2023 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Odds
Reviewing the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series title odds, via BetUS
Following the Busch Light Clash, BetUS - the official sportsbook of the RaceSheetsDFS Substack, has posted their opening title odds for the NASCAR Cup Series championship.
Premium Substack members can find these odds and how they evolve throughout the season, in a spreadsheet labeled “2023 Betting Odds, via BetUS (Cup Championship)” under 2023 NASCAR DFS Data on the DFS Data page of the Substack.
Last year’s champion, Joey Logano, opens the seasons at 10/1 odds - tied with teammate Ryan Blaney and HMS driver William Byron. At the top of the board though is a pair of HMS drivers; Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson at +600. Sandwiched in between this group is Denny Hamlin at 8/1 who was a now illegal rim shot around turns three and four at Martinsville from making the championship four for a third-straight season.
Speaking of that illegal maneuver, Ross Chastain opens with 12/1 odds which also includes Christopher Bell and Busch Light Clash winner Martin Truex Jr. Closing out the rest of the field with odds of +2000 or shorter includes Kyle Busch and Tyler Reddick at +1400 (it seems these two are going to be tied at the hip all season) and Kevin Harvick at 16/1 in his swan song.
Longer Shots for the 2023 Title
Although the champion is probably going to come from one of the above drivers; their could certainly be another driver to replicate Ross Chastain’s 2022 season where betters could grab him at +8000 at both Auto Club and Las Vegas before that number was down to +1200 following his victory at COTA.
Certain drivers pop off the page like Chase Briscoe at +3300, Bubba Wallace at +4000, Austin Cindric at +5000, Erik Jones at +10000, or even AJ Allmendinger at +12500 - all who could use timely wins at Talladega or the Charlotte Roval to help propel them into the third round of the playoffs and then hope for enough carnage at Martinsville to sneak their way into the championship via points.
However, the absolute shocking value as of February 8 is Austin Dillon. At 250/1 odds, betters aren’t going to find a better lottery ticket for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season. Just in the short time that Kyle Busch has been a part of Richard Childress Racing, Dillon seems to be brimming with confidence - or perhaps it’s the anabolic value of his mustache, a proven testosterone booster…
The other way to look at this, only four drivers have higher odds than Dillon
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. - +30000
Ty Dillon - +30000
Michael McDowell - +40000
Harrison Burton - +50000
Eventually, the proverbial cat is going to escape this bag. When it does, don’t be shocked to see Austin Dillon jump into the Erik Jones area (100/1) which is probably where it should have been to begin with. Besides taking advantage of Talladega in the playoffs, Dillon could show enough improvement across road courses and short tracks, thanks to having Kyle Busch as a teammate, that him being live to make the championship four wouldn’t that be far of a stretch of the imagination.
A Bad Bet? Were you going to buy more $SHIB?
For those of you still scoffing, go back to this time last year. What was your stance on Ross Chastain making the championship four and finishing second to champion Joey Logano? If last year showed anything, don’t discount anyone (well, perhaps BJ McLeod, Cody Ware, and Ty Dillon) from having a shot at winning.