2025 NASCAR Martinsville Cook Out 400 Odds and Predictions

On Sunday, March 30, NASCAR’s Cup Series heads to Martinsville Speedway for the first of two annual races – the Cook Out 400. This weekend’s event also marks the 7^th race of the season and the only race to give the winner a grandfather clock as the trophy, which is a tradition started in 1964.

Sunday’s Martinsville race has been an annual event since 1950. Its sister race, the Xfinity 500, has been a part of NASCAR’s history since 1948. Ironically, neither Martinsville race had a name for the first handful of years. It wasn’t until 1956, that the races took on names.

Last weekend, Kyle Larson dominated at Homestead-Miami Speedway to win the Straight Talk Wireless 400. Additionally, he won the Craftsman Truck race and finished 4^th in the Xfinity Series race at this track.

Larson’s weekend performance was a loud declaration that he’s finally arrived in the 2025 season, and that the rest of the field should be concerned.

With that said, Larson is the second odds-on favorite for this Sunday’s Cook Out 400. Ryan Blaney edges him out at the top of the betting boards. Joining these two drivers in the Top 5 favorites are Chase Elliott, William Byron and Denny Hamlin.

Let’s take a look at the latest Martinsville NASCAR odds, courtesy of the top sports betting sites, and make our Cook Out 400 predictions for this weekend’s Martinsville NASCAR Cup Series race.

Cook Out 400 Race Profile

As mentioned, Martinsville is the only track that has been on NASCAR’s calendar every year since 1948. The year prior, this speedway became one of the first oval tracks to be paved.

Martinsville, also known as the “Half Mile of Mayhem,” is shaped like a paper clip, has four turns of 12 degrees in banking, and a lap distance of 0.526 miles.

Sunday’s Cook Out 400 breaks down as follows:

• Total Miles: 210 miles
• Total Laps: 400 laps
• Stage 1: 80 laps
• Stage 2: 100 laps
• Final Stage: 220 laps

The Cook Out 400 will air live on FS1 beginning at 3pm ET.

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Previous Cook Out 400 Winners

“The King” Richard Petty holds the record for the most Cook Out 400 wins with nine. Darrell Waltrip and Rusty Wallace are tied for second with five wins apiece. Denny Hamlin is the only full-time active driver with three Cook Out 400 wins.

The following is a list of the most recent winners:

• 2024: William Byron
• 2023: Kyle Larson
• 2022: William Byron
• 2021: Martin Truex Jr.
• 2020: Martin Truex Jr.
• 2019: Brad Keselowski
• 2018: Clint Bowyer
• 2017: Brad Keselowski
• 2016: Kyle Busch
• 2015: Denny Hamlin

There are 10 active, full-time Cup Series drivers who have won at Martinsville Speedway in their careers. However, only five of them have multiple wins: Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin.

In fact, Hamlin leads all active drivers with five Martinsville wins with three of them coming in the Cook Out 400.

Petty Enterprises holds the record with 12 all-time wins. Hendrick Motorsports is second with 11 all-time wins in the Cook Out 400.

Chevrolet has a commanding lead with 29 Cook Out 400 victories, which includes winning three in a row. Ford is second with 14 wins.

Cook Out 400 Odds

Check out the latest Cook Out 400 odds:

Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson come into this weekend’s Martinsville NASCAR race as the two odds-on favorites to win and the most popular picks among the best handicappers.

They’re followed closely by a pack of drivers including Byron, Elliott, Hamlin and Logano. Considering this is short track racing, there’s plenty of value throughout the betting board.

Cook Out 400 Favorites

The following drivers are considered by oddsmakers to be the odds-on favorites to win the Cook Out 400:

Ryan Blaney +425 

• Driver Standings: 10
• Wins: 0
• Top 5: 1
• Top 10: 2

Ryan Blaney enters this weekend as the odds-on favorite to win at Martinsville. Unfortunately, he also rolls into this race having fallen three spots to 10^th in the driver standings after three consecutive DNFs.

