NASCAR
Entering Round of 12, BetOnline Sportsbook Tabs Kyle Larson With Top NASCAR Cup Series Championship Odds
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry, in both print and digital media. He joined the Sportscasting team in 2021 following a decade of freelancing. He spent his early career as a reporter for various newspapers in Illinois, New York, Florida, North Carolina, and Michigan, with a particular emphasis as a beat reporter for the Chicago Blackhawks. Jeff earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from Oakland University. Over the course of his career he earned several sports writing awards, including two national awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors for column writing and news reporting. One of the five prized columns included a commentary on NASCAR's increasing corporate influences, particularly in northern racetracks — commentary which you might find Jeff building on as part of the Motorsports writing team at Sportscasting now.
Get to know Jeff Hawkins betterPublished25 Sep 2024
Following his dominating postseason performance during last Saturday night’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race, NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson earned the top odds to open the Round of 12 with another win. Among the top three, Larson (+400) paced Christopher Bell (+450) and Tyler Reddick (+475), according to BetOnline Sportsbook.
Larson led 462 of 500 laps at Bristol, then released a statement on X, formerly Twitter, and touched on different circuit issues, including Goodyear tire usage and the tough task of passing at Bristol:
“All this tire wear talk about Bristol got me wondering… Have we ever had a lot tire wear at Bristol besides the spring of 24? Eh, not much of any. …
“I’ve ran with 900hp all the way down to 650hp or less potentially, high downforce, low downforce and everything in between. Bristol’s ALWAYS been tough to pass. …
“I’m not saying I want tires to explode again but we’re trying to crutch this race car on short tracks with the tire and then blame Goodyear every week cause cars can’t pass. …
“I don’t have the answer to fix what we currently have and neither do you but please stop blaming Goodyear. It’s not a tire problem. … Temper your expectations. We’re driving spec race cars.”
All this tire wear talk about Bristol got me wondering… have we ever had a lot tire wear at Bristol besides the spring of 24? Eh, not much of any. Have we seen great races there? Absolutely. Have we seen duds where Kyle Busch leads 300+laps? Sure.
From what I remember in my…
— Kyle Larson (@KyleLarsonRacin) September 24, 2024
Is Kyle Larson Lining Up F1 Ride?
Larson, who made his IndyCar debut during the Indianapolis 500 last May, could next experiment with Formula 1 machines. His camp reportedly has been in contact with McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown regarding a possible test drive.
Speaking on Kevin Harvick’s ‘Happy Hour’ podcast, Brown said: “I’d love to see it. We’ve been chatting about it.”
Larson, the 2021 Cup champion, recently made headlines by comparing his skills to F1 star Max Verstappen. He has a history with the Arrow McLaren IndyCar team and is scheduled to team up with the garage again for next year’s Indy 500.
Larson’s possible F1 test could be staged in November or December.
Kyle Larson tells @KevinHarvick he would love to do an #F1 driver swap, but he'd rather do an open test where he could race against other drivers. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/AQKQoQN874
— HarvickHappyHour (@HarvickHappyPod) September 23, 2024
NASCAR Cup Series Championship Odds
Here is an early look at the drivers’ odds for capturing the NASCAR Cup Series championship odds, according to BetOnline Sportsbook:
| Driver | NASCAR Cup Series’ Championship Odds |
|---|---|
| Kyle Larson | +400 |
| Christopher Bell | +450 |
| Tyler Reddick | +475 |
| Ryan Blaney | +600 |
| Denny Hamlin | +600 |
| William Byron | +750 |
| Chase Elliott | +1000 |
| Joey Logano | +1200 |
| Alex Bowman | +2800 |
| Austin Cindric | +6600 |
| Chase Briscoe | +8000 |
| Daniel Suarez | +8000 |
*-Odds current at time of publication
