2026 NASCAR Food City 500 odds, picks, props: best bets from proven racing experts

Chase Elliott will look to win his third race of the year and second in a row when he takes part in Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Elliott led for 84 laps en route to the win at the March 29 Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway. He defeated Denny Hamlin by 0.565 seconds as he won his 22nd race of his career. Kyle Larson is the Food City 500 favorite at +340 (risk $100 to win $340) at FanDuel.

Among the other favorites are Denny Hamlin (+470), Ryan Blaney (+600), Christopher Bell (+650) and Ty Gibbs (+750). Elliott is at +1300. Sunday's race is set to start at 3 p.m. ET. Joe Gibbs Racing is the +120 favorite to be the winning team for Sunday's race, followed by Hendrick Motorsports (+195) and Team Penske (+480).

Before entering any 2026 NASCAR Cup Series props or NASCAR picks, be sure to see what elite expert auto racing handicappers Phil Bobbitt and Steve Greco have to say.

Bobbitt and Greco built a predictive engine that consistently beats the books. They find huge value and aren't afraid of volume. Over the past four-plus years, their followers could be up more than $28,000 on $100 plays. In 2024, they nailed seven outright winners in the Cup Series, returning nearly seven units for a 25.7% ROI. 

They predicted Daniel Suarez's victory in Atlanta at +3500 and were 10-2 on matchup plays. Their 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race preview nailed Joey Logano at +1100 and went 4-0 in matchup picks, and they hit Austin Cindric at +2800 in the Enjoy Illinois 300. They also nailed Ross Chastain as a +3000 longshot in the Hollywood Casino 400. Overall, they were up 47.18 units across all racing articles last season. In 2025, they correctly called William Byron (+2300) in the Daytona 500 and Kyle Larson (+450) in the AdventHealth 400. Anyone following Bobbitt and Greco could have seen HUGE returns!

For the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, we can tell you Bobbitt and Greco are backing Ross Chastain over Austin Cindric (+100 bet365, -114 BetRivers) in a head-to-head matchup. "Ross Chastain is projected to finish 5.3 spots ahead of Austin Cindric on the concrete high banks, and when you dig into the numbers, it's not particularly close. In this comparable set, Chastain is averaging 11.7 fast laps per race, while Cindric is down at 5.2. That gap shows up everywhere. Chastain's average running position is 2.2 spots better, and he's spending over 20% more laps inside the top 15.

"That's not a small edge. That's a different race. Now, we haven't exactly been blown away by Trackhouse equipment this season, but this is the kind of track where Chastain can still grind out a result. Stay in the mix, manage traffic, and let the race come to him." 

Bobbitt and Greco have locked in more NASCAR bets, including other matchup plays and their top play for outright bets! You ABSOLUTELY NEED to see their picks before locking in any NASCAR picks of your own.

So who wins the 2026 Food City 500, and which NASCAR prop picks could help you dominate your picks, and which outright bet is a MUST-BACK? ... Join SportsLine right now to see the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway best bets, all from the experts who were up 47 units in 2024!