NASCAR Geico 500 best bets at Talladega including bounce back day for Ford

For the third time this season, NASCAR will race at a restrictor plate track with the running of the Geico 500 from Talladega. Chevrolet won at the first two drafting style tracks this year with William Byron and Daniel Suarez winning for Chevrolet.

In the seven races since we last raced at this style of track, Chevrolet has won four races and Toyota the other three. Will Ford finally break through after a rough start to 2024? How will last year’s Spring winner Kyle Busch do? Find out in my best bets from FanDuel below.

With drivers like Blaney, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, and Chris Buescher leading the charge, it’s stunning that Ford hasn’t found victory lane yet. If there’s ever a week to take a chance on them breaking that drought, it’s this week.

Manufacturers always look to be on the same page and strategize at these tracks. Despite no wins at Daytona or Atlanta, Ford showed they were in-sync and utilized effective teamwork. They have a much larger number of drivers than Toyota, giving them an edge in that front.

While restrictor plate tracks often give inexperienced drivers a chance to run up front, there’s a visible element when watching a race that experience matters and helps immensely. With 37 races at Talladega under his belt, few are as experienced as him.

2024 has been a disappointing season for Busch so far, which is why his odds are as long as they are. He’s just 16th in points and has just three top tens on the season. But two of his best races came at Daytona and Atlanta, the latter in which he finished third in one of the closest finishes in NASCAR history.

» READ MORE: Full sports betting coverage from The Philadelphia Inquirer

In what’s been a down year for Ford, Logano has been intertwined with Blaney as being the best driver of the bunch. Logano has three wins at Talladega in his career and is known for being one of the most aggressive drivers on this type of track.

After a couple years of getting caught up in wrecks, his luck is due to change. His luck is also due to change at restrictor plate races in general after poor finishes in Daytona and Atlanta despite leading 72 combined laps.

In a race full of attrition and bad luck, Chris Buescher is as safe a pick to me as there is to avoid the calamity and come out of incidents unscathed. Buescher has finished seven of his last eight races at Talladega and Daytona.

Buescher has been as rock solid and consistent as any driver in the field since the start of last year, and I love these odds for a top ten finish.

The Inquirer is not an online gambling operator, or a gambling site. We provide this information about sports betting for entertainment purposes only.