Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin are favored to win the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series championship, according to odds released after NASCAR unveiled the championship format.
Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin are favored to win the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series championship, according to odds released after NASCAR unveiled the championship format.
© Mark J. Rebilas | 2025 Nov 2 Larson and Hamlin lead championship hopefuls Christopher Bell and William Byron and past NASCAR Cup Series champions Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott.
One shock favorite is Connor Zilisch, who came up short of winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship in a very dominant 2025 season. Zilisch has the 10th-best chance at the championship, oddsmakers project.
NASCAR unveiled the championship format Jan. 12. The NASCAR Cup Series will go back to a Chase format in 2026 with some different rules than the past.
Here are the betting odds for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series championship:
2026 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Betting Odds
- Kyle Larson +450
- Denny Hamlin +475
- Christopher Bell +500
- William Byron +550
- Ryan Blaney +625
- Chase Elliott +950
- Chase Briscoe +1100
- Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano +1800
- Connor Zilisch +2200
- Ross Chastain +3300
- Ty Gibbs +4500
- Chris Buescher, Carson Hocevar, Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman +5000
- Kyle Busch, Josh Berry +6000
- Brad Keselowski, Austin Cindric +6500
- Ryan Preece +8000
- Shane van Gisbergen +10000
- Austin Dillon, Erik Jones, John Hunter Nemechek +12500
- AJ Allmendinger, Daniel Suarez, Michael McDowell +25000
- Zane Smith, Noah Gragson +35000
- Cole Custer, Todd Gilliland, Riley Herbst, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. +50000
- Ty Dillon +75000
- Cody Ware +100000
Here were the odds before the format was announced, in comparison:
- Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin +500
- Christopher Bell, William Byron, Ryan Blaney +600
- Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, Connor Zilisch +1000
- Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick +1600
- Ross Chastain +2500
- Bubba Wallace, Josh Berry, Carson Hocevar +3000
- Ty Gibbs, Chris Buescher, Alex Bowman +4000
- Austin Cindric, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Ryan Preece +5000
- Shane van Gisbergen +20000
- Noah Gragson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., AJ Allmendinger, Austin Dillon, Daniel Suarez, Cole Custer, Erik Jones, Michael McDowell, Todd Gilliland, John Hunter Nemechek, Ty Dillon, Zane Smith, Riley Herbst +25000
When Larson won his second NASCAR Cup Series championship in 2025, he came into the season at +500 odds. Larson became the 18th driver to win multiple Cup championships and is one of 36 drivers to win at least one championship.