NASCAR’s Sprint Cup series takes a well-deserved week off to start preparing for the final push towards this year’s Chase. Here is a rundown of the current point leaders, as well as the NASCAR odds favorites to take home this year's cup.
There are 19 point races in the books and
seven more to go before the start of NASCAR’s 10-race playoff, commonly known
as the Chase, to determine this season’s Sprint Cup champion.
The
following is a look at Bovada’s updated betting odds for a few of the top contenders to
take home this year’s title.
Jimmie Johnson 3/1
The
five-time Sprint Cup champion has put himself in perfect position to recapture
the title that he lost last season. He has posted nine top-five finishes in the
first 19 races including victories at Darlington and Dover. Just for good
measure, the No. 48 car also won this season’s non-point All-Star Race at
Charlotte. Johnson is currently in fourth place in the Sprint Cup standings
with 656 points and is just 51 points out of the lead after last week’s
seventh-place finish at New Hampshire.
Tony Stewart 6/1
The
defending Sprint Cup champion started this season with a bang by winning two of
the first five races. He remained relatively quiet after that point, but has
returned to championship form with four top-three finishes in his last six
races including a victory in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona two weeks ago. The
No. 14 car is currently in seventh place in the standings with 618 points. In
19 races this season, Stewart has finished in the top five eight times and is
just one of two drivers with three checkered flags to his credit on the year.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 7/1
NASCAR’s
most popular driver is finally living-up to his potential with one of his best
overall performances in recent memory. He is currently second in the standings
with 691 points and just 16 points out of first. The No. 88 car has already
recorded eight top-five finishes this season, but none more important than its
victory at Michigan. This victory snapped a four-year dry spell for Junior that
should clearly help open the door to a few more wins down the stretch. The main
thing that adds value to these odds is the consistency this team has shown all
season long. It has only finished out of the top 10 in four of the first 19
races.
Denny Hamlin 7/1
Hamlin’s
second-place finish last Sunday at New Hampshire vaulted him to fifth in the
standings with 628 points, which leaves him 79 points out of the lead. The No.
11 car has already finished first at Phoenix and Kansas and placed in the top
five in seven other races. This return to the form that saw Hamlin win eight
races in 2010 adds tremendous value to his odds. He went right down to the wire
with Johnson that season but lost the title in the final race. Look for a
similar push this season from a team that knows exactly what it takes to win a
championship.
Matt Kenseth 8/1
The best value on the board could be with the
current Sprint Cup point leader. Kenseth remains at the top of the standings
with 707 points as a result of nine top-five finishes including a victory in
this year’s Daytona 500. The No. 17 car is coming off a 13
th-place
finish in last week’s race, which was just the second time in its last 10 races
that it failed to finish in the top 10. If Kenseth can maintain this type of
consistency over the next seven races, he should be able to hold on to the top
spot heading into the Chase, which would add even more value to these odds.