The first seven point-race events on NASCAR’s 2017 Monster Energy Cup schedule are in the books heading into an off week for the series. Before the action picks back up at Bristol on Sunday, April 23, it is time to take a closer look at 5Dimes updated futures odds to win this year’s racing title.
NASCAR 2017 Monster Energy Cup Futures Update- Favorites and Top Value Pick
Through the first seven races of the season there have been six different drivers making their way to Victory Lane. Some of the top favorites in the series have been shutout, while a few longshots have been able to shake up the field with some early wins. This keeps things wide open as far as finding value in the recently updated NASCAR futures odds to win this season’s Cup Series title.
The following is a look at the odds for a few of the top favorites along with my top value pick based on betting odds provided by 5Dimes.
Favorites
One of those top favorites still looking for his first victory of the season is Kevin Harvick yet he remains at the top of the list at +650 betting odds to win this year’s title. He led the No. 4 Chevrolet to a Sprint Cup title in 2014 and last season he faded to eighth in the final point standings. Harvick always brings value to the table as one of the best NASCAR drivers in the sport, but there has to be some concern with a slow start that has led to one Top 5 finish this year. The good news is that there is plenty of time to turn thing around for a much more important run in the final 10 races on the schedule.
Kyle Larson has been one of the most promising young guns in the Cup Series for the past few years and he is definitely coming into his own this season with a victory at Fontana to go along with four additional second-place finishes through the first seven events. He started the new season at much longer odds, but heading into next week’s race at Bristol he is also listed as a +650 favorite to keep this run going all the way to the 2017 title. This is Larson’s fourth full-time season racing at NASCAR’s highest level and he has definitely shown the rest of the field that the No. 42 Chevrolet has what it takes to be competitive week after week.
The third-favorite on 5Dime’s futures list to win this season’s title is Brad Keselowski at +725 odds. He is the only two-time winner this season with victories at Atlanta and Martinsville, which basically locks up a spot in this year’s playoffs. He is currently in fourth place in the standings with 274 points on the strength of three other finishes inside the top 5. The No. 2 Ford struggled with consistency last season to fall to 12th in the final standings, but this hot start could signal that Keselowski has returned to the racing form that led to a title run in 2012.
Top Value Pick
There are a number of solid drivers on the list at longer odds, but I happen to believe that Chase Elliott offers the best value on the board at +1100 to win the 2017 title. He is only in his second full season racing in the Cup Series, but he has already shown the poise and racing ability to stay on the lead lap to put his No. 24 Chevrolet in position to win. He is still looking for his first career point-race title, but they could come in bunches once he finally breaks through for a win. Through the first seven events this season, Elliott has placed in the top five in three races and he is currently second to Larson in the standings with 298 points.
Jan/19/2017 Opening Lines
The NFL has the Super Bowl to cap-off its season in early February, but NASCAR takes a totally different approach by starting its season with the Daytona 500 late in February as its biggest event of the year to kick off the pursuit of the Cup series racing title. The following is a close look at the top value in the futures odds to win this season’s newly named Monster Energy Cup.
Going Chalk with the Favorites
Seven-time Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson reestablished himself as NASCAR’s greatest driver ever with last season’s run to the series title, but he is just a +800 second-favorite to make it eight behind Kevin Harvick as a +650 favorite to capture a second career Cup title after winning it all in 2014.
You really cannot go wrong with either of these picks given just how dominant both drivers have been in recent years. Johnson got off to a fast start in 2016 with a pair of point-race victories in the first five events. The No. 48 Chevrolet actually struggled for most of the regular season, but Johnson found his form at the right time of the year with three more checkered flags in the 10-race Chase to the 2016 Sprint Cup title including the clinching win at Homestead-Miami in the final race of the season.
Harvick posted four victories behind the wheel of the No. 4 Chevrolet to go along with 13 additional Top-5 finishes in 36 point-race events. After coming up short in last year’s Chase to finish eighth in the final standings, you know that Harvick’s motivation to get back on top will be sky high.
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Finding the Value in the Contenders
If you are looking to stretch the value in the 2017 Monster Energy Cup futures just a bit, two of my top choices would be Kyle Busch and Joey Logano at +850 betting odds. Busch won his first career Cup title in 2015 and he ended up third in the final point standings last season. As the driver of the No. 18 Toyota, he made his way to Victory Lane four times last season and he also matched Harvick with 13 more runs inside the top five.
Logano is still searching for his first racing title heading into his ninth full time season racing at NASCAR’s highest level. He has come close to winning a Cup title a few times including a fourth-place finish in the final standings in 2014 and a runner-up finish in last season’s Chase. He was able to guide his No. 22 Ford to three point-race victories in 2016 highlighted by a late season win at Phoenix that earned him a spot in the four-driver Championship Round.
Taking a Flyer on a Longshot
I have always been a huge Dale Earnhardt Jr. fan over the years and there probably is some value in his +1400 betting odds to win his first career Cup title. However, after missing quite a bit of time last season due to the lingering effects of a concussion, there are some serious concerns with his racing future despite being cleared to reclaim his spot behind the wheel of the No. 88 Chevrolet.
The future is now in my book which is why I am taking my flyer on Austin Dillon at +4000 betting odds to win a Cup title in just his fourth full-time season racing at this level. He is still looking for his first point-race victory as the driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet, but after placing in top 10 in 13 races last season including four Top-5 runs to earn a spot in the Chase, he could be poised for bigger and better things this time around.
Odds to Win the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup 2017 Championship
- Kevin Harvick No.4 +650
- Jimmie Johnson No.48 +700
- Joey Logano No.22 +850
- Kyle Busch No.18 +850
- Martin Truex, Jr. No.78 +850
- Brad Keselowski No.2 +1100
- Chase Elliott No.24 +1200
- Dale Earnhardt, Jr. No.88 +1300
- Denny Hamlin No.11 +1300
- Matt Kenseth No.20 +1300
- Clint Bowyer No.14 +2200
- Kyle Larson No.42 +2200
- Erik Jones No.77 +2700
- Kurt Busch No.41 +2700
- Kasey Kahne No.5 +3300
- Austin Dillon No.3 +4400
- Ryan Blaney No.21 +9000
- A. J. Allmendinger No.47 +10000
- Jamie McMurray No.1 +10000
- Ryan Newman No.31 +10000
- Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. No.17 +30000
- Ty Dillon No.13 +30000
- Chris Buescher No.37 +50000
- Danica Patrick No.10 +50000
- Aric Almirola No.43 +50000
- Paul Menard No.27 +50000
- Trevor Bayne No.6 +50000
- David Ragan No.38 +50000
