The second leg of the Round of 8 playoffs will be held at Talladega Superspeedway for the YellaWood 500 on Sunday. Denny Hamlin won the first leg of the Round of 8 last week. He has clinched a spot in the Final Four, while Kyle Larson is second in the standings at +35, followed by Christopher Bell at +20 and Chase Briscoe at +15 to lead the eight remaining drivers in the postseason, which is comprised of four rounds over the final 10 races of the season. Four drivers are eliminated in each of the first three rounds, which consist of three races each. The remaining four drivers compete for the title in the season-ending championship race. 

Ryan Blaney is the +900 favorite (risk $100 to win $900) in the 2025 YellaWood 500 odds, while William Byron, Joey Logano and Austin Cindric are at +1000. Other NASCAR at Talladega Superspeedway contenders include Chase Elliott at +1100, and Larson at +1200. Sunday’s race is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. ET. 

Before making any Talladega Superspeedway 500 picks, you NEED to see what CBS Sports NASCAR writer Steven Taranto has to say.

Taranto, who moonlights as a sim racer and has 20 career wins in iRacing, is the lead NASCAR writer for CBSSports.com. Taranto was red-hot for SportsLine in 2024 as he nailed 17 winners, including 16-1 longshot William Byron at the Daytona 500 and 14-1 longshot Chase Elliott at Texas. Anybody following his NASCAR picks could have seen HUGE returns!

For the Talladega Superspeedway race, Taranto is high on Joey Logano (+1000). He also has a head-to-head prop bet, with Ryan Blaney (-120) to finish ahead of Chase Elliott (-110). “Following up on the Best Bets part of this column, you’re very well served wagering on any of the Team Penske drivers besides Joey Logano, as shown by Ryan Blaney’s three career Talladega wins as well as Austin Cindric’s first Talladega win back in the spring. Blaney in particular is in the spotlight this weekend, as a blown tire that sent him into the wall at Las Vegas has put him in a position where his likeliest path to the Championship 4 is by winning either Talladega or Martinsville.

“Chase Elliott is no slouch at Talladega either, as he has two career wins here and actually beat Blaney for the win in the Fall of 2022. But given the circumstances surrounding Blaney and the easy narrative, I would lean towards Blaney in this head-to-head offering.”

Taranto has also identified three other drivers in his 2025 Talladega Superspeedway 500 best bets. He’s also high on a huge NASCAR longshot who’s around 100-1, potentially netting any backer a HUGE payday! You ABSOLUTELY NEED to see his picks before locking in any NASCAR picks of your own.