[gambcom-standard rankid=”4141″ ]
The NASCAR season wraps up at Phoenix Raceway Sunday with the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race. The green flag drops at 3 p.m. ET (NBC) for the final start of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s NASCAR odds around the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race odds, and make our expert NASCAR picks and predictions.
NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race: What you need to know
- After 9 playoff races, including 3 elimination races, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick and William Byron make up the final 4 as they’ll compete to win the Cup title Sunday.
- Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney aims for a 2nd consecutive NASCAR Cup Series championship. He had the best practice time with a 132.480 mph top speed heading into Sunday’s race, in which he’ll start 17th.
- Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron was also sharp in practice, posting a best speed of 132.004 mph, as he vies for his 1st Cup title. He’ll start 8th.
- Penske’s Joey Logano qualified 2nd with a time of 134.69 mph. He’s aiming for his 3rd NASCAR Cup Series championship, all since 2018.
- 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick qualified 10th as he looks for his 1st series title. He was just 21st in practice with a best speed of 130.795 mph.
- Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr., who is retiring from full-time NASCAR competition after this race, won the pole with a speed of 134.741 mph. He has 1 win in 37 career starts in Phoenix with 6 top-5’s out of his 16 top-10’s.
- Blaney has never won at Phoenix, but he leads all Championship 4 drivers with a 10.9 Average-Finish Position (AFP) in 17 career Cup starts at the flat track. He has finished inside the top 5 on 8 occasions, leading 431 laps with 2 DNFs.
- Byron has a checkered flag in his 13 Cup races at Phoenix, while posting 7 top-10 finishes and 186 laps led with 0 DNFs and a 93.6 Average Driver Rating.
- Logano leads all Championship 4 drivers with 3 checkered flags in Avondale, while posting 8 top-5 runs and 16 top-10 finishes with 908 laps led and 3 DNFs with a 13.5 AFP in 31 career Cup starts.
- Reddick has just 9 Cup starts in his career at the Arizona flat track, going for only 2 top-5 finishes and 3 top-10 runs with 1 DNF and a dismal 82.6 Average Driver Rating.
- JGR driver Denny Hamlin has a 10.8 AFP in 38 career Cup starts with 16 top-5 finishes and 936 laps led at Phoenix. He’ll start 14th.
- Hendrick’s Kyle Larson has a win and 8 top-5 finishes in 20 career Cup starts with 382 laps led and a 97.2 Average Driver Rating. He’ll start 4th.
Play our free daily Pick’em Challenge and win! Play now!
[gambcom-standard rankid=”4132″ ]
NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race – Expert pick
Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list of NASCAR odds. Lines last updated at 3:11 a.m. ET.
RYAN BLANEY (+250) is the safe play. He won the championship last season, finishing as the runner-up in the season finale to Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, who wasn’t in the final 4 picture. In fact, Blaney and Chastain made contact after a late-race restart last season.
There is safety in numbers here, too. Team Penske has won the past 2 championships. Blaney has his teammate Logano to work with. Now, if it comes down to those 2 in the final lap, obviously all bets are off. But they can each help each other get into a better and safe position during the early to middle laps.
NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race – Contender
TYLER REDDICK (+1300) didn’t get into the Championship 4 by accident. He is a good driver, even though his results at Phoenix Raceway over his career haven’t been great. In practice, Reddick was just 21st with a 130.795 mph, so he has work to do.
In 9 career Cup starts at the flat track in Phoenix, Reddick has managed just 2 top-5 finishes, 3 top-10 runs and only 5 placements inside the top 20, posting 72 laps led, 1 DNF and a mediocre 82.6 Average Driver Rating.
Online sports betting is LIVE in North Carolina!
North Carolina sports betting | North Carolina betting apps | North Carolina sportsbook promos | BetMGM North Carolina bonus code | Caesars North Carolina promo code | ESPN BET North Carolina promo | bet365 North Carolina bonus code | FanDuel North Carolina promo code | DraftKings North Carolina promo code
[gambcom-standard rankid=”6305″ ]
For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
Follow Kevin J. Erickson on Twitter/X, Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and like us on Facebook..
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1950]