NASCAR Championship Betting: Best Bets to Make
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The 2022 debut of the new NASCAR Next Gen car brought one of the more dramatic seasons in the recent history of the sport.
There was more completive racing, with 19 winners over 36 races and five first-time victors.
NASCAR betting sites saw plenty of action and the races themselves weren't the only reason.
There was plenty of on-track drama. Bubba Wallace was given a one-race suspension for intentionally wrecking Kyle Larson at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain regularly feuded over Chastain’s aggressive driving that sent Hamlin spinning multiple times through the season. And Chastain had the highlight of the season when he rode the wall at Martinsville Speedway to qualify for the championship – a move that has since been outlawed by NASCAR.
Now, NASCAR prepares for the 2023 season with the Daytona 500 on Sunday as it looks to continue its momentum from a year ago. Here are some futures bets to consider before the start of the new season.
Ross Chastain to Win The Chase
Joey Logano won last year’s title at +1400 odds and enters with the name number for 2023. That range is right in line with the last three winners, including Logano, with Kyle Larson winning in 2021 at +1100 and Chase Elliott taking the championship in 2020 at +1200.
Out of drivers in this range who I look to target this season, I’m going with Chastain. Trackhouse Racing benefitted greatly from the new Next Gen Car with Chastain winning twice and Daniel Suarez also winning once to give the team three wins.
Chastain to win The Chase is +1600 at DraftKings.
Chastain wound up finishing second in the season standings, finishing just six points behind Logano for the title. In addition to the runner-up finish, Chastain consistently displayed top-end speed more than most of the field, leading all drivers in top five (15) and top 10 finishes (21). Chastain was also remarkable to close the season, with two seconds, a fourth and a third in the last four races.
Given his form to end the season, the speed he showed all year and the title chase experience he gained from last year, Chastain is the driver in the range of favorites I’d look to back.
Bubba Wallace to Win It All As a Long Shot
Since 2012, no driver longer than +2000 has won the championship. Kevin Harvick won at these odds in 2014. Logano's title in 2022 was the closest to Harvick’s number, with five of those winners during that span coming in at +1000 or lower.
But those championship chases came before the Next Gen Car. Chastain entered 2022 at +7000 to win it all and nearly pulled it off, speaking to the more level playing field between each team. If I'm looking to take a long shot this year, I’m going with Bubba Wallace.
Wallace to win The Chase +4000 at FanDuel.
After years of competing with Richard Petty Motorsports, which was seen to have inferior equipment to the top teams, Wallace joined 23XI Racing in 2020 and has recorded wins at Talladega in 2021 and Kansas last season during the playoffs.
Wallace got off to a slow start in 2022 but came on at the end, running near the top of the field. In the last 16 races of the season, he recorded eight Top 10 finishes and four top-fives during that span. When Kurt Busch was no longer able to drive the No. 45 car because of injury, Wallace stepped in, won at Kansas and drove the car to a Top 10 finish in the points standings.
Wallace’s form continued to be solid at the Los Angeles Coliseum for the exhibition race held on Feb. 5. He was running second before he was dumped by Austin Dillon and finished in the rear of the field. Given how he closed the year and his early showing at the Clash, Wallace is a long shot worth targeting.
More Gambling.com NASCAR Season Previews
NASCAR Driver Rankings: Who Tops the List for the 2023 Season?
NASCAR 2023 Preview: The Races, The Drivers, The Chase
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