2024 Shriners Children's 500 odds, picks: NASCAR best bets for Phoenix from proven racing expert

The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule continues on Sunday with the 2024 Shriners Children's 500 at Phoenix Raceway. Kyle Larson won as a favorite in Las Vegas last week, and he is the 11-2 favorite in the 2024 Shriners Children's 500 odds. Ryan Blaney, who has been the runner-up in three straight races at this track, follows Larson at 7-1 on the NASCAR odds board. William Byron (15-2), Denny Hamlin (8-1) and Ross Chastain (10-1) are among the other 2024 Shriners Children's 500 contenders. Sunday's race on the 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. ET. 

Before making any NASCAR picks, be sure to see what CBS Sports NASCAR writer Steven Taranto has to say.

Taranto 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 media credential and also publishes a popular weekly NASCAR predictions column, famously calling Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez's breakthrough wins in 2022. Taranto started this season with a bang by nailing William Byron as a 16-1 longshot in the Daytona 500 and Kyle Larson at 4-1 in the Pennzoil 400! He also moonlights as a sim racer and has 20 career wins in iRacing.

For the 2024 Shriners Children's 500, we can tell you Taranto is high on Tyler Reddick, even though he's a 14-1 longshot. Reddick has a pair of top-five finishes in his last two spring races in Phoenix, and he is coming off a runner-up finish in Las Vegas last weekend. The 28-year-old almost won last year's race on a late-race restart, so he will be motivated to finish the job this time around. 

Another curveball: He's fading Martin Truex Jr. (12-1), who won this race in 2021. "There was once a time where Martin Truex Jr. would have been one of my best bets for Phoenix with no questions asked, but I don't feel as good about him now considering his recent results here since the Next Gen car was introduced in 2022. While it seemed like he rediscovered some of his old mojo at this track when he qualified second and finished sixth last fall, that broke a streak of races here that included finishes of 35th (crash), 15th, and 17th," Taranto told SportsLine.

Taranto also locked in four more Shriners Children's 500 best bets and is also high on a major dark horse priced at over 60-1! You ABSOLUTELY need to see his picks before locking in any NASCAR picks of your own for the 2024 Shriners Children's 500.

So who wins the 2024 Shriners Children's 500? And which MASSIVE longshot do you need to target NOW? ... Join SportsLine right now to see the NASCAR at Phoenix best bets, all from the expert who called Chastain and Suarez's first career wins as huge darkhorses in 2022, along with Byron's season-opening win in the Daytona 500 and Larson's win in the Pennzoil 400!!