🏁 Cracker Barrel 400 Predictions & Odds 2026: NASCAR Picks, Props, Best Bets at Nashville
After a chaotic, rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Music City for the Cracker Barrel 400. Let's dive into my NASCAR predictions at Nashville.
The 2026 Cracker Barrel 400 is scheduled for Sunday, May 31, at 7 p.m. ET (Amazon Prime), but with storms in the forecast, the start time and length of the race are subject to change.
📈 NASCAR odds at Nashville: Cracker Barrel 400
Latest NASCAR odds at BetMGM as of Friday, May 29; subject to change.
| Driver | Odds |
|---|---|
| Denny Hamlin | +375 |
| Tyler Reddick | +625 |
| Christopher Bell | +650 |
| Ryan Blaney | +725 |
| Kyle Larson | +825 |
| Chase Briscoe | +1300 |
| William Byron | +1400 |
| Chase Elliott | +1400 |
| Ty Gibbs | +1400 |
| Carson Hocevar | +2200 |
| Bubba Wallace | +2200 |
| Joey Logano | +2500 |
| Chris Buescher | +3000 |
| Ross Chastain | +3000 |
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💡 How to bet NASCAR at Nashville
Nashville Superspeedway is a 1.33-mile intermediate oval. With a concrete surface, it doesn't chew through tires as much as, say, Darlington. Still, the Cup Series will use the same horsepower and tire package that we saw last weekend at Charlotte, marking a departure from last year's use of the 670-horsepower package.
As the only concrete oval longer than a mile on the circuit, Nashville is a unique venue. No true comparator track exists, and the change in horsepower and tire package makes leaning on previous year's results even more difficult. That leaves us to target drivers who have excelled on high-speed intermediates (and Dover, another concrete oval) this year while performing well here in the past.
🏆 Best bet to win the Cracker Barrel 400
Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing (No. 20)
- Christopher Bell to win: +750 via FanDuel (Xu)
- Christopher Bell vs. Denny Hamlin: +125 via bet365 (Xu)
Bad luck, thy name is Christopher Bell. Although the entire Toyota camp has brought dominant speed to the high-speed intermediates every week, Bell has little to show for it. He led 47 laps at Kansas only to get stuck a lap down and finish 20th. Likewise, he crashed out at Texas after leading 22. He also finished second at Charlotte after leading 44 and fourth at Las Vegas after leading 31.
Bell and Hamlin were the only two drivers to lead double-digit laps across all four high-speed intermediate events. He suffered more bad luck at the All-Star Race in Dover, but Nashville has been a solid track for him. Bell has three top 10s in the four races here since 2022, including a dominant 2024 performance in which he led 131 laps and won both stages only to crash late.
As one of the best qualifiers in the field, you'll want to get some exposure to Bell before they rack them up this weekend. Should it get rained out, Bell's runner-up finish at Charlotte will help him start near the front, too. Lock him in to win outright (+750 at FanDuel) and get the better of Hamlin (+125 at bet365) before the odds shift in his direction.
📡 SBR Edge
How bad has Bell's luck been this season? Despite leading 369 laps through 13 races, Bell has yet to record a win. He led 282 all of last year but managed to win four races. Bell is on pace for his second-best season by laps led - let's take advantage of getting him at discounted prices where and when we can.
🔥 More NASCAR picks & prop bets
Weather: it can produce strange winners while robbing the best car of a win. Last week saw Daniel Suarez take advantage of conditions to score a victory despite leading just 17 laps. While I had tried to target a few drivers who could pull off something similar, Suarez wasn't on my card.
This week, the possibility of bad weather again looms over race weekend, with precipitation and thunderstorms in the forecast for Friday through Monday. While the drivers below won't need help to run near the front, they may use an assist from Mother Nature to end up victorious.
Ryan Preece, RFK Racing (No. 60)
- Ryan Preece to win: +7000 via DraftKings (Xu)
- Ryan Preece top 10: +320 via DraftKings (Xu)
Last weekend should've reminded everyone that all three RFK Racing cars can win on a high-speed intermediate, and, at a minimum, will run near the top 10. Although he got caught up in a late accident, Preece ran in the top 5 early and looked faster than his teammates, Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski. Yet Preece remains vastly underpriced relative to those two.
Preece will break through for a Cup Series win eventually, and Nashville might just be that spot. Preece won back-to-back races in the Truck Series here in 2021 and 2022. He even piloted a bad No. 41 Ford to fourth here in 2024. Although RFK Racing has underperformed here historically, the team has figured out the 750-horsepower package, which will give them an edge this year.
Erik Jones, Legacy Motor Club (No. 43)
- Erik Jones to win: +9000 via DraftKings (Xu)
- Erik Jones top 10: +400 via DraftKings (Xu)
Don't sleep on That Jones Boy. While he is +4000 at BetMGM, you'll find him at +9000 on DraftKings. Jones has piloted his unimpressive No. 43 to a top 10 in two of four NextGen races here, not including an 11th-place result in 2022. He also scored a top 10 at Darlington, which used this package for the first time this year, to go with 12th at Texas and 13th at Charlotte. If the No. 43 team can figure out this concrete oval like they did Dover, where Jones finished third, expect to see him near the front.
