Displaying his industry-wide versatility, Dale Earnhardt Jr. performed with Prime’s NASCAR Cup Series broadcasting crew at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, less than 24 hours after securing his first Xfinity Series win as a crew chief.
During his commentary duties, Earnhardt expressed interest in seeing if Kyle Larson would shake his recent slide. The 2021 circuit champion posted just one top-five finish in his past five outings. He placed seventh at Pocono.
“I feel like the schedule doesn’t do him any favors,” he said. “The summer has always been this way, and it’s even more clunky and unforgiving now with a lot of road courses thrown into this stretch of the season as we cruise to the playoffs.”
Earnhardt still considers Larson the sports-betting “favorite” to capture his second drivers’ title.
BetOnline Sportsbook agrees, listing the No. 5 Chevrolet pilot with the top odds at +350, followed by Christopher Bell (+500).
While it might not feel like it. Believe or not Kyle Larson has made 18 starts at Pocono and never has had a DNF and has an avg finish of 11.4. For Larson this a career high amount of starts without a DNF. pic.twitter.com/YYPOts9vFS
— Dylan (@nascar_nitro) June 23, 2025
Josh Berry’s Win Glossing Inconsistent Season
Josh Berry’s Week 5 win at Las Vegas glossed over a frustrating opening month with his new organization.
Berry, driving the Wood Brothers’ No. 21 Ford, placed 37th at Daytona, 25th at Atlanta, and 26th at COTA. Berry’s initial three-point races did not create much of a first impression.
Then came a P4 at Phoenix and a trip to Victory Lane the next week.
Were things starting to turn around for the team?
Not quite. Three of the next five races featured finishes of P32, P36 and P32. Plus a P26. With Berry producing just three top 10s in 17 starts, speculation arose recently over Berry losing his seat for 2026.
FOX Sports reported Berry is expected to return next season.
Picked his way through Pocono.@joshberry moved up the most in the NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/Ti371gCfVF
— Xfinity Racing (@XfinityRacing) June 23, 2025
2025 NASCAR Cup Series Drivers’ Championship Odds
Here is a Week 18 look at the drivers’ odds for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series drivers’ championship, according to BetOnline Sportsbook:
| Driver | 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Odds |
|---|---|
| Kyle Larson | +350 |
| Christopher Bell | +500 |
| Denny Hamlin | +600 |
| Ryan Blaney | +600 |
| William Byron | +700 |
| Chase Elliott | +1000 |
| Tyler Reddick | +1100 |
| Joey Logano | +1200 |
| Ross Chastain | +2000 |
| Chase Briscoe | +2000 |
| Alex Bowman | +2500 |
| Josh Berry | +3300 |
| Kyle Busch | +3300 |
| Austin Cindric | +3300 |
| Carson Hocevar | +3300 |
| Chris Buescher | +4000 |
| Bubba Wallace | +4000 |
| Ty Gibbs | +5000 |
| Shane van Gisbergen | +6000 |
| Brad Keselowski | +6600 |
| Ryan Preece | +10000 |
| Daniel Suarez | +15000 |
| Erik Jones | +25000 |
| Austin Dillon | +25000 |
| Noah Gragson | +25000 |
| AJ Allmendinger | +25000 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | +30000 |
| Michael McDowell | +30000 |
| Zane Smith | +30000 |
| Justin Haley | +30000 |
| Todd Gilliland | +30000 |
| John Hunter Nemechek | +50000 |
| Cole Custer | +50000 |
| Ty Dillon | +50000 |
*-Odds current at time of publication
