It didn't take long for 23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick to unseat reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson as the betting favorite to win the 2026 championship, as Reddick became the first driver in the 78-year history of the Cup Series to win each of a season's first three races.
Even if you exclude those first three races, nobody has won more races than Reddick over the series' 11 most recent points-paying events. Since then, he is tied with Hendrick Motorsports' Chase Elliott, and after Sunday's race at Nashville Superspeedway, Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin, with two wins each.
Reddick was involved in a massive wreck at the end of the Cracker Barrel 400, yet it happened just as he crossed the finish line. The fact that he still finished sixth in a race he came away from with a wrecked car just goes to show how well his season has gone; he's yet to finish lower than 15th all year.
Yet he's no longer the championship favorite.
Denny Hamlin favored to win 2026 NASCAR championship
The annual "is it finally Denny Hamlin's year?" question is in full swing after his drive from last to first in Sunday's Cracker Barrel 400.
Hamlin may only have two points-paying wins this season, with the other coming at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in mid-March, but he has had the car to beat in about four or five other races, not to mention his mid-May All-Star Race dominance at Dover Motor Speedway, where his win and 103 laps led in the third segment didn't actually count toward his season-long tallies.
At the age of 45, he leads the series in laps led this season with 756 and is on pace to shatter his previous career-high in that category by nearly 500 laps. If anything, it's the 97-point deficit to Reddick in the point standings that's misleading, as Reddick has led fewer than half the number of laps Hamlin has.
Given the dominance of Joe Gibbs Racing and the pace of the No. 11 Toyota at just about every venue the series visits, it's no surprise that some fans are already saying that, especially under the new postseason format, there are no more excuses for Hamlin to remain NASCAR's winningest non-champion, a title he has held for seven seasons among all full-time drivers in the sport's history.
DraftKings Sportsbook now lists Hamlin as the +225 favorite to come away from this year's 10-race "Chase" playoff schedule as the 2026 Cup Series champion.
He has moved ahead of Reddick, who is listed second at +300. Hendrick's Larson, who hasn't won a race in more than a year, is still tied for third with Team Penske's Ryan Blaney at +650.
Visit DraftKings Sportsbook for full NASCAR Cup Series championship odds. Odds and availability are always subject to change.
Michigan International Speedway is scheduled to host the NASCAR Cup Series' next race on Sunday, June 7. Live coverage of the FireKeepers Casino 400 is set to be provided by Amazon Prime Video beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET.
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