Last week, Blaney had engine issues, which was the second time in the last three races. In-between, he crashed out of Las Vegas.

With just two Top 10s in six starts, and a 21.5 average finish this season, Blaney is definitely struggling to find his 2023 Cup Series Championship form.

Fortunately for the #12 car, Blaney has dominated at Martinsville over the last few years. In 18 starts, he has two wins, 10 Top 5s, 12 Top 10s, and an 8.3 average finish which leads the field.

More recently, he has two wins in the last three races at this track. Blaney won both fall Martinsville races over the last two years. He also has five Top 5s and six Top 7s and the last six races at this venue.

Blaney is certainly capable of winning this race, but with how bad he’s looked over the last month (four finishes of 19^th or worse), I only feel comfortable with taking him to finish in the Top 10.

Kyle Larson +500

• Driver Standings: 2
• Wins: 1
• Top 5: 3
• Top 10: 4

The sleeping giant has woken up after a dominating weekend in Miami. Kyle Larson nearly swept all three races at Homestead-Miami Speedway last weekend. He won the Truck race, finished 4^th in the Xfinity race after having a strong car but questionable late-race happenstances, and winning the Cup Series race.

The victory bumped Larson up four spots to second in the standings. It was also his third Top 9 finish and second Top 3 finish in the last three Cup races. In other words, the rest of the field better prepare themselves because the #5 car is looking to dominate like he did in 2021.

Larson’s career at Martinsville is a tale of two halves. In 20 starts, he has one win, six Top 5s, eight Top 10s, and a 16.1 average finish with 4 DNFs. That’s not impressive when comparing him to other successful drivers at this track.

However, when you look at his recent resume, it’s one of the best in the field. In the last five Martinsville races, Larson has one win, four Top 3s, and five Top 6 finishes. He won this race in 2023, and was runner-up last year. Larson has a 2.8 average finish in the last five races at this venue.

With the way Larson is running this season, his momentum from Miami, and his recent success at Martinsville, I think the #5 car is a Top 5 driver with a race winning ceiling.

William Byron +750          

• Driver Standings: 1
• Wins: 1
• Top 5: 3
• Top 10: 4

Despite a subpar performance at Miami last weekend, where the #24 car finished 12^th overall, William Byron still sits on top of the driver standings largely due to his three Top 5s and four Top 10s in six races this season.

He leads the field with an 8.7 average finish, is tied for first in Top 5s and is tied for second in Top 10s. Byron looks every bit the contender for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship.

In 14 Martinsville starts, Byron has two wins, five Top 5s, eight Top 10s, and a 13.3 average finish. As mentioned above, Byron won this race last year. He also won the race in 2022, and has 7.2 average finish in the last four Cook Out 400 events.

I think Byron can contend for a checkered flag this weekend and have him at least finishing in the Top 10. He will battle his teammate (Larson) to be the top Chevy driver at Martinsville

Denny Hamlin +750

• Driver Standings: 8
• Wins: 0
• Top 5: 2
• Top 10: 3

Denny Hamlin’s up and down season has continued its trend. Last week, I made the following comments about Hamlin’s season and his potential for the Miami race:

“On the season, Hamlin has alternated between a 20+ finish and a Top 6 finish. Since he was 25th last weekend, that means the #11 car should finish in the Top 10 this weekend. I put his race ceiling at a Top 5 result.”

Well, that’s exactly what happened as Hamlin finished 5^th and led 15 laps in the Straight Talk Wireless 400 last Sunday. So, that means he will have a poor performance this weekend if his trend is to continue.

That’s a bit hard to say because Hamlin is arguably the best at Martinsville among full-time Cup drivers. In 38 starts, he has five wins, 20 Top 5s, 26 Top 10s, and a 10.0 average finish. In other words, he leads the active drivers in wins, Top 5s, Top 10s, and is second in average finish.