- Ryan Preece to win: +7000 via DraftKings (Xu)
- [Any other props for this driver]
Last weekend should've reminded everyone that all three RFK Racing cars can win on a high-speed intermediate, and, at a minimum, will run near the top 10. Although he got caught up in a late accident, Preece ran in the top 5 early and looked faster than his teammates, Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski. Yet Preece remains vastly underpriced relative to those two.
💰 My NASCAR bets at Nashville
Here are the actual NASCAR bets I'm making for the Cracker Barrel 400 with the best odds from our best sports betting sites for Sunday's race at Nashville.
| Best bets | Best odds | Units → profit |
|---|---|---|
| Christopher Bell to win | +750 via FanDuel | 0.5u -> 3.75u |
| Christopher Bell vs. Denny Hamlin | +125 via bet365 | 1.25u -> 1.575u |
| Ryan Preece to win | +7000 via DraftKings | 0.25u -> 17.5u |
| Ryan Preece top 10 | +320 via DraftKings | 0.625u -> 2u |
| Erik Jones to win | +9000 via DraftKings | 0.25u -> 22.5u |
| Erik Jones top 10 | +400 via DraftKings | 0.625u -> 2.5u |
Total wagered: 3.5 units | Max profit: 23.3 units
🏆 Past NASCAR winners at Nashville
Here is a list of every NASCAR race winner at Nashville in the Next Gen era:
| Race | Winner | Team | Laps led |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | 139 |
| 2024 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | 9 |
| 2023 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | 99 |
| 2022 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | 42 |
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📊 Cracker Barrel 400 odds
Odds provided by BetMGM sportsbook.
| Driver | Opening Odds | Current Odds | Ticket % | Handle % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joey Logano | +3000 | +2200 | 10.4% | 19.4% |
| Denny Hamlin | +425 | +425 | 9.3% | 29.2% |
| Carson Hocevar | +2000 | +2200 | 7.4% | 4.4% |
| Tyler Reddick | +500 | +525 | 5.8% | 6.9% |
| Ryan Blaney | +650 | +675 | 5.8% | 4.6% |
| Kyle Larson | +650 | +725 | 4.9% | 3.7% |
| Chase Briscoe | +1100 | +1100 | 4.4% | 3.2% |
| Erik Jones | +12500 | +10000 | 4.4% | 2.3% |
| Christopher Bell | +600 | +600 | 3.6% | 8.3% |
| Shane van Gisbergen | +15000 | +10000 | 3.3% | 1.7% |
| Ross Chastain | +1600 | +2500 | 3.0% | 1.4% |
| Zane Smith | +15000 | +10000 | 3.0% | 0.9% |
| Chase Elliott | +1000 | +1200 | 2.7% | 2.6% |
| Austin Dillon | +12500 | +12500 | 2.7% | 1.6% |
| Bubba Wallace | +1800 | +2000 | 2.5% | 1.0% |
| Chris Buescher | +2500 | +2500 | 2.5% | 0.7% |
| Daniel Suarez | +5000 | +10000 | 2.5% | 2.5% |
| William Byron | +1000 | +1200 | 2.2% | 0.8% |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | +25000 | +35000 | 2.2% | 0.6% |
| Josh Berry | +10000 | +12500 | 1.4% | 0.5% |
| Connor Zilisch | +15000 | +15000 | 1.4% | 0.4% |
| A.J. Allmendinger | +15000 | +20000 | 1.4% | 0.2% |
| Austin Hill | +20000 | +25000 | 1.4% | 0.3% |
| Ty Gibbs | +1300 | +1300 | 1.1% | 0.4% |
| Austin Cindric | +6000 | +6000 | 1.1% | 0.3% |
| Michael McDowell | +15000 | +15000 | 1.1% | 0.3% |
| John H. Nemechek | +20000 | +25000 | 1.1% | 0.3% |
| Cody Ware | +50000 | +100000 | 1.1% | 0.1% |
| Brad Keselowski | +3500 | +3500 | 0.8% | 0.1% |
| Alex Bowman | +6000 | +6000 | 0.8% | 0.1% |
| Todd Gilliland | +35000 | +35000 | 0.8% | 0.2% |
| Ty Dillon | +50000 | +75000 | 0.8% | 0.1% |
| Cole Custer | +50000 | +75000 | 0.8% | 0.1% |
| Ryan Preece | +5000 | +5000 | 0.5% | 0.5% |
| Corey Heim | +5000 | +6000 | 0.5% | 0.3% |
| Riley Herbst | +15000 | +20000 | 0.5% | 0.2% |
| Noah Gragson | +25000 | +35000 | 0.5% | 0.1% |
📺 How to watch NASCAR at Nashville: 2026 Cracker Barrel 400
- Date: Sunday, May 31
- Time: 7 p.m. ET
- Location: Nashville Superspeedway (Lebanon, Tenn.)
- TV: Amazon Prime
- Track: 1.33-mile intermediate oval (300 laps, 400 miles)
- Stages: Stage 1 (85 laps), Stage 2 (95 laps), final stage (115 laps)
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