NASCAR: There’s a new championship favorite not named Kyle Larson

NASCAR: There's a new championship favorite not named Kyle Larson

As a seasoned NASCAR enthusiast with over two decades of racing under my belt (or at least it feels like that), I’ve witnessed some incredible moments and heart-wrenching disappointments. This year, however, the excitement is palpable! The 2024 championship race is shaping up to be a nail-biter, with two heavyweights leading the pack – Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell.

Kyle Larson from Hendrick Motorsports is the top contender, with odds favoring him, as he advances into the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs aiming for his second title in a span of four years.

2021’s series champion nearly clinched the regular season crown by one point, a title that would have been his if he had driven the No. 5 Chevrolet in every one of the 26 regular season races. He topped all drivers with four race victories and shared the most stage wins (10) across the series. Starting the playoffs, he held 40 playoff points, which was eight more than any other driver.

After a collision during the first playoff game at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Larson dropped to 10th position in the playoff rankings. However, he remains in a favorable spot to move on to the round of 12, as long as the last two matches of the round of 16 at Watkins Glen International and Bristol Motor Speedway don’t lead to another setback for him.

However, there is another driver who is now listed as a co-favorite to win the 2024 championship.

As a gamer, I’ve got my eyes set on the +400 odds over at FanDuel Sportsbook. They’ve got both Larson and Christopher Bell from Joe Gibbs Racing listed in the running. If they pull through, I stand to win $400 with just a $100 bet!

Due to his impressive fourth-place finish in the regular season rankings, along with three victories and ten stage wins during the regular season, Bell started the 4-event, 10-race playoffs with a total of 32 points from the playoff system. He was only behind Larson in terms of these points.

In Atlanta, he came in fourth overall, and currently, he is ranked second in the standings, trailing Ryan Blaney (who’s the current champ from Team Penske) for the top spot.

This season, Bell has trailed only Larson and Denny Hamlin in terms of leading laps, and there were several races where he likely could have claimed victory. Notably, these include the events at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, Nashville Superspeedway, and Richmond Raceway. Remarkably, Bell won five out of six stages during those three competitions.

Year after year, the driver of car number 20 in the Toyota series has been steadily growing into a strong title challenger. Unlike any other competitor, he made it to the Championship 4 not once but twice – in both 2022 and 2023. His remarkable consistency is no longer being overlooked.

Behind Bell and Larson, Hamlin has odds of 500 and Blaney has odds of 600. The regular season champion Tyler Reddick from 23XI Racing is also listed with odds of 650, alongside William Byron from Hendrick Motorsports. Chase Elliott from Hendrick Motorsports is at odds of 1200, followed by Joey Logano from Team Penske who has odds of 1400.

There’s a noticeable decrease in odds from Logano to drivers who share the ninth shortest odds, including Martin Truex Jr. from Joe Gibbs Racing and Brad Keselowski from RFK Racing, both priced at 30-1. Following them is Ty Gibbs from Joe Gibbs Racing, with odds of 40-1.

Longshots for potential victories are Alex Bowman from Hendrick Motorsports at 50:1 odds, Austin Cindric from Team Penske at 60:1, Daniel Suarez from Trackhouse Racing Team at 100:1, Chase Briscoe from Stewart-Haas Racing at 150:1, and Harrison Burton from Wood Brothers Racing at 200:1.

Don’t miss out on the live telecast of Go Bowling at The Glen from Watkins Glen International this coming Sunday, September 15, airing at 3:00 p.m. ET on USA Network. If you haven’t already, start your free trial with FuboTV right away to catch all the action!

2024-09-14 16:02

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