The NASCAR Cup Series is coming off of the first of only two off weekends during the 2026 season this past weekend for Easter, following a run of seven consecutive race weekends to begin the year.
Action is scheduled to resume on Sunday, April 12 at Bristol Motor Speedway, kicking off a run of 16 consecutive race weekends, including 15 points races, and it is scheduled to resume with a new championship favorite.
And quite frankly, that new championship favorite was longer overdue.
Tyler Reddick finally favored to win NASCAR championship
23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick is finally the betting favorite to win the 2026 title at DraftKings Sportsbook, after becoming the first driver in Cup Series history to win the first three races of the season. He added a fourth win in the season's sixth race at Darlington Raceway, and he is listed at +450.
Reddick possesses an 82-point lead in the point standings, and given the value of points under NASCAR's new postseason format, he has earned the right to be considered the favorite, even after only starting the year eighth in the odds.
The top 16 drivers in the point standings after the 26-race regular season are set to qualify for the 10-race postseason, and bonus points are set to be awarded before the playoffs begin, based strictly on regular season points; there is no more "win and in", and there are no more playoff points.
Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin, who was cruelly denied what would have been his first championship in the closing laps of the 2025 season finale at Phoenix Raceway, is listed at +500.
Hamlin has been arguably the most in-form driver over the past three race weekends, having dominated at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Martinsville, despite not winning the race at the latter, to shoot up to third in the point standings.
Hamlin is tied with reigning champion Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports, but it has been 11 months since Larson has actually found victory lane, and while he did win the 2025 title, he has still not performed at the level we had become accustomed to seeing, even since his ill-fated Memorial Day Double attempt in late May.
Hendrick Motorsports' Chase Elliott, the Martinsville winner, is listed at +700. Team Penske's Ryan Blaney, the Phoenix winner, is listed at +750, tying him with Hendrick Motorsports' William Byron, who is now the top driver in the standings without a victory this year.
Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell, who is a perennial contender but has had somewhat of a quiet start to the 2026 season after going on his own three-race win streak early in 2025, is listed at +900, just ahead of Team Penske's three-time champion Joey Logano, who qualified for the Championship 4 in all six even-numbered seasons under the old playoff format, at +1200.
Full NASCAR Cup Series championship odds can be found here and are always subject to change.
The Food City 500 is set to be shown live on Fox Sports 1 from Bristol Motor Speedway beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 12. Start a free trial of FuboTV and catch all of the action from the "Last Great Colosseum"!