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How the race order will be set for Sunday’s Cup Series Race at Talladega

We go over the betting favorites and starting order ahead of Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney during the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The NASCAR Cup Series is headed to Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday for the YellaWood 500. The race will begin at 2:00 p.m. aired on NBCSN. The field is wide open in this one, and that’s reflected by the betting splits on DraftKings Sportsbook.

NASCAR made changes to how qualifying in the three national series (Cup, Xfinity, Gander Outdoors Truck) in August. Three performance metrics will be utilized, with each one weighted a little different. It breaks down as follows.

  • Finishing position from the previous race (weighted 50%)
  • Ranking in team owner points standings (35%)
  • Fastest lap from the previous race (15%)

Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, and Joe Logano are all even at +1000 and have the best odds to win. Blaney and Elliott have each won twice at the venue since 2017 while Logano has won one Cup Series race there in the last three years. Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski aren’t far behind at +1100 though, so this race could be a tight one.

Here’s what the starting grid looks like for Sunday’s race.

2020 Yellawood 500 starting lineup

Starting spot Driver Car # Team
Starting spot Driver Car # Team
1 Denny Hamlin (P) 11 Joe Gibbs Racing
2 Kurt Busch (P) 1 Chip Ganassi Racing
3 Martin Truex Jr. (P) 19 Joe Gibbs Racing
4 Alex Bowman (P) 88 Hendrick Motorsports
5 Kevin Harvick (P) 4 Stewart-Haas Racing
6 Kyle Busch (P) 18 Joe Gibbs Racing
7 Brad Keselowski (P) 2 Team Penske
8 Joey Logano (P) 22 Team Penske
9 Clint Bowyer (P) 14 Stewart-Haas Racing
10 Chase Elliott (P) 9 Hendrick Motorsports
11 Aric Almirola (P) 10 Stewart-Haas Racing
12 Austin Dillon (P) 3 Richard Childress Racing
13 Matt DiBenedetto 21 Wood Brothers Racing
14 Ryan Blaney 12 Team Penske
15 Chris Buescher 17 Roush Fenway Racing
16 Erik Jones 20 Joe Gibbs Racing
17 Jimmie Johnson 48 Hendrick Motorsports
18 Cole Custer 41 Stewart-Haas Racing
19 Ryan Newman 6 Roush Fenway Racing
20 Matt Kenseth 42 Chip Ganassi Racing
21 William Byron 24 Hendrick Motorsports
22 Christopher Bell 95 Leavine Family Racing
23 John Hunter Nemechek 38 Front Row Motorsports
24 Michael McDowell 34 Front Row Motorsports
25 Ryan Preece 37 JTG Daugherty Racing
26 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing
27 Bubba Wallace 43 Richard Petty Motorsports
28 Ty Dillon 13 Germain Racing
29 Corey LaJoie 32 Go Fas Racing
30 Tyler Reddick 8 Richard Childress Racing
31 Daniel Suarez 96 Gaunt Brothers Racing
32 Brennan Poole 15 Premium Motorsports
33 Quin Houff 0 StarCom Racing
34 JJ Yeley 27 Rick Ware Racing
35 Justin Haley 77 Spire Motorsports
36 Joey Gase 51 Petty Ware Racing
37 Timmy Hill 66 Motorsports Business Management
38 James Davison 53 Rick Ware Racing
39 Brendan Gaughan 62 Beard Motorsports