Updated 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Odds – Truex Jr’s Odds Shorten, Elliott Slides

• Martin Truex Jr. is one of three co-favorites to win the NASCAR Cup Series
• What to make of Chase Elliott and his chances rest of the season?
• Read below for updated NASCAR Cup Series odds, along with our analysis

NASCAR rides again with the Buschy McBusch 400 on Sunday afternoon from Kansas Superspeedway at 3:00 PM EST. This expects to be an intriguing race albeit with a little less chaos than last week’s Geico 500. The real question is this. What about the rest of the season?

The updated NASCAR Cup Series odds now feature three co-favorites. Denny Hamlin and yes, Chase Elliott, both have +600 odds. Finally, Martin Truex Jr. also comes in at +600. Is he in the best spot of the three racers? Could there be value elsewhere? Let’s take a look.

NASCAR Cup Series Odds

Odds as of April 28th

Martin Truex Jr. Co-Favored to Win NASCAR Cup

NASCAR drivers are a different breed. First, one has to get to the 16 driver playoff, which starts in September. Then, there are nine grueling playoff races to determine a winner. Currently, Truex Jr. is second at 87 points behind Denny Hamlin. Truex has two more wins on the season, but the question will be can he string together more consistent results going forward.

That one crash a lap before Stage 2 ended up changing the entire race. Fortunately, it did not change the Cup Series standings very much at all.

Also, May features five races, and June has the “Pocono Double”. A more consistent car similar to Hamlin’s may be more suited as the season winds into the playoffs.

NEWS: @BubbaWallace wins Stage 2 at @TALLADEGA. It's his first-ever stage win.

Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. crash, collecting Hendrck Motorsports' William Byron, Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott.#NASCAR | #GEICO500

— TheFourthTurn.com (@TheFourthTurn) April 25, 2021

Denny Hamlin drove too aggressively last week, and it was a lesson learned. With all of Hamlin’s top five and top-three finishes, he is more of a threat going forward. That is especially if he breaks into the win column soon enough. Truex figures to be a more risky pick, with Hamlin being the safer one.

Chase Elliott and the Nightmare 2021 Season

Sports bettors should start to get a bit worried about Chase Elliott this season. The Hendrick Motorsports driver won this Kansas race two and a half years ago. Elliott is once more among the top-five in the updated NASCAR Cup Series odds. He finished outside the top-ten for a second week in a row after a 24th place result at Talladega.

Quin Houff is outrunning defending champion Chase Elliott. I don't care that it's Talladega and Elliott has damage, it's still happening

— NASCAR Scanner (Martin) (@RobergMartin41) April 25, 2021

Have other teams figured out Chase Elliott? It’s a great question. Elliott excels when he is in the pocket. He wins races when he can stay close late in races. However, this season he just cannot get there often enough.  The good news is he is eighth in the Cup Standings and has four months before the playoffs start. However, the No. 9 is not sneaking up on anyone anymore.

Last year’s champion and this year’s co-favorite has considerable work to do on what will be a much more difficult road. Those odds could continue to lengthen.

Kyle Larson Has Value Moving Forward

The fellow Hendrick Motorsports driver never really got started on Sunday at Talladega. His car bowed out after three laps due to an engine failure. The lack of practice and qualifying arguably cost Larson a good result. This is because a piece of metal (a shield) was left in the car. This caused the engine to blow up, which wrecked his race and cost him a few spots in the standings.

https://twitter.com/bobpockrass/status/1386804288907841539

Do not expect that lapse in judgment to happen again the rest of the season. With +750 odds in updated NASCAR Cup Series odds, Larson carries value. He is currently ninth in points and has shown a fast race car all year. Can he put it all together in the playoffs?

Larson has one win in 24 playoff races but seven top-five, and 13 top-ten finishes. He has been close and the feeling is that this may be Hendrick Motorsports’ best chance at the Cup Series title this year.