Speaking of which, it would help to know what the current betting odds to win it all are. At the most popular sports betting sites, the following drivers are favored the highest in the entire field to win the championship:
| Driver |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Kyle Larson | +275 | +275 |
| Chase Elliott | +400 | +400 |
| Denny Hamlin | +750 | +750 |
| William Byron | +750 | +750 |
| Kyle Busch | +800 | +800 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | +800 | +800 |
Larson Favored To Repeat As 2022 NASCAR Champion
You saw the odds above, Larson is the odds-on favorite to repeat as 2022 NASCAR champion. Does that surprise anyone after Larson’s 2021 season? Welp, it shouldn’t because Larson had one of the single greatest seasons in not just NASCAR history, but in all of the motorsports. Period.
In his first season driving No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro for Hendrick Motorsports, Larson claimed the title with 10 different victories throughout the year (11 if you count the NASCAR All-Star Race). No driver had hit double-digits wins in the Cup Series in a season since Jimmie Johnson won 10 times during his 2007 championship run. Heck, outside of the Cup Series, Larson also collected victories in Midgets and Dirt Late Models racing divisions. All in all, Larson won 29 races in 87 starts during 2021. Among those 29 wins, he triumphed in four completely different track layouts: dirt oval, paved oval, road course, and ROVAL.
Not only was Larson versatile throughout 2021, but he was also all clutch during crunch time. Half of his 10 Cup Series victories came in the playoffs — including four of the five final postseason competitions. When the pressure was on, Larson found an extra gear, which is no small thing. All this makes his +275 betting line heading into 2022 completely warranted.
Betting Picks To Win 2022 NASCAR Cup Series
Alright, NASCAR is a notoriously unpredictable sport. Therefore, when making picks to win the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series at top online sportsbooks, it would be wise of you to bet on more than one driver. It’s called risk management and it's what we’re doing. Here are two drivers we’re backing with bets:
Kyle Larson
Only one driver has won consecutive Cup Series titles this century — the aforementioned Johnson, who amazingly won four in a row between 2006 and 2010. But if there’s a driver who can match some of Johnson’s greatness, it’s Larson. Like we said earlier, the two were near equals when it came to single-season success with double-digit win totals.
Here’s another contributing factor to our Larson pick. With a lead, he’s hard to eclipse. During the 2021 campaign, Larson led at least 100 laps in 11 races. Of those 11 races, he went on to win seven and finish runner-up in three more. Give this man a lead and the rest of the field is in trouble, which is never a bad betting proposition.
Martin Truex Jr.
We’ve neglected to mention one very important fact about the looming 2022 season: the Next-Gen car. Being billed by NASCAR as the most revolutionary change to the top-series car in 70 years, the Next Gen will feature aluminum wheels, rack-and-pinion steering, an independent rear suspension, amongst other changes. It’s impossible to determine just how much the changes will impact drivers and races until the first exhibition event.
But amid chaos, experience matters even more, hence our Truex Jr. The 41-year-old has been the model of consistency in NASCAR for several years now (four top-2 finishes in the last five years). If someone can figure out how to use NextGen to their advantage, our money says it’ll be the grizzled vet, Truex Jr.
When Does The 2022 NASCAR Season Start?
Mark your calendars for Sunday, February 6 because that’s when the 2022 NASCAR season starts. But instead of beginning in Daytona as has become customary, NASCAR’s first event, The Clash, will go down in Los Angeles instead. The LA showdown is an exhibition but takes place the weekend before the same city hosts the Super Bowl. It’s a tune-up before the first Cup Series event, the famed Daytona 500 on February 20.
Here are other important NASCAR dates for the upcoming year you should also circle on your calendar:
- April 24 — Talladega Superspeedway
- May 22 — Texas Motor Speedway (All-Star Open exhibition race)
- May 29 — Charlotte Motor Speedway
- June 5 — World Wide Technology Raceway (a new track in St. Louis added to the Cup Series for the first time)
- September 4 — Darlington Raceway (playoff opener)
- November 6 — Phoenix Raceway (the championship finale)
How To Bet On NASCAR?
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