Kyle Larson was just crowned the NASCAR Cup Series champion yet here we are with the betting odds for the 2026 championship.
Photo: Dominic Aragon/TRE
No surprise, Larson and second-place points finisher Denny Hamlin are the favorites. Championship 4 driver William Byron is not far behind and neither is Chase Briscoe.
One shock favorite is Connor Zilisch, who came up short of winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship in a very dominant 2025 season.
Zilisch is tied, in terms of odds, with Briscoe and Chase Elliott. His odds also make him more of an early favorite than three-time Cup champion Joey Logano and past 2020s Championship 4 drivers Tyler Reddick and Ross Chastain.
The odds for the NASCAR Cup Series championship are likely to shift — and could shift drastically depending on what championship format NASCAR announces for the 2026 season. NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell indicated 2025 was likely the last season for the one-race championship.
2026 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Betting Odds
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
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Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick’s final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen’s stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers’ stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com