Blaney, Truex Top Picks to Stay in NASCAR Title Hunt

Blaney Looks to Carry Hot Streak Into Championship Race

While the spotlight will be on Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and championship favorite Larson, neither driver is our pick to win this week. That honor goes to Ryan Blaney. Arguably the hottest driver in the field, Blaney has only finished worse than sixth once in the last three races, including a win at Talladega and a runner-up last week. This has him nine points above the cutline.

All he should need to advance is a solid run, but why not more? Blaney is terrific at Martinsville, with seven top-fives in his last 11 starts. With favorites Larson and Hamlin having a recent propensity to find trouble, we think Blaney will be the last man standing when the checkered flag waves.

Martin Truex Jr at Homestead pic.twitter.com/Vzhk2iE4re

— NASCAR Memes (@NASCAR_Memes_) October 26, 2023

NASCAR pick: Ryan Blaney +1200 to win the Xfinity 500

Hamlin, Truex’s Title Hopes on Life Support

Even though Bell pulled off a dramatic comeback win, last Sunday at Homestead can still be summed up as a disaster for Joe Gibbs Racing. With just over 30 laps remaining, Hamlin crashed following an intense battle with Blaney, ending his day. Matters only got worse when the engine let go of Truex.’s car under the same caution.

This left both veteran drivers 17 points below the cutline. While that is doable, they will need misfortune from either Blaney or William Byron. There’s only one way to guarantee a spot at Phoenix: winning the race. Luckily for Hamlin, Martinsville is one of his best tracks, boasting five wins, 18 top-fives and 24 top-10s. He is the NASCAR Cup Series odds favorite to win the race at +300 – over perennial favorites Larson and Byron.

While Truex doesn’t boast the same track record at Martinsville as Hamlin, he is no slouch, finishing third here in the spring and winning three of the last eight races. While he isn’t our pick to win the race, take a low-stakes flier on Truex’s +900 odds as it is not as far-fetched as it may seem.

NASCAR pick: Martin Truex Jr. +900 to win the Xfinity 500

Bonus: Fade Reddick, Buescher in NASCAR Bets

It seems Tyler Reddick and Chris Buescher’s championship hopes will come to an end after remarkable seasons for both drivers. Buescher effectively needs to win and has failed to show the same speed as his fellow playoff drivers in the round of eight.

Reddick, on the other hand, is only nine points behind Blaney, but short tracks are his biggest weak spot, with no top-10s this year at Martinsville, Richmond or Bristol. Leave these two off your NASCAR online betting cards this week.

Stewart-Haas Drivers Head Field of Solid Top-10 Plays

That’s enough talk about playoff and non-playoff drivers. Let’s talk about some guys that can net you a solid return. An abysmal year is almost over for Stewart-Haas Racing, though the one bright spot has been short tracks.

In the spring, Chase Briscoe and Aric Almirola finished fifth and sixth, respectively, and Ryan Preece won the pole and led every lap in stage one before a penalty mired him in 15th. Preece also ran in the top-five all day at Richmond in the summer and just missed out on cashing our top-10 bet at Bristol, finishing 12th. But we are back in on the local short-track ace to finish in the top 10 at +200 odds. Meanwhile, Briscoe’s odds sit at +175 to do the same.

.@RyanPreece_ is your #VAisforRacingLovers200 WINNER! 🕰️ pic.twitter.com/gUFscMEltu

— Martinsville Speedway (@MartinsvilleSwy) October 27, 2023

It’s also been a disappointing year for defending champion Joey Logano, though he stands a strong chance of getting a solid finish to try to end the year on a good note. He has finished in the top 10 in 10 of the last 11 Martinsville races. His odds of -120 are incredibly appealing.

It’s been an incredibly solid stretch of races for Carson Hocevar in his first taste of Cup racing. While he has yet to score his first-career top-10, the closest he came was at fellow short track Bristol, running in the top-10 most of the night before late-race contact left him just one spot away. In the midst of a championship run in the Truck Series, we think Hocevar has a decent shot at that elusive top-10, before running full time in Cup with Spire Motorsports in 2024.

Top-10 Picks: Joey Logano -120; Chase Briscoe +175; Ryan Preece +200; Carson Hocevar +600

Who Will Win NASCAR Championship Next Week?

So, we think when it’s all said and done, the four drivers vying for a championship next week at Homestead will be Larson, Bell, Blaney and Byron. And all four are solid bets to win the championship when looking at the NASCAR future odds.

Larson (+150) sits as the current favorite, and rightfully so. He was leading late at Phoenix in the spring and likely would have won had it not been for a late-race caution. He also has been the biggest threat to win week in and week out.

Byron (+300) hasn’t been quite as good in the desert, though he did win there in the spring. Meanwhile, Bell (+250) has never finished better than ninth.

But once again, we are intrigued by Blaney’s odds. He is the biggest long shot of the four (+900), but has been really solid at Phoenix, with four straight top-fives and back-to-back runner-up finishes. Larson may be the most realistic bet, but Blaney poses the best return on investment, while not being out of the realm of possibilities.

NASCAR Futures Pick: Ryan Blaney +900 to win the NASCAR Cup Series Championship 2023

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