NASCAR Cup Series Championship odds: Betting lines updated after Watkins Glen
The NASCAR Cup Series Championship odds have been updated following this past weekend’s Round of 16 race at Watkins Glen.
While no playoff drivers factored into the final lap battle between Shane van Gisbergen and Chris Buescher, the wheelmen fighting to advance to the Round of 12 had fascinating afternoons in New York. Many were involved in wrecks throughout the day, and it’ll be a hotly-contested race in Bristol this weekend where nobody is truly safe (except Joey Logano) going into Tennessee.
A win would be huge for any wheelmen in the playoffs when the checkered flag waves in Bristol. It remains to be seen who can get the job done, but ahead of this weekend’s race at The Last Great Coliseum, DraftKings Sportsbook has updated their championship odds. Check them out below.
Kyle Larson (+450)
All things considered, Kyle Larson had a solid showing at Watkins Glen. He’s used to being in contention for the win in New York, but the Hendrick Motorsports wheelman ended the second race of the Round of 16 with a P12 finish.
Looking ahead to Bristol, this will be Larson’s 17th time trying to tame the track. He’s always fared well in Tennessee, but the former NASCAR Cup Series champion only has one win at Bristol, so he’ll be looking to add another trophy after his P5 finish in the spring.
Christopher Bell (+450)
Christopher Bell has become a force at all different types of tracks, but one of his calling cards remains road courses. He finished P14 at Watkins Glen, and he’s set himself nicely to advance to the Round of 12, barring a disaster at Bristol this weekend.
While Bell has only raced at Bristol eight times, he’s looked good when the No. 20 has been to the track. Over the course of his time in the Cup Series, Bell has four top tens at Bristol, including his P10 finish from earlier in 2024.
Tyler Reddick (+500)
Tyler Reddick finishing P27 was one of the more surprising results that came out of Watkins Glen. He’s usually a savant on road courses, and runs up front throughout the race, but it wasn’t meant to be on Sunday for the regular season champion.
In what may come as a surprise to some, Reddick hasn’t done well at Bristol in the past. The 23XI Racing wheelman only has one top five at the track, and that came back in 2020. He finished P30 earlier in 2024.
Denny Hamlin (+550)
It looked like another disastrous afternoon was on the docket for Denny Hamlin, but due to some help from other playoff drivers having some trouble, his P23 finish doesn’t look that bad. He’s only six playoff points out of the Round of 12 going into Bristol, his best track.
The numbers don’t lie, as Hamlin prepares for his 36th drive at Bristol on Saturday. He’s won the last two races at the track, and he has four wins at Bristol in total. He’s truly the driver to beat in Tennessee this weekend.
Ryan Blaney (+650)
Nobody had it worse than Ryan Blaney at Watkins Glen. The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion suffered a major blow on Sunday, as Blaney finished dead-last in P38 after a wreck ended his afternoon before it could truly get going.
The good news is Blaney is 29 points above the cut-line, but the bad news is the Cup Series is moving to Bristol this weekend. In 16 tries, Blaney only has two top fives, and he finished P30 at the track earlier this season.
William Byron (+800)
William Byron had a solid car at Watkins Glen, as he looked to go back-to-back at the track after winning in 2023, but a late wreck ruined his afternoon. Now, Byron’s in a bit of a lurch, following a P34 finish in New York.
Byron had a miserable start at Bristol earlier this season, as he finished P35 in Tennessee, but he’s performed well before that. He actually came in third twice over his last four attempts to tame the track.
Chase Elliott (+900)
Chase Elliott has dominated at Watkins Glen in the past, but that wasn’t the case on Sunday in New York. Still, Elliott had a solid points afternoon, as the sport’s most popular wheelman finished P19 in the second race of the Round of 16.
Over the course of his Cup Series career, Elliott won at Bristol once, back in the summer of 2020, when it hosted the All-Star Race. He’s also finished in the top ten four of the last five times the Cup Series has gone to the track, so there’s a precedent for success.
Joey Logano (+1200)
After winning Atlanta to begin the Round of 16, Joey Logano was hoping to make it two-for-two and get to Victory Lane at The Glen. While he had a solid showing throughout the afternoon, he wasn’t able to get the job done, but a P15 finish is nothing to scoff at.
This weekend will mark Logano’s 30th attempt at racing in Bristol. Over that time, he’s won at the track twice, but he hasn’t finished above P20 during his last three times at the track. It’s a good thing he won in Atlanta.
NASCAR Cup Series Championship betting lines continued:
- Alex Bowman (+2500)
- Martin Truex Jr. (+3000)
- Ty Gibbs (+4000)
- Brad Keselowski (+4000)
- Austin Cindric (+6500)
- Daniel Suarez (+9000)
- Chase Briscoe (+10000)
- Harrison Burton (+30000)
As you can see, Kyle Larson remains the favorite from DraftKings Sportsbook, but there’s a myriad of other wheelmen who could rise above and capture this season’s title. We’ll have a clearer picture after Bristol, where four drivers will be eliminated from the playoffs.