can get the superspeedway monkey off his back. The dice are well overdue to fall for the No. 19 to hang around at the end and win one of these things before it’s all said and done.
Carson Hocevar (+7000)
Superspeedways are the perfect place for longshots, so why not go with a Hail Mary in Carson Hocevar at +7000?
With how Spire Motorsports teammate Corey LaJoie has run on superspeedways, he will be a much more trendy pick. If it’s safe to assume Hocevar will have just as good of a car. Factor in his T10 run at Texas last week, and that gives him more momentum in my eyes. Who knows, maybe the duo can work together and channel a bit of the shake-and-bake at Talladega.
Check out all of our content for the 2024 GEICO 500:
- PropKings: 2024 GEICO 500
- Between Bets: 2024 GEICO 500 Outrights
- NASCAR DFS Picks, Tiers & Rankings: 2024 GEICO 500
Thanks for reading my best bets for the GEICO 500, and be sure to catch us live every Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. EST on The Backroad! Good luck this week!
*Photo Credit: Jason Parkhurst – USA TODAY Sports*