NASCAR Cup Series: 3 longshots to win the 2024 championship

The round of 12 of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season is scheduled to get underway this Sunday afternoon at Kansas Speedway with the Hollywood Casino 400 presented by ESPN BET after four playoff drivers were officially eliminated from title contention in this past Saturday night's Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

After dominating the race at Bristol following a rough start to the playoffs, Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson is back atop the point standings, thanks to the points resets that take place before the start of each round. His 47 playoff points are by far the most in the series, 15 higher than the next highest (Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell).

Bell had been the betting favorite to win the 2024 championship after a strong start to the round of 16 saw him take the lead of the standings himself, but Larson is again the favorite at FanDuel Sportsbook. He is listed at +400, ahead of Bell at +450.

Three drivers are listed with significantly longer odds than the other nine remaining contenders, and unsurprisingly, those three drivers are three drivers who would not have qualified for the playoffs on points had they not won a race during the regular season.

Here's a look at all three.

Austin Cindric (+7000)

The Team Penske driver led all drivers in the round of 16 with the best worst finish of the round, placing no lower than 13th. He should benefit from the round of 12 schedule being what it is, featuring both a superspeedway race at Talladega Superspeedway and a road course race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.

Chase Briscoe (+8000)

By no means was the Stewart-Haas Racing driver flashy during the 2024 regular season, but his start to the playoffs feels very similar to that of the 2022 postseason, when he also wasn't flashy during the regular season but qualified for the postseason with a victory and then went on a deep run.

Briscoe made it to the round of 8 as an underdog two years ago and was leading late at Martinsville Speedway, where a win would have sent him to the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway – and he had won at Phoenix earlier in the year. Don't underestimate his and the No. 14 team's resolve as Stewart-Haas Racing's final season comes to an end.

Daniel Suarez (+8000)

A strong start to the round of 16 meant that the Trackhouse Racing Team driver could afford somewhat of a disastrous race at Bristol and still advance, and that's exactly what transpired. He finished in 31st place, three laps off the lead lap, and still advanced.

After a rough middle portion of the regular season schedule, Suarez has been far more consistent as of late, with his Bristol result being one of just two finishes outside of the top 18 in the 10 most recent races.

Honorable mention: Alex Bowman (+3000)

At +3000, the Hendrick Motorsports driver is kind of in no man's land, with all three drivers with longer odds listed at +7000 or longer and all eight drivers with shorter odds listed at +1300 or shorter.

But we're not going to consider +3000 a longshot, even with Bowman joining these other three drivers below the round of 8 cut line to start the round of 12.

Last year, after the round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Team Penske's Ryan Blaney was listed at +3400, the longest odds of the remaining title contenders. He then won at Martinsville Speedway to punch his ticket to the Championship 4 and went on to win the title at Phoenix Raceway.

Full championship odds can be found here.

Tune in to USA Network at 3:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, September 29 for the live broadcast of the Hollywood Casino 400 presented by ESPN BET from Kansas Speedway. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss it!