This is the moment online NASCAR bettors have been waiting for: The 2021 NASCAR Cup Championship Series is about to conclude in Phoenix, and one of four potential title finalists will be crowned the king.
All 2021 NASCAR Cup Series at Phoenix betting picks aim to answer the same question: Can Kyle Larson finish the job as the favorite? He'll have his work cut out for him. Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., and Chase Elliott are each trying to unseat him. But fear not, because we've got the inside scoop on who deserves to be the focus of NASCAR Cup Championship picks.
Let's begin with the latest NASCAR betting odds, courtesy of BetOnline:
| Driver |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Larson | +165 | +165 | +165 |
| Chase Elliott | +250 | +250 | +250 |
| Denny Hamlin | +275 | +275 | +275 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | +350 | +350 | +350 |
Remember to double-check these NASCAR odds at BetOnline and other top online sportsbooks before settling on a NASCAR Cup Championship Series prediction. This information can shift between now and the opening lap.
It's also important to remember that the NASCAR Cup Championship winner can be different from the victor of the NASCAR Cup Championship Series race at Phoenix. More than three dozen total drivers are looking to pick up a victory and laying odds. We've got picks for both.
2021 NASCAR Cup Championship Series Predictions
- When: Sunday, November 7
- Start Time: 3 p.m. EST
- Where: Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona
- Race Length: 312 laps (312 miles)
2021 NASCAR Championship Pick
We'll start with our 2021 NASCAR Championship prediction. This is the foremost individual honor any NASCAR driver can pick up. And after months of races and weeks of playoff contests, the field has finally been narrowed to four contenders.
You can now throw the NASCAR standings out the window. Whichever of these four drivers finishes in the best position will be named champion. It's why they are the four favorites to win the race outright; they have the most at stake.
Kyle Larson (+165) remains the oddsmakers' overall favorite as he has for much of the season. This is at once a testament to his popularity and the year he's put together. He has nine first-place finishes under his belt and is working off a recent streak of three consecutive victories. No one else on the NASCAR circuit has more than four first-place ribbons on their 2021 resume.
One of the two drivers with four victories: Martin Truex Jr. (+350). He has the longest odds of this quartet, with Chase Elliott (+250) and Denny Hamlin (+275) both in front of him, but he might be undervalued. He went through a dry spell for a while, but he snagged first place in the AutoParts 400 back in September and is known to drive extremely well on flat tracks like the one at Phoenix Raceway.
Still, Truex is most dangerous on the shorter courses. He is absolutely a threat to win, but 312 laps will demand certain stamina he's yet to show on a consistent basis. Larson, on the other hand, fits the bill. Granted, he is the only one of these four without a prior first-place finish at the Phoenix Raceway. But he doesn't need to grab first place. He just needs to hold off the rest of them, and he's been driving well enough the past month—not to mention all year—to put a bow on this championship.
OSB Prediction: Kyle Larson (+165)
2021 NASCAR Phoenix Race Prediction
Here are the NASCAR Cup Series at Phoenix odds for all 39 drivers participating in the final race of the 2021 season:
| Driver to Win | |
|---|---|
| Kyle Larson | +180 |
| Chase Elliott | +350 |
| Denny Hamlin | +400 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | +450 |
| Kyle Busch | +1200 |
| William Byron | +1600 |
| Joey Logano | +2200 |
| Alex Bowman | +2200 |
| Ryan Blaney | +2500 |
| Brad Keselowski | +2500 |
| Kevin Harvick | +2800 |
| Christopher Bell | +4000 |
| Kurt Busch | +5000 |
| Tyler Reddick | +8000 |
| Aric Almirola | +10000 |
| Austin Dillon | +25000 |
| Matt DiBenedetto | +25000 |
| Ross Chastain | +25000 |
| Daniel Suarez | +30000 |
| Chris Buescher | +30000 |
| Bubba Wallace | +30000 |
| Erik Jones | +30000 |
| Chase Briscoe | +30000 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | +50000 |
| Cole Custer | +5000 |
| Ryan Newman | +50000 |
| Michael McDowell | +100000 |
| Ryan Preece | +100000 |
| Corey Lajoie | +100000 |
| Anthony alfredo | +100000 |
| Quin Houff | +100000 |
| Cody Ware | +100000 |
| BJ McLeod | +100000 |
| Joey Gase | +100000 |
| Josh Bilicki | +100000 |
| Justin Haley | +100000 |
| Timmy Hill | +100000 |
| Garrett Smithley | +100000 |
| JJ Yeley | +100000 |
The question everyone needs to be asking: Will one of the four championship seekers—Kyle Larson (+180), Chase Elliott (+350), Denny Hamlin (+400), and Martin Truex Jr. (+450)—win this race outright, or will someone else sneak into the victor's circle? Most will gravitate towards one of the aforementioned four. That makes sense.
Given the course, however, we find ourselves taking a long, thorough look at Alex Bowman (+2200). Make no mistake, this is not a shot in the dark. He joins Larson and Truex as the only three drivers with at least four first-place finishes on their 2021 stat sheet. That's a big deal. His results may be a little feast or famine; he has just eight top-five placements. But drivers with first-place ceilings deserve our attention.
Plus, like Truex, Bowman is known to navigate flatter, smoother courses extremely well. Unlike Truex, though, he specializes in holding leads during races that span fewer than 350 miles. That's part of why he just won last week at the Xfinity 500, a race with a length under 300 miles.
Investing in Bowman equates to stepping out on a limb. But we like his value at 22-to-1 odds. So while Larson should be crowned champion in the end, we're looking for Bowman to take home first place in Sunday's race.
OSB Prediction: Alex Bowman (+2200)
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