So, it’s hard to say that the #11 car will keep with his season trend and finish outside of the Top 20. With that in mind, I am going with Hamlin to have a Top 10 race ceiling and factoring in the potential for 20+ finish which he did in 2020 and 2022.  

Chase Elliott +750 

• Driver Standings: 6
• Wins: 0
• Top 5: 1
• Top 10: 3

Chase Elliott, another Hendrick Motorsports driver, fell two spots in the standings to 6^th overall. This was due to an 18^th finish at Miami, which snapped a three-race streak of Top 10 finishes.

Although he has been a consistent driver with a 12.8 average finish and zero DNFs, Elliott has only led 2 laps on the season and that was in the first race of the year – Daytona 500. Additionally, he has just one Top 5 finish in six races so far. None of this instills confidence for me.

Elliott has been a solid driver at Martinsville in his Cup Series career with one win, seven Top 5s, 12 Top 10s, and a 12.1 average finish in 19 starts. His lone win came in the 2020 fall event. However, he has eight Top 10s in the last 10 races at this track.

I think Elliott’s ceiling is a Top 5, but I feel more confident in the #9 car to finish just inside the Top 10. He was third in this race last year, but 10^th in 2022 and 2023. Additionally, his one Top 5 finish this season has me feeling more comfortable with Elliott finishing in the 7 to 13 range this weekend.   

Joey Logano +800

• Driver Standings: 11
• Wins: 0
• Top 5: 0
• Top 10: 0

Another driver who has a solid resume at Martinsville, but struggling this season to date, is the reigning Cup Series champ Joey Logano. In 32 starts at this venue, Logano has one win, 11 Top 5s, 20 Top 10s, and a 10.8 average finish which is third best among the field.

Logano has not won at this venue since the fall of 2018. However, he does have 11 consecutive Top 10 finishes at this track. He also finished 2^nd in the 2022 and 2023 Cook Out 400 races.

Last weekend at Miami, I stated that Logano was a Top 10 driver at best. The #22 car finished 14^th and dropped three spots in the standings to 11^th overall.

Logano’s best result of the year was 12^th in Atlanta and he has an 18.8 average finish overall with there consecutive results in the 13 to 15 range.

I do think the champ can crack the Top 10 this weekend in Martinsville despite how subpar his season has been so far. Logano has a 5.0 average finish in the last four Cook Out 400 races. With that said, I’m cautiously putting him in the 5 to 10 range this Sunday.

The Best Cook Out 400 Betting Value

The following drivers are my NASCAR picks for the best betting value in the Cook Out 400 based on their previous success at the Martinsville Speedway:

Christopher Bell +1000

• Driver Standings: 5
• Wins: 3
• Top 5: 3
• Top 10: 3

Anytime I can get Christopher Bell at +1000 odds or higher, I consider that excellent betting value especially this season. Bell has won three races this year, which leads the field. However, he does have two finishes of 29^th or worse which includes last weekend in Miami.

Bell’s poor result dropped him three spots in the standings and he now sits 5^th overall despite the three wins. Obviously, he’s first in Playoff points and already locked in to a Playoff spot.

Nevertheless, these drivers don’t rest on their past success. They want to win every weekend. With that said, Bell has won at Martinsville before. That victory came in the 2022 fall event.

Last year, Bell scored a 28.5 average finish in both Martinsville races. He has just three Top 10s in 10 starts and a 16.8 average finish.

If you are just looking at his Martinsville resume, then Bell would be lucky to crack the Top 10. But with his three wins on the year, his +1000 odds do offer some betting value this weekend.

Chase Briscoe +1200

• Driver Standings: 13
• Wins: 0
• Top 5: 2
• Top 10: 2

Chase Briscoe has had a bumpy start to his debut season with Joe Gibbs Racing. He was 4^th in Daytona which got everyone excited about his potential this year, but he then put together four consecutive finishes of 14^th or worse which included a DNF in Phoenix.

