NASCAR Insider backs Chase Elliott for second win of the season ahead of Denny Hamlin

Veteran NASCAR reporter Bob Pockrass has revealed his pre-race picks for the YellaWood 500, backing Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott to win the second race in the Round of 12 at Talladega Superspeedway.

In addition to Elliott, Pockrass has backed Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman, reigning champion Ryan Blaney, and Michael McDowell to finish inside the top five. He named Austin Dillon as the longshot contender for victory.

Ahead of the YellaWood 500 on October 6, Bob Pockrass wrote on X (previously Twitter):

"My Cup pick for today at Talladega is Chase Elliott ... top-5: Elliott Hamlin Bowman Blaney McDowell ... longshot: Dillon."

Chase Elliott has recorded two wins at the famed 2.66-mile oval and has three top-10 finishes in his last five starts at the oval. Elliott's worst finish at Talladega in the next-gen era is 15th, recorded earlier this season. Denny Hamlin has struggled on drafting tracks in the next-gen era but continues to perform well in the fall race at Talladega, with an impressive 4.0 average finish in the last eight years (fall race).

Alex Bowman's record at Talladega may not be as strong as some of the other picks, but he finished inside the top five earlier this season and has momentum on his side. Ryan Blaney, 3x winner on the track, is consistently a threat at Superspeedways, finishing in the top two in three of his last four starts at Talladega.

Bob Pockrass' final pick, Michael McDowell, was in contention to win the Spring race at Talladega until he triggered the Big One on the final lap. This Sunday, McDowell will lead the field to the green flag, starting on pole position alongside Austin Cindric.

The 188-lap (60-60-68) YellaWood 500 is scheduled for this Sunday, October 6, at 2:00 PM ET. Catch the action live on NBC, MRN, and SiriusXM.

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Chase Elliott elaborates on the factors behind Talladega success

Chase Elliott, a two-time winner at Talladega Superspeedway, has earned the most points in the Cup Series at the track since 2022. Elliott credited the success of the #9 Hendrick Motorsports team at Talladega to a combination of factors, emphasizing that luck has played a significant role.

Elliott stressed that being in the right place at the right time is crucial for achieving good results at Talladega. After getting caught up in a wreck at Daytona, the #9 Hendrick Motorsports driver is hoping for better fortunes at Talladega.

"A lot of it’s just being lucky at different times, or being in the right place at the right time or wherever it may be. We’ve been on the fortunate side of the speedway stuff I feel like in general, all the way up ’til Daytona for the summer race, so hopefully we can get some of that back. But yeah, we were certainly due for a bad one. That’s just kind of the way it works," he told NASCAR.com

"We’ll try to put ourselves in positions that we feel are most promising to have a good finish, and outside of that, it’s out my hands, so just try to make the best choices I can based on what’s put in front of me and hope it goes your way," he added.

Chase Elliott enters the Talladega race four points above the cutline and lines up 11th on the grid for the YellaWood 500.