NASCAR

NASCAR Cup Series’ Cook Out 400: Ryan Blaney’s Top Odds, Predictions & Best Bets At Martinsville Speedway

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Jeff Hawkins
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Jeff Hawkins Sports Editor

Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry, in both print and digital media. He joined the Sportscasting team in 2021 following a decade of freelancing. He spent his early career as a reporter for various newspapers in Illinois, New York, Florida, North Carolina, and Michigan, with a particular emphasis as a beat reporter for the Chicago Blackhawks. Jeff earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from Oakland University. Over the course of his career he earned several sports writing awards, including two national awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors for column writing and news reporting. One of the five prized columns included a commentary on NASCAR's increasing corporate influences, particularly in northern racetracks — commentary which you might find Jeff building on as part of the Motorsports writing team at Sportscasting now.  

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Published25 Mar 2025

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Cup Kyle Larson leading at Homestead spring (1)

Describing last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series win at Homestead-Miami Speedway as one of his career’s “coolest wins,” Kyle Larson could have used the phrase to summarize his weekend. 

Able to ride the walls to his advantage in all three national series events, Larson rallied from a Stage 3 spin to earn the Truck circuit’s checkered flag and was positioned to capture the Xfinity event during the overtime re-start the next day. But Larson was knocked out by an overeager prospect. On Sunday, he mostly ran behind the lead pack, until leading the final seven rotations at the 1.5-mile oval. 

Still, a two-win weekend? Pretty cool.

“A lot of gritty, hard work,” Larson told Fox Sports. “This is one of the coolest wins I’ve had. 

“Crazy.” 

The trip to Victory Lane marked Larson’s 14th win in a Gen 7 machine, the most among active pilots. 

Entering Sunday’s Cup event at Martinsville Speedway, the season’s first short track, Larson drew +500 sports-betting odds to win back-to-back races, according to BetOnline Sportsbook. 

Ryan Blaney (+450), whose blown engine may have cost him a trip to Victory Lane at Homestead-Miami Speedway last Sunday, was listed as the favorite at Martinsville. 

Below, we’ll preview the top storylines heading into Sunday’s Cook Out 400, go over the odds, and give our best bets for the seventh race on the 2025 NASCAR schedule.

Cook Out 400 Storylines

  • Hendrick Motorsports employs four of the top six Cup pilots. William Byron paces the driver standings with 244 points, followed by second-place Larson (208 points), third-place Bowman (205) and sixth-place Chase Elliott (181). Byron and Larson clinched postseason positions.
  • After dominating the early stages, Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Ford endured engine failure last Sunday. The 2023 Cup titleholder experienced three DNFs in six outings after starting with two back-to-back top 10s. “It will go our way eventually. I hope,” Blaney said on his team radio.
  • Ryan Preece is beginning to make a move. With a P9 at Homestead, the No. 60 Ford team recorded consecutive top 10s and moved into the 16th spot in the driver standings.

Cook Out 400 Driver Odds  

Here is an early look at the drivers’ odds for the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway, according to BetOnline Sportsbook:  

Driver NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 Odds
Ryan Blaney +450
Kyle Larson +500
William Byron +700
Denny Hamlin +700
Chase Elliott +700
Christopher Bell +900
Joey Logano +900
Chase Briscoe +1200
Ross Chastain +2500
Alex Bowman +2500
Bubba Wallace +2800
Kyle Busch +2800
Brad Keselowski  +2800
Ryan Preece +2800
Tyler Reddick  +3300
Josh Berry  +3300
Chris Buescher  +3300
Austin Cindric +3300
Ty Gibbs +4000
Noah Gragson  +6600
Daniel Suarez +8000
Carson Hocevar +10000
Austin Dillon +10000
Cole Custer +10000
Shane van Gisbergen  +15000
AJ Allmendinger +20000
Todd Gilliland +20000
Zane Smith +20000
Erik Jones +20000
Michael McDowell +25000
Justin Haley +25000
John Hunter Nemechek +30000
Riley Herbst  +30000
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. +30000
Burt Myers +30000
Ty Dillon +50000
Erik Jones +100000
Michael McDowell +100000

*-Odds current at time of publication

Cook Out 400 Predictions and Picks  

Here are our best NASCAR Cup Series bets for the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway:

Joey Logano (+900) 

Logano continues to turn in perplexing performances. He leads the circuit with 247 laps led, but has yet to register a top-10 finish. The reigning circuit champion set to straight out his title defense at Martinsville where he posted six straight top 10s.

Alex Bowman (+2500) 

By earning a P2 and 49 playoff points last Sunday, Bowman collected four consecutive top-10 finishes and fifth in six outings this season. He won at Martinsville in 2021.

Bubba Wallace (+2800) 

Coming off a season-best P3 at Homestead, Wallace led for 56 laps and snapped a recent streak of finishing in the back of the field. Can Wallace finally begin to prove to 23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan that he can compete consistently?