However, his rough patch could be over with as the #19 car did finish 4^th at Homestead last weekend. And, now, he heads to Martinsville where Briscoe is one of the top drivers who have yet to pick up a Cup win at this venue.

In eight Martinsville starts, Briscoe has two Top 5s, five Top 10s and a 12.6 average finish. His 15^th in the fall race last year, snapped a five-race streak of Top 10 results. In his last three Cook Out 400 appearances, Briscoe has an 8.0 average finish.

I think Briscoe offers value this weekend as a darkhorse to win the race. It’s going to take some lucky breaks to get into victory lane, but Josh Berry proved this season that sometimes all you need is luck.

Alex Bowman +2200

• Driver Standings: 3
• Wins: 0
• Top 5: 1
• Top 10: 5

If you have followed my NASCAR coverage this year to date, I have been high on Alex Bowman since my preseason predictions.

Over the first six races of the year, Bowman has one Top 5, five Top 10s and a 9.5 average finish. He scored a second-place result last weekend in Miami, as he was beat out by his teammate Larson. Yet, Bowman led 43 laps and had a shot late in the race.

With that said, the #48 car leads the field in Top 10s and is second in average finish. He also has four consecutive Top 9 results.

I think Bowman can keep the Top 10 trend going this weekend even if he only has five Top 10s in 17 starts. Bowman has won at this track (fall 2021) and was 8^th in this race last year. His best Cook Out 400 result was 6^th in 2020.

I feel more comfortable with a small flier on Bowman cracking the Top 10 this Sunday. Nevertheless, his race winning odds do offer some value since he has been one of the most consistent drivers in the field this season to date. With a lucky break or two, Bowman could surprise the field and win this race.

The Top Cook Out 400 Longshot

Brad Keselowski (+2500) has been absolutely terrible this season so far. In six races, his best result was 11^th in Las Vegas. The #6 car has yet to lead a lap, has a 25.0 average finish and 2 DNFs.

This is shaping up to be a year where Keselowski will need to pull off a shocking win to get into the Playoffs. I wouldn’t rule out that Hail Mary this weekend.

In 30 starts, Keselowski has two wins, 12 Top 5s, 18 Top 10s, and a 13.4 average finish. He’s been in a slump at Martinsville over the last few years, but it appears that he broke that slump with a 9^th place finish in the fall race at this venue.

When it comes to longshots, Keselowski’s odds aren’t fantastic. But his season resume to date, makes him a longshot. Additionally, I don’t see anyone with larger odds having a better shot at winning than Keselowski. Let’s make this clear, only place a very small flier on this line.

Cook Out 400 Predictions

My Top 5 drivers this weekend is Blaney, Larson, Byron, Elliott and a crapshoot between Hamlin, Busch, Bowman, and Briscoe.

With that in mind, I think the checkered flag comes down to Blaney, Larson, Elliott and Byron. All three drivers have been solid at Martinsville in recent years. However, I am not comfortable taking Blaney to win because he has struggled this season especially three DNFs in a row.

So, I think we will see another Hendrick battle for the win this weekend just like last week in Miami between Bowman and Larson. This time, we’ll see it occur between Larson, Elliott and Byron.

All three of these drivers have won at Martinsville. Larson and Byron have won the last three Cook Out 400 races. Will see Byron win two in a row? Can Larson win two weeks in a row? Will Elliott get his first win of the season?

I think any of these three scenarios can occur. In fact, the 2024 Cook Out 400 saw all three of these drivers finish in the Top 3. So, I think you can throw a dart here and whichever driver it hits, you can bet on. Any of these three teammates is worthy of a wager.

I took Byron to win last weekend and he let me down. I still need to see Elliott win a race before I can feel confident in wagering on him. So, by process of elimination, I’m taking Larson to win his second race of the season by taking the checkered flag on Sunday.

