NASCAR Cook Out Clash Picks: Bet Logano to Cook on February 2

With the Cup Series seldom running a track like Bowman Gray, all bets are off for who will win, though Kyle Larson is listed as the favorite at +700. Let’s try to work through the impending madness and find the winner with our first NASCAR predictions of the 2024 season.

3 NASCAR Picks for the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray

1. Logano Wins Another Inaugural Race

The NASCAR Cup Series moves across the country from a makeshift track in Los Angeles to a historic short track, known for its aggressive drivers and viral altercations. Of the 39 cars entered, 23 will make the main event, so if making your NASCAR picks before qualifying, you now must predict who will qualify, let alone win.

The field features a couple fun names local to Bowman Gray in Tim Brown, driving for Rick Ware Racing, and Burt Meyers for Team Amerivet. While they are former track champions, they are driving some of the worst equipment in the garage. Meyers’ chances are preferred to Brown, with +4000 winning odds compared to Brown’s +6000.

While they are fun longshot picks that will be fun to watch go toe-to-toe with the best stock car drivers in the world, we will personally stay away from the duo.

But it always seems to be the same driver that wins these kinds of “different” races: defending NASCAR Cup series champion Joey Logano. He won the inaugural Bristol Dirt Race back in 2021 and the inaugural Clash at the Coliseum in 2022. These are on top of Logano winning three times at the championship race, etching his name in the history books, per NASCAR betting trends.

The NASCAR oddsmakers have caught up with this trend, tabbing Logano as one of the favorites at +900. But we will still climb on board for the champ to be the first to take the checkered flag in 2024. This also opens the door for some fun value picks, such as Ford being the winning manufacturer at +150 and the number of the race winner being over 19.5 at +110.

Bet this pick: Joey Logano +900 to win the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray

2. Picking the Group Winners

In addition to choosing the winner, the BetUS Sportsbook has a series of group bets to consider when making your bets. We obviously prefer Logano in Group B over the likes of Penske teammate Ryan Blaney, Ty Gibbs and William Byron.

As the favorite to win the race, Larson (+250) is favored over the Joe Gibbs Racing trio of Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe (+275) in group A. Briscoe is running his first race in top-tier equipment and has high expectations, in spite of dirt track racing being his specialty, not pavement. The same goes for Bell. So, we will go with Hamlin from this group.

Group C is led by Kyle Busch at +250 NASCAR odds, followed by Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott (+260) and Alex Bowman (+300) along with Tyler Reddick (+275). Reddick fared the best of this group in 2024 and we will give him the edge over the overvalued Busch. In Group D, we will go with the longest shot in Josh Berry with our online bet.

While it will be his first time at Bowman Gray, Berry worked his way up the motorsports ladder for his short track prowess. Wood Brothers Racing has struggled immensely in the last few seasons, but Berry is a massive upgrade over Harrison Burton. At +300 odds, we will take a chance on the darkhorse in the Ford over the likes of Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain and Bubba Wallace.

Bet these picks: Denny Hamlin +275 to win Group A; Tyler Reddick +275 to win Group C; Josh Berry +300 to win Group D

3. Larson to Hold the Banner for Chevy

While we think Logano and the “Blue Oval Brigade” will win the race, who will be the highest-finishing driver with a bow tie on the hood? We’ve already mentioned the favorite (Larson), local hero (Meyers) and Busch, who we generally believe to be overvalued both this week and for the upcoming Daytona 500.

Then there is the rest of the Hendrick stable in Byron, Bowman and Elliott. We will stay away from the likes of Spire Motorsports, Kaulig Racing and Team Trackhouse, as they’ve proven stronger on longer racetracks.

We will go with the boring answer of Larson, who has proven he can drive nearly anything on nearly any configuration. While he is not our pick to win the race, he will certainly be in the mix as the laps dwindle and cash this NASCAR driver prop bet.

Bet this pick: Kyle Larson +300 to be top Chevrolet driver

Odds and information are accurate at the time of writing. Please check with official sources for the latest updates before placing any bets

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