2024 NASCAR Cup Series Betting Odds
By Jay Horne of NASCARWagers.com
In just a few short weeks, NASCAR will fire the engines for the 2024 season which will feature 36 races at NASCAR’s highest level and many more throughout the lower touring series. Back in November, Ryan Blaney capped off an incredible playoff run by winning the 2023 Cup Series Championship. Blaney won twice in the final 6 races and finished in the top two in each of the final 3 races to catapult YRB to his first title. Blaney had been listed at 10-1 betting odds prior to the 2023 season in perhaps the biggest surprise championship winner the sport has witnessed in recent years.
While I personally do not advocate betting on championship futures this early in the season, it is a great time to potentially get the best numbers on the drivers that may race for a championship. Personally, I like to gauge performance trends throughout the early part of the season and then sprinkle championship bets throughout the year in hopes to hit a winner in the aggregate at season’s end. However, I don’t blame any bettors for taking a shot at a few championship hopefuls with the early numbers. As a result, I wanted to provide a breakdown of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series betting odds and provide a few thoughts on those drivers that appear to have solid betting value going into the season.
2024 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Odds
| 2024 Cup Series Championship | Odds |
|---|
| Ryan Blaney | +550 |
| William Byron | +575 |
| Kyle Larson | +575 |
| Denny Hamlin | +725 |
| Christopher Bell | +850 |
| Chase Elliott | +850 |
| Martin Truex Jr | +850 |
| Kyle Busch | +1400 |
| Joey Logano | +1400 |
| Tyler Reddick | +1600 |
| Ross Chastain | +1600 |
| Chris Buescher | +1800 |
| Brad Keselowski | +1800 |
| Ty Gibbs | +2800 |
| Bubba Wallace | +3300 |
| Alex Bowman | +4000 |
| Josh Berry | +5000 |
| Daniel Suarez | +6600 |
| Chase Briscoe | +6600 |
| John Hunter Nemechek | +10000 |
| Erik Jones | +10000 |
| Austin Dillon | +10000 |
| Ryan Preece | +15000 |
| Austin Cindric | +15000 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr | +15000 |
| Michael McDowell | +20000 |
| Daniel Hemric | +30000 |
| Zane Smith | +30000 |
| Justin Haley | +30000 |
| Carson Hocevar | +30000 |
| Harrison Burton | +50000 |
| Corey Lajoie | +50000 |
| Todd Gilliland | +50000 |
Betting Favorites:
For all of the drivers listed at less than 10-1 betting odds, I consider those 7 drivers the “heavy” betting favorites going into the 2024 campaign. We could mark solid arguments why most of the drivers in this group could make a championship caliber run this year. However, the truth is the betting odds for most of these drivers are downright bad and do not provide any value. William Byron, Denny Hamlin, and Christopher Bell are all looking to win the first championship of their careers. Meanwhile, Martin Truex Jr is on the heels of a disappointing end to his 2023 campaign and is in the twilight years of his career and Chase Elliott is coming off the worst season of his young career. Needless to say, I see more risk than reward with everyone in this group with the exception of Kyle Larson who remains the top talent in the sport.
Mid-Range Options:
For the drivers listed at 14-1 odds through the guys listed at less than 50-1 betting odds, I consider this your “mid-range” betting options. While we may be tempted to look at the appetizing betting value of guys like Alex Bowman and Josh Berry, they are not realistic options to emerge as a potential championship contender. However, I do believe we have some potential contenders in the first half of this mid-range group. Kyle Busch and Tyler Reddick remain two of the top talents in the sport, however consistency is the main concern with both drivers when the thick of the playoffs begin. Likewise, we could make a sound argument that Ross Chastain could continue to improve this season and be a legitimate championship contender.
With those things in mind, I am gravitating towards drivers like Joey Logano and Chris Buescher as the best value bets in this particular group. Logano is just one year removed from winning his 2nd Cup Series title and is getting very valuable odds because of the #22 team’s performance during the 2nd half of the 2023 campaign. However, Ryan Blaney proved that Team Penske still has the speed and the entire Ford camp should benefit from the Mustang Dark Horse which will debut this season. If we see improvement from the Ford teams overall, Logano immediately becomes one of the outright favorites in the garage. At 14-1 odds, I believe Logano has the best betting value on the board. Meanwhile, Chris Buescher had a breakout season in 2023 with 3 victories. Buescher accomplished these victories while RFK Racing continued to gain momentum. With another off-season in the books, Buescher is another driver that could take another step forward this year and be in the thick of things by year’s end.
Long Shot Options:
If we are being serious, we probably have a better chance of winning the lottery as opposed to picking a long shot championship winner. The reason I make that statement is not from an angle of pessimism but simply based on the fact that long shot championship winners do not happen in the Cup Series. Even when you look at drivers that were considered championship “upsets” like Martin Truex in 2017, Brad Keselowski in 2012, and even Kurt Busch back in 2004, the betting odds on all of those drivers were less than 15-1 prior to the season. As a result, I can’t truly advocate even the smallest plays for drivers in this range. However if we are just having fun, I would say Austin Dillon and Carson Hocevar have much higher ceilings than where current betting odds suggests.
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