2018 1000Bulbs.com 500 Betting Preview & Expert Pick

Restrictor-plate racing returns to the Monster Energy NASCAR season at Talladega Superspeedway prepares to host the 2018 1000Bulbs.com 500, the second of three events in the second round of stock car racing’s playoffs. Chase Elliott won last week and is at the top of the standings in terms of points. He finished in third place at Talladega earlier in 2018 and led qualifying at Daytona before ending up in a wreck that ruined the chances of almost half the field. Joey Logano comes in having won the earlier race at Talladega in 2018 and finished third last week at Dover. The action unfolds Sunday at 2:00 pm Eastern time on NBC. Take a look at the sports betting odds for the field and then some of our recommendations for you to consider.

2018 1000Bulbs.com 500 Betting Preview & Expert Pick

In July, @keselowski put the field on notice for @TalladegaSuperS. Sunday should be fun 👏 #GoingFor2 pic.twitter.com/pRssvJVxwL

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) 11 de octubre de 2018

• Brad Keselowski +700
• Chase Elliott +750
• Joey Logano +800
• Kyle Busch +1000
• Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick +1200
• Aric Almirola, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Kurt Busch +1400
• Alex Bowman +2000
• Martin Truex Jr +2200
• Erik Jones, Jimmie Johnson +2500
• Kyle Larson +2800
• Paul Menard +3300
• Daniel Suarez, Austin Dillon +4000
• Jamie McMurray, William Byron, Ryan Newman, David Ragan, Bubba Wallace, Trevor Bayne +5000
• Chris Buescher +6600
• Ty Dillon, AJ Allmendinger, Regan Smith +7500
• Michael McDowell +10000
• Ross Chastain, Matt DiBenedetto, Corey LaJoie, Jeffrey Earnhardt +12500
• JJ Yeley +15000

Martin Truex Jr is winless in his career at Talladega, but he has cracked the top 10 four times in his last races in this particular event, and he has won at least one playoff race in each of the last two seasons. His last five races here have not gone well, but he is still one of the top drivers in the circuit. That is pushing his money line up — but it also means you’re getting an elite driver at a significant value. Another dark horse for the 2018 2018 1000Bulbs.com 500 is Jamie McMurray, who is battling a lengthy drought as far as reaching the winner’s circle goes. He has been on the uptick lately, making it into the top 10 in three of his last six races. If you look at his money line, he represents a lot more value than you might think. He has won this event twice and has two top-four finishes in his last five races at Talladega Superspeedway. So for big-time value, look at adding him. Kurt Busch has also been improving lately, with seven top-six finishes in his last 12 races and just four times finishing outside the top 10 since June’s FireKeepers Casino 400. At Talladega Superspeedway earlier in 2018, he was the runner-up and has five top-ten finishes in his last eight races here. That money line also makes him worth adding. Brad Keselowski was red-hot until a pair of finishes outside the top ten, but it wouldn’t make sense to take that as a significant dropoff. He won this event last year and has won it twice overall. He has five top-seven finishes in his last eight races at Talladega Superspeedway. Even though he’s the favorite, that relatively high money line means some value. Joey Logano has six top-ten finishes in his last eight races and (as we mentioned earlier) won in 2018 at Talladega already. He has won this race twice, and he also won here several times in the Xfinity Series. I’d consider taking the value that his money line offers. Kevin Harvick has seven wins on the season. However, is he someone you should pick for this week? He has raced at Talladega Superspeedway 35 times with just one victory, eight years ago. He hasn’t even found the podium here since that time, although he did come in fourth here back in the spring. I’m not sure he’s one that you want to put on your card for the 2018 1000Bulbs.com 500.