William Byron Breaks NASCAR Cup Series Funk; Kyle Larson Dances With Top Drivers’ Championship Odds

William Byron needed to make a U-turn.

The NASCAR Cup Series’ regular-season championship contender’s season turned around and struggled to turn around the No. 24 Chevrolet.

Before righting his season by saving enough fuel to secure a trip to Victory Lane at Iowa Speedway, Byron, who claimed the season-opening Daytona 500, placed P27 or worse in five of his previous eight starts.

“I can’t think of a week when we’ve been slow; it’s just the results haven’t come together,” Byron said, as reported by The Associated Press. “And it was starting to wear on us a little bit and starting to create some kind of, ‘What’s going to happen next?’ ”

Well, Byron managed to finish the final 144 short-track laps on a single tank of fuel, aided by a crash-filled third stage. The abundance of cautions helped Byron, who was won at the 0.875-mile venue in all three national series events, conserve gas.

Byron also reclaimed the top spot in the drivers’ standings, 18 points over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott.

Another teammate, Kyle Larson (+350), received the top sports-betting odds to capture the 2025 circuit title. Byron, the seventh youngest Cup pilot to post 15 wins, and Ryan Blaney were both tabbed with the fourth-best odds at +600.

YOUNGEST TO 15 CUP WINS:

Kyle Busch: 24Y, 0M, 0D
Jeff Gordon: 24Y, 11M, 24D
Richard Petty: 25Y, 8M, 0D
Joey Logano: 26Y, 0M, 19D
Chase Elliott: 26Y, 6M, 26D
Kurt Busch: 27Y, 7M, 22D
WILLIAM BYRON: 27Y, 8M, 5D (📸)
Junior Johnson: 27Y, 11M, 16D#NASCAR | 📸: @42photographer pic.twitter.com/4D84c37i3h

— Joseph Srigley (@joe_srigley) August 4, 2025

2025 NASCAR Cup Series Drivers’ Championship Odds

Here is a Week 24 look at the drivers’ odds for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series drivers’ championship, according to BetOnline Sportsbook:

*-Odds current at time of publication