The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series is just weeks away from kick-off as racers strive for their hopes are a Cup Series Championship. It is time to continue our NASCAR Cup Series odds series with a 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Champion prediction and pick.

The 2023 season ended with Ryan Blaney winning his first series title. Blaney opened the season fourth on the odds list, sitting behind Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and Denny Hamlin, but he was the favorite among the Team Penske drivers. His odds fluctuated throughout the year, opening at +1000, and dropping as low as +650 on October Second. By October 16th, those odds had skyrocketed to +4000, but he managed to defy them, winning the title.

Blaney opens tied for the top spot on the odds board this year, sitting with Kyle Larson and William Byron. Larson opened up last year second in odds to win it all, and through much of the season was the favorite. Larson will be looking to win his second title overall, winning in 2021. Meanwhile, Byron was eighth in odds to win the title to start, and third on his own team. Byron finished third last year after a sixth-placed finish in 2021.

Here are the NASCAR Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

NASCAR Odds: 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Odds

Ryan Blaney: +550

Kyle Larson: +550

William Byron: +550

Denny Hamlin: +750

Chase Elliott: +850

Christopher Bell: +900

Martin Truex Jr.: +900

Joey Logano: +1200

Kyle Busch: +1200

Tyler Reddick: +1400

Brad Keselowski: +1800

Ross Chastian: +2000

Bubba Wallace: +2800

Ty Gibbs: +2800

Favorites To 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Champion

Ryan Blaney is hoping to win in back to back seasons. This will be the first time a racer has won in back-to-back seasons since Jimmie Johnson won from 2006 through 2010. Since then, no one has won back-to-back. Still, a repeat champion is not uncommon. In the last five years, two of the five drivers were winning their second title. Since 2017, Blaney had not been a top driver though. He was in the top ten each year, but never the top five.

Still, he had three wins last year, with eight top five finishes and 18 total top tens. He got hot at the end of the year, winning two of his last five races, with two runner ups, including the last race which got him the title. If Blaney is going to win again, he will need to put together a more complete season, with him fimrly on the radar of other top drivers.

Kyle Larson is a perenial threat to win the title. He has been in the top ten each year since 2016 expect 2020 when he completed just four races. Larson also won the title in 2021, and was seventh in 2022. He led the most laps last year, was tied for the most top fives, and finished second in wins. Still, there are two concerns. First, the only title for Larson came in a year where he was completely dominant. In 2021, Larson won ten races, and was in the top five in 20 of 36. Second, Larson continued to struggle on superspeedways. His best finish last year was sixth, and he has won just five times in his career on tracks two or more miles long.

William Byron led the circuit in wins last year, as well as top five finishes and top ten finishes. Two factors benefit Bryon here. First, is history.  Since 2019, each champion finished in the top ten the prior three seasons, wit the expection of Kyle Larson, who only raced four times in 2020. He did finish in the top ten the three years prior. Further, if Byron can duplicate his wins, he has a chance. Six wins will easily give him a qualifying chance to win. Also, the last two of the last three winners drove Chevrolet, and the Hendrick team has the most wins all time. Both are things Byron is a part of.

Denny Hamlin is looking for his first ever series win, but he has come close plenty of times. Last year, Hamlin won three times, and was in the top ten in 19 of 36 races. Still, he finished fifth in the chase. This was his fifth straight top five finish in the final standings. He has been in the top six 12 times in his careerm with his best ifnish being in 2010, where he was second to Jimmie Johnson. Still, Hamlin will be 43 going into this season, so his time to win it all may have passed him by.

Sleepers To 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Champion

Martin Truex Jr. is also on the older side. He will turn 44 this uyear, but is coming off a resurgent year. He won three times last year, while being without a win in 2022. Truex also finished inside the top ten in 17 of 36 races. Still, he finished 11th last year, and 17th in 22022. This was after winning in 2017, and being a runner up in three of the next four yrear, with a seventh place finish in there. Truex would need to continue the mriacles of last year to have this longshot cash.

Joey Logano is looking for his third title after winning in 2018 and 2022. No active driver has three titles, but him and Kyle Busch could both reach that this year. It would also put him in elite company. Only nine drivers have won the title three or more times, with the most recent being Tony Stewart grabbing his third in 2011. Still, Logano finished 12th, being eliminated after the round of 16. He also had just one win, that was coming off the pole in the Ambetter Health 400, the fifth race of the year.

2024 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Prediction & Pick

History has shown that longshots do not normally win the NASCAR Cup Series. Further, age can be a factor. Bobby Allison is the oldest to ever win, just days shy of his 46th birthday. That was in 1983 though. Since the current format took place in 2014, only one driver has won after the age of 40. That was Jimmie Johnson winning his seventh title. Next, Penske and Hendrick has won five of the last six, while Chevrolet and Ford have been the more dominant cars. Overall, Hendrick and Chevrolet have been more dominant in the Chase format. Finnaly, driver dominance through the season does not necisarilly mean a win. While Larson was dominant in his winning year, it is not the norm. This narrows down the list considerably. With that, take William Byron to win his first title this year.

2024 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Prediction & Pick: William Byron (+550)