NASCAR Odds: William Byron, Denny Hamlin Favorites Heading Into Talladega

The NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings got toppled upside down following the first race of the second round.

Bubba Wallace led the most laps of any driver in the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 and admitted to choking in the final restart, ultimately giving the victory to William Byron.

With the win at Texas Motor Speedway, Byron became the first driver guaranteed a spot in the Round of 8, catapulting him to the top of the leaderboard and tied for the FanDuel Sportsbook favorite to win the NASCAR Cup Series championship alongside Denny Hamlin with +350 odds.

Brad Keselowski has won at Talladega six times since 2009 and is the favorite to win the YellaWood 500 on Sunday. Keselowski is in seventh place in the Cup Series standings, but his seventh win in Alabama would secure a spot in the Round of 8. Keselowski sits in the middle of the pack at +1200 to win the NASCAR Cup Series Championship.

Competing for his first Cup Series title, Byron's best race at Talladega came in 2021 when he finished second behind Brad Keselowski.

How the rest of the field shakes out behind Byron and Hamlin:
Kyle Larson +450
Martin Truex Jr. +650
Chris Buescher +850
Christopher Bell +1000
Brad Keselowski +1200
Ross Chastain +1600
Tyler Reddick +1600
Kyle Busch +1600
Ryann Blaney +3000
Bubba Wallace +4000

Reddick, Busch, Blaney and Wallace currently are on the bubble and would risk elimination if they cannot make it into the top eight with points or win one of the two remaining races in the second round.

At the end of the Round of 12, the eight remaining drivers are reset to 4,000 plus their playoff points.