After recording four victories over his first five seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series, William Byron had a breakout year in 2023 with six wins. He'll hope to get halfway to that number when he participates in the 2024 Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday. Byron began the campaign in impressive fashion, as he captured the checkered flag in the Daytona 500 and became the first driver with multiple victories this season when he won at the Circuit of the Americas two weeks ago. The 2018 Rookie of the Year has posted six top-10 finishes in 12 career Cup Series starts at Martinsville, including a triumph in this race in 2022.
Byron is 11-1 and Denny Hamlin, who has won this race three times, is the 9-2 favorite in the 2024 Cook Out 400 odds. Two-time race winner Martin Truex Jr. is 13-2, Ryan Blaney is 7-1 and Kyle Larson is 15-2 while Christopher Bell rounds out the top five 2024 NASCAR at Martinsville contenders at 8-1. The green flag drops at 3 p.m. ET. Before making any 2024 Cook Out 400 picks or NASCAR predictions, you need to see what NASCAR insider 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, and he chronicles stock car racing with the same thoroughness and passion that he's had since becoming a full-time race fan in 2001. He has an annual NASCAR medial credential and also publishes a popular weekly NASCAR predictions column, famously calling Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez's breakthrough wins in 2022.
Taranto is off to a red-hot start for SportsLine in 2024, nailing four winners in his best bets already - including 16-1 longshot William Byron at the Daytona 500. Anyone following his NASCAR picks has seen some huge returns.
Now, Taranto has analyzed the field and odds for Sunday's 2024 Cook Out 400. He's sharing his best bets at SportsLine.
2024 Cook Out 400 expert picks
For the 2024 Cook Out 400, Taranto is high on Joey Logano, even though he's an 11-1 longshot. He's a target for anyone looking for a huge payday. The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season has not been strong thus far for the 33-year-old from Connecticut, but he's hoping his last few outings are an indication that the season are turning in his favor. After finishing 22nd at Bristol on March 17, Logano was 11th at the Circuit of the Americas and second last weekend at Richmond.
Being at Martinsville should help the two-time Cup Series champion continue his surge. Logano has posted top-10 finishes in nine consecutive starts at the track and 13 of his last 15 dating back to 2018. He recorded his only victory there during that stretch and has been sixth or better in his last four outings. Logano has finished no worse than sixth in his last four appearances in this race and was runner-up the past two seasons.
Another surprise: Taranto is fading reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney. The 30-year-old has enjoyed success at Martinsville in the Cup Series recently, as he made his way to victory lane there in October. It marked the fourth consecutive start at the track in which he finished seventh or better and gave him eight top 10s in his last 10 outings there, with the other two results both being 11th place.
Blaney crashed out of the season-opening Daytona 500 but followed with three straight top-five finishes. However, he has not fared as well in his last three starts, finishing 12th or worse in each. Blaney started on the pole at Bristol on March 17 but finished 16th and was a disappointing 19th last weekend at Richmond. In addition, he hasn't led any laps in four of his last five outings. See what other NASCAR picks he likes at SportsLine.
How to make 2024 Cook Out 400 predictions
Taranto has also identified four other drivers in his 2024 NASCAR at Martinsville best bets. He's also high on a massive NASCAR longshot that is priced higher than 30-1 in this week's NASCAR odds. You can only see who they are here.
So who wins the Cook Out 400 2024, and which longshot could stun NASCAR? Visit SportsLine now to see the 2024 NASCAR at Martinsville picks and best bets from a NASCAR insider who called Byron's season-opening win in the Daytona 500, Larson's win in the Pennzoil 400 and Hamlin's win in the Food City 500, and find out.
2024 Cook Out 400 odds
See full NASCAR at Martinsville picks at SportsLine
Denny Hamlin 9-2
Martin Truex Jr. 13-2
Ryan Blaney 7-1
Kyle Larson 15-2
Christopher Bell 8-1
William Byron 11-1
Joey Logano 11-1
Ty Gibbs 12-1
Brad Keselowski 15-1
Chase Elliott 16-1
Ross Chastain 20-1
Chase Briscoe 22-1
Josh Berry 25-1
Chris Buescher 25-1
Tyler Reddick 25-1
Alex Bowman 28-1
Kyle Busch 28-1
Bubba Wallace 28-1
Noah Gragson 40-1
Ryan Preece 50-1
Daniel Suarez 100-1
Austin Dillon 200-1
Todd Gilliland 250-1
Michael McDowell 250-1
John Hunter Nemechek 250-1
Erik Jones 300-1
Carson Hocevar 350-1
Austin Cindric 400-1
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 750-1
Corey LaJoie 1000-1
Harrison Burton 2000-1
Kaz Grala 2500-1
Justin Haley 2500-1
Daniel Hemric 2500-1
Zane Smith 2500-1
Josh Williams 2500-1
