Kyle Larson has proven thus far he can win at any track. The driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro of Hendrick Motorsports has won on ovals and road courses thus far during the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season. In fact during his down time for NASCAR the 29-year-old has been racking up wins on dirt.
Needless to say bettors have noticed the success of Larson this season but they are not quite ready to close the door on a few past champions. Kyle Larson remains the favorite, however Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch are behind and have improved their odds after each race.
Entering Sunday’s race at the Indianapolis Road course, Larson is sitting at +280 with Elliott (+550) and Busch (+650) displaying their best odds since mid-June. While Larson has remained steady the others have seen their chances rise according to bettors.
Larson seemed to acknowledge his teammates as some of his biggest threats for the championship.
“Incredible race today, hats off to Hendrick Motorsports,” Larson said following his win at Watkins Glen. “It’s awesome. It really just shows how good the organization is, all the people that they’ve assembled at the race shop, all the men and women. All four of us (Hendrick drivers) could not be getting these wins like we have been without them. Thanks to them and thanks to everybody else I get to race for.”
Thus far this season Larson has scored five wins, setting a career best. Those wins have come at Las Vegas, Charlotte, Sonoma, Nashville, and most recently Watkins Glen. With the win last week he moved into a tie with Denny Hamlin for the points lead which would earn bonus points as the playoffs begin. Hamlin currently sits fourth in odds at +750 just ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex. Jr.
Larson’s five wins are tow more than Truex Jr., who last won all the way back at Darlington 11 races ago, and teammate Alex Bowman.
Truex Jr. was the most recent driver not named Larson to be the championship favorite but that came back at the beginning of June when he was +550. Now the driver of the No. 19 sits at +800. Even Truex has seen his championship hopes increase from +925 on June 29 to where he sits today at +800.
