The seventh race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series circuit season remains east on Sunday, heading to the iconic short-track Martinsville Speedway for the Cook Out 400.
Tyler Reddick grabbed his fourth victory in just the sixth race of the season last Sunday at Darlington, holding off Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney.
Denny Hamlin captured the checkered flag in last spring’s NASCAR race at Martinsville, while William Byron took the fall race at this track. The two will start 1-2 in Sunday's race.
Let’s look at our NASCAR Cook Out 400 predictions and picks for Sunday's spring race at Martinsville Speedway, the iconic paperclip short track, starting at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
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NASCAR Cook Out 400 Picks, Payouts, Favorites for PrizePicks
Denny Hamlin is the current favorite to win the Cook Out 400, returning a 4x payout on PrizePicks Team Picks if he wins outright.
Ryan Blaney is right behind with a 4.76x payout if he wins, via PrizePicks Team Picks.
Payouts indicate real-money earnings if a Cook Out 400 prediction is correct; for example, 4x on a $100 entry would pay out $400 on PrizePicks Team Picks.
- Denny Hamlin – 4x
- Ryan Blaney – 4.76x
- Kyle Larson – 5.55x
- William Byron – 5.88x
- Chase Elliott – 7.14x
- Joey Logano – 8.33x
- Christopher Bell – 9.09x
- Ty Gibbs – 11.11x
- Tyler Reddick – 14.28x
- Chase Briscoe – 16.66x
- Bubba Wallace – 16.66x
Team Picks data is live as of writing and is subject to change.
2026 NASCAR Cook Out 400 Stats to Know for Sunday, March 29
Here are some stats and figures to get you set for the Cook Out 400 on Sunday, including insights on our Cook Out 400 prediction.
- Martinsville is the shortest track on the NASCAR Cup circuit at .526 miles, with drivers set for 400 laps on Sunday.
- This is the first of two races at Martinsville Speedway this season, with the second event coming on November 1.
- Blaney has won two of the last five races at Martinsville, while finishing Top 5 in six of the past eight at this track. The payout for Blaney to finish in the Top 5 is 1.58x on PrizePicks.
- Reddick not only has never won at Martinsville, but owns only two Top 10 finishes in 12 races at this venue.
- Joey Logano has finished in the Top 10 in 13 straight Martinsville events. His payout to finish Top 10 on Sunday is 1.42x payout on PrizePicks.
- Ty Gibbs seeks his fifth straight Top 6 finish at Martinsville, but has never cracked the Top 10 in seven career races at the short-track.
- In the last two years, Chase Elliott closed second, third twice, and fourth at Martinsville. He sits at 2x to finish Top 5 on Sunday.
2026 Cook Out 400 Picks & Driver Predictions
Here are four top Cook Out 400 predictions to target on Sunday. Key PrizePicks player projections are headlined by four drivers: Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, William Byron, and Carson Hocevar.
To calculate fantasy points, 0.25 points are received for a lap led, 0.45 points for fastest lap, while the race winner picks up 45 points, second place grabs 42 points, and that number decreases by one for each descending finish.
Denny Hamlin Pick: 84.5 Fantasy Score, 4x to Win
- Hamlin won at this track last March for the first time since 2015.
- In the last seven Martinsville races, Hamlin finished in the Top 5 five times. He is listed at 1.44x payout to finish in the Top 5 on PrizePicks.
- Hamlin seeks his second victory of the season after winning at Las Vegas two weeks ago. It marked only his second Top 5 finish in eight 2026 races.
- In his last four races on short tracks, Hamlin closed 24th or lower three times.
Kyle Larson Pick: 64.5 Fantasy Score, 5.55x to Win
- Larson has been nearly automatic to finish Top 5 at Martinsville, doing so in six of the last seven events.
- Larson has a 1.88x payout for a Top 5 finish at Martinsville on PrizePicks Team Picks.
- His last victory at Martinsville came in March 2023, although he started that race 19th. He begins Sunday’s race 13th.
- Larson has yet to win a race this season, coming off a 32nd-place finish at Darlington last week.
- He has finished Top 10 in eight straight races since last season after closing 30th or lower; he has a 1.4x payout on PrizePicks for a top 10 finish.
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William Byron Pick: 41.5 Laps Led, 5.88x to Win
- Byron will start second on Sunday, behind only Hamlin.
- The Hendrick Motorsports driver has a 2.85x payout for a top 3 finish on PrizePicks Team Picks.
- In three of the last four Martinsville races, Byron has led at least 51 laps.
- In last September’s race at this track, he was in control with 304 laps led on his way to his third Martinsville victory.
- Byron is off three consecutive Top 8 finishes, but has led for only 28 laps this season.
- It has been feast or famine for Byron on short tracks. He led for at least 50 laps four times in the last 11 events, but did not lead once in the other seven races.
Carson Hocevar Pick: 21.5 Fantasy Score, 22.22x to Win
- Hocevar will start in seventh at Martinsville on Sunday.
- Hocevar is fresh off his second fourth-place finish of the season, coming last week at Darlington.
- He has not seen success at Martinsville, with his top finish being 17th in five events.
- In 15 career races at short tracks, Hocevar finished Top 10 three times.
- Since joining the circuit in 2023, Hocevar has closed Top 10 in consecutive races only once.
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Make NASCAR Cook Out 400 Predictions on PrizePicks
Tyler Reddick keeps rolling through the first six races, with an unbelievable four wins, but can he break through at Martinsville for the first time?
There’s never been a better time to add to the excitement of every NASCAR lap for the race at Martinsville than with PrizePicks.
There are hundreds of player stat projections on the NASCAR board for every race; just pick at least two driver stat projections to build your Lineup on PrizePicks. Or, make your picks on race winners, top 5, and top 10 finishes on Team Picks, now available in 35 states!
Check out the Playbook throughout the season for more NASCAR picks, predictions, and news every day.
