Dean Etheridge
With a Sunday off from the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series this weekend, it’s a good time to assess the season so far and look ahead at some futures bets for the remainder of the NASCAR season.
So far this year, we’ve seen the race wins spread out between twelve different drivers, in what is a remarkably open season.
Last Sunday, Daniel Suarez became the twelfth and latest driver to receive an asterisk next to his name on the official NASCAR website, after winning the Toyota/Save Mart 350 race from Sonoma.
DANIEL SUAREZ CLAIMS VICTORY AT SONOMA RACEWAY🏁🇲🇽
Suarez becomes first Mexican-born driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race. pic.twitter.com/7VFnP4SC0K
— ESPN (@espn) June 13, 2022
2022 NASCAR Cup Series Winner; Futures Betting
In the betting to be NASCAR Cup Series Champion driver in 2022, it’s still Hendrick Motorsports drivers taking up the top spots.
Also still at the top of the betting are Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch. The main movers up the odds have been William Byron and Ross Chastain. Byron started the season at around +1200 and is now +750. Whereas Chastain was nowhere to be seen in the betting favorites and is now joint third at +650.
Another big winner, despite not winning a points-scoring race is Ryan Blaney. Blaney is +850, having started the season at +1200.
Blaney won the non-points scoring All-Stars race this season and has been a constant presence on the leaderboards all year. In total, Blaney has five Top 5 finishes and eight Top 10 finishes to his name this season.
Heading in the opposite direction is Martin Truex Jr, who started the season at around +700, and is now out to +1200.
| 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Winner |  |  |
| Kyle Larson | +500 | +500 |
| Chase Elliott | +550 | +600 |
| Ross Chastain | +650 | +700 |
| Denny Hamlin | +650 | +650 |
| William Byron | +750 | +800 |
| Kyle Busch | +850 | +800 |
| Joey Logan | +850 | +800 |
| Ryan Blaney | +850 | +950 |
| Martin Truex Jr | +1200 | +1000 |
| Daniel Suarez | +2200 | +2500 |
Is Hendrick Motorsports Still The Team To Beat?
The season started with plenty of promise for Kyle Larson and his Hendrick Motorsports team. But even though Larson and his teammate Chase Elliott are still the favorites with the best NASCAR betting sites, it’s pretty clear the season isn’t going to plan.
Every week I write race previews and picks, I seem to be convincing myself more and more that Hendrick Motorsports is having a bad season, and wondering why Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott are the favorites to win the Cup Series in 2022.
So during this break, I have been looking at some of the statistics for this season, not to mention the names of the winning drivers across the last two seasons. And it’s only when I do, that I realize why the best online sportsbooks are sticking with those guys.
Of the 16 races this season, there have been 12 different race winners. Eight drivers have won once, with four drivers having two wins to their respective names.
Drivers With Two Wins
- Ross Chastain – Trackhouse Racing Team
- Joey Logano – Team Penske
- William Byron – Hendrick Motorsports
- Denny Hamlin – Joe Gibbs Racing
Drivers With One Win
- Chase Elliott – Hendrick Motorsports
- Kyle Busch – Joe Gibbs Racing
- Kyle Larson – Hendrick Motorsports
- Alex Bowman – Hendrick Motorsports
- Chase Briscoe – Stewart-Haas Racing
- Daniel Suarez – Trackhouse Racing
- Austin Cindric – Team Penske
- Kurt Busch – 23XI Racing
Now in the following table below, look at which team has the most wins. Yes, it’s’ our old friends Hendrick Motorsports, with five wins this season. Two more than any other team.
2022 Team Wins
- Hendrick Motorsports – 5 Wins
- Trackhouse Racing – 3 Wins
- Joe Gibbs Racing – 3 Wins
- Team Penske – 3 Wins
- Stewart-Haas Racing – 1 Win
- 23XI Racing – 1 Win
Then take a look at the list of previous NASCAR Cup Series winners, and you will see that Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports won in 2021, and Chase Elliott, also of Hendrick Motorsports won in 2020.
So it’s no wonder, in what is admittedly a very open season, that it’s drivers and a team with a proven track record that dominate the betting.
That said, I think if things had gone as expected, Kyle Larson’s odds would be nowhere near the +500 you can still get on him to be the champion driver this year.
But it has to be said, Hendrick Motorsports still looks like the team to beat.
Can Unseat Hendrick Motorsports?
So, if any, which is the team most likely to beat Hendrick Motorsports this year? In my regular NASCAR betting picks articles I have been starting to look at Team Penske and Trackhouse Racing drivers of late.
Daniel Suarez is a guy coming into form midway through the season, and with a win now to his name, is it possible he will continue to thrive and claim more chequered flags?
The presence of Suarez of late shows that Trackhouse is having a good season. They started well with Ross Chastain, but he has dropped off a bit lately. So Suarez is proof that the team is still performing.
The Mexican driver is +2500 to be the champion driver this season. Could he be worth an outside wager?
Elsewhere, Team Penske drivers Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney are also having strong seasons. They are both individually priced +850 to be the champion driver and become the first Penske champion since, yes, Joey Logano in 2018.
And if we’re not going to ignore Hendrick Motorsports, as I’ve just shown we really can’t, I like the look more of 2020 champion Chase Elliott or William Byron this season.
Elliott has slightly longer odds than Larson, and he has just looked like the more in-form driver. While Byron is having the season of his life to date.