Bet: Kyle Larson +500

NASCAR Cook Out 400 Prop Bets

The following Cook Out 400 prop bets are courtesy of various sportsbooks like Bet365:

Either To Finish Top 3 at Martinsville

It was really difficult finding a plus-money line for this prop bet that made sense. Every other line that contained drivers with solid Martinsville resumes, all had zero betting value.

With that said, I really like the duo of Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin to surprise pundits and bettors this weekend.

Combined, these two men have seven wins, 37 Top 5s, 47 Top 10s and over 3,800 laps led in 77 appearances at this speedway. Additionally, Hamlin is 2^nd in average finish (10.0) and Busch is 6^th (13.3).

Both men know the ins and outs of short track racing and could lean on that veteran experience to fly under the radar and crack the Top 3. I already have Busch as my Top 10 bet this weekend, so a Top 3 finish isn’t too far off.

Bet: Kyle Busch or Denny Hamlin (+150)

The Best Top 5 Bet for the Cook Out 400

William Byron (+120) is my choice for the best Top 5 bet this weekend. First, every driver above him on the betting boards offered no value with their lines. Second, Byron has been terrific this season as he sits on top of the driver standings and has a 50% Top 5 finishing rate so far.

At Martinsville, Byron won this race last year and in 2022. He also has four Top 5s in his last eight appearances at this venue. I think the #24 car is going to crack the Top 5 and possibly victory lane.

Bet: William Byron (+120)

The Best Top 10 Bet for the Cook Out 400

Kyle Busch (+125) is one of the only drivers with plus-money odds that has any realistic shot at a Top 10 finish. Not to mention, he does have 21 Top 10s in 39 starts which is a 53.8% Top 10 finishing rate.

Busch already has three Top 10s on the season, which shows that he’s performing at a higher level than last year. Busch has won twice at this venue and just 1 DNF. This means that he’s highly skilled on the short tracks because DNFs are handed out like candy.

Normally, I would like more of a slam dunk at the Top 10 prop bet, but this weekend’s options were slim to nil. So, we’re rolling with “Rowdy” and hoping he can turn back the hands of time to score a Top 3 finish.

Bet: Kyle Busch (+125)

Winning Manufacturer

• Chevrolet (+130)
• Ford (+190)
• Toyota (+210)

Toyota is the longshot of this prop bet, largely due to only scoring six wins in the Cook Out 400. Yet, they did win in 2020 and 2021, but those were both accomplished by the retired Martin Truex Jr. Although Denny Hamlin is one of the top Martinsville drivers, I don’t see the #11 car winning.

Ford hasn’t won since Keselowski in 2019, and the retired Clint Bowyer in 2018. I picked Keselowski as my longshot, but I don’t want to double up on Ford this weekend even with Blaney being dominant at this track.

Instead, I’m going with the numbers here. Chevy has the most wins for this race at 29. They have also won three in a row with Byron (twice) and Larson. I think both drivers have a real shot at winning this race.

Bet: Chevrolet (+130)

Team of Race Winner

• Hendrick Motorsports (+150)
• Joe Gibbs Racing (+260)
• Team Penske (+300)
• RFK Racing (+1000)
• 23XL Racing (+1200)
• Trackhouse Racing (+1000)
• Wood Brothers Racing (+2200)
• Richard Childress Racing (+2800)
• Front Row Motorsports (+5000)

Like with the Chevy prop bet above, it’s hard to ignore Hendrick Motorsports in this prop bet. Petty Enterprises has the most all-time spring Martinsville wins with 12. However, Hendrick is second with 11 and is active unlike the former.

Additionally, Hendrick has won three Cook Out 400 races in a row and have the drivers to win again this weekend. Larson and Byron have won the last three races, but Bowman sits third in the standings behind his teammates. Additionally, Elliott is one of the Top 5 odds-on favorites to win on Sunday.

If you want to hedge your bet then go with Joe Gibbs Racing. I did that last weekend and lost out because Hendrick won as I expected. This week, I’m not going to get cute.

Bet: Hendrick Motorsports (+150)