NASCAR Cup Series 2026 Championship Odds: Co-Favorite Kyle Larson Digs Flat Short Tracks

Bowman Gray Stadium is a near-perfect venue for NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson. 

The local racetrack with strong circuit ties, the Winston-Salem, N.C., venue has zero-degree banking around the quarter-mile short track.  

It’s a unique experience for most circuit pilots. Only Martinsville Speedway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Phoenix Raceway have similar layouts, but are longer. Martinsville is a half-mile track and New Hampshire and Phoenix are one-mile courses. 

The series’ reigning champion, Larson likely will be comfortable in his season-opening surroundings. The exhibition race will be staged Wednesday night after being snowed out Sunday.   

At NASCAR ovals with the least amount of banking, like Martinsville, New Hampshire and Phoenix, Larson compiled 12 top-five finishes in his past 15 short-track outings.  

Larson placed third in the 2025 Championship 4 race at Phoenix last November, clinching his second drivers’ championship. 

Here is a list of the top five finishers in the 2025 Cup Series final standings: 

No., Driver, Points 

• 1, Kyle Larson, 5,034 
• 2, Denny Hamlin, 5,031 
• 3, Chase Briscoe, 5,019 
• 4, William Byron, 5004 
• 5, Christopher Bell, 2,403 

Entering the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, Larson and Denny Hamlin received +500 odds from BetOnline Sportsbook to capture the circuit title. Larson also won in 2021 and Hamlin has yet to claim the industry’s top prize. Ryan Blaney, who claimed the Phoenix finale last season, drew the top odds for Wednesday’s Cook Out Clash, the exhibition opener.

THE TIRE STRATEGY PAYS OFF!

KYLE LARSON IS THE 2025 NASCAR CUP SERIES CHAMPION! pic.twitter.com/O3eNtB7IrL

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) November 3, 2025

NASCAR Cup Series 2026 Championship Odds  

Here is a look at the drivers’ odds for capturing the NASCAR Cup Series’ 2026 championship, according to BetOnline Sportsbook:

*-Odds current at time of publication