But first thing is first, let’s take a gander at which drivers are currently favored to win the 2022 Cup Series at the most popular NASCAR betting sites online. Here are the top betting candidates (so far):
| Driver |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Kyle Larson | +350 | +350 |
| Chase Elliott | +650 | +650 |
| William Byron | +800 | +800 |
| Denny Hamlin | +800 | +800 |
| Ryan Blaney | +900 | +900 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | +950 | +950 |
| Kyle Busch | +1000 | +1000 |
| Ross Chastain | +1000 | +1000 |
2022 NASCAR Season Recap
Before we get into our own predictions, it would help for us to recap what’s already happened with the 2022 NASCAR season. With the conclusion of Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 last weekend, almost one-third of the regular season is in the books. Eight races have come and gone, while 18 remain on the schedule.
As it stands, the Cup Series is a three-way battle between Chase Elliott (288 points), Ryan Blaney (285), and William Byron (276). Though among the trio, only Byron has a first-place finish. In fact, he has two — the QuickTrip 500 in Atalanta and the aforementioned Pain Relief 400 in Virginia. Byron is also the only driver with multiple wins this season. Other winners include the likes of Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson, and Denny Hamlin, among others.
The big takeaway this far into the season is the level of parity across NASCAR. As we said, it’s been a slew of one-time winners outside of Byron. Moreover, every winner but Hamlin has been under the age of 30 thus far. Maybe experience doesn’t matter that much this season? Maybe not because of the new Next Gen car, which is new to everyone.
We anticipate NASCAR to remain rather unpredictable until we see repeat tracks used this season. The first case of that isn’t until July 10 when the Atlanta Motor Speedway is ran for a second time this season. Racing teams, drivers, and bettors alike will struggle to find any sort of edge until then because of the “newness” of everything. But hey, that’s not stopping us from betting, allow us to explain next.
2022 NASCAR Betting Advice
Here’s some overarching NASCAR betting advice during this point of the season: temper the size of your bets — not only for futures wagers on who’ll win the Cup Series but for individual races too. There’s simply too much unknown right to be dishing out big bets (even if you have a sizable bankroll to play with). Like we said earlier, we’d wait it out until repeat tracks start happening. By then, we’ll have a better “feel” for things. Nonetheless, here’s some advice to carry you:
Ride With Hendrick Motorsports
It’s still early, but the implications are that team Hendrick Motorsports have adjusted to the brand-new Next Gen car the best among all teams. We say that with confidence given they have three drivers currently in the top-six of the Cup Series leaderboard — the aforementioned Elliot and Byron, who are in first and third, respectively, and then there’s Alex Bowman in sixth. Perhaps most surprisingly for Hendrick is that the reigning Cup Series champ, Kyle Larson is only in 12th-place overall. But to his credit, Larson does have a win this year.
Nonetheless, we don’t think it’s a mere coincidence that Hendrick has been the most consistent team in the circuit. They have a history of success in this sport, and many of it recent. When NASCAR starts doing “double duty” at tracks, we sense Hendrick drivers will be poised to take advantage most. When picking future winners — whether it’s single races or the whole Cup — we’d start with Hendrick drivers.
Among them, we’re liking Byron the most. Not only because of his two wins so far, but he’s also finished in the top-5 on four different occasions — second-highest (behind Chastain only). We love picking drivers that are always “in the thick of it” and that’s Byron to a tee right now.
Don’t Count Out Truex Jr.
Before a bad performance at the most recent race (he placed 22nd overall), Truex Jr. was sitting in third place in the Cup Series (he’s seventh now). Moreover, Truex also had the third-best average finish in the series up until that event, which we sense is a blip in the radar more than anything else. He’s seemingly been the only “old guy” in the circuit that’s been able to adjust to the Next Gen car and we think that’s worth respecting as a bettor— especially for a proven clutch-time driver like Truex (he hasn’t finished outside the top-10 at season’s end since 2016).
There’s a lot of talk about the future of Truex Jr. and Joe Gibbs Racing lately. Ty Gibbs, the grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, is eventually going to get called up and it may or may not be in Truex’s spot. Cause of that, bettors and fans alike are starting to overlook Truex — but we’re sure not. You don’t underestimate a driver that's won at least four races each of the past five years, sans one time. At +950 odds, we love the value of Truex Jr. to win the whole Cup right now.
How To Bet On NASCAR?
The NASCAR season is filled with betting opportunities from now til October. To get in on the fun, then check out one of the top online sportsbooks we’ve listed below. They have all the popular sports bets on NASCAR you need — individual races, props, futures, etc. The table underneath has up-to-date sportsbooks reviews and details on what bonuses are currently on the table.
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