Motorsports
Kyle Larson not alone up there
Daytona Motor Mouths: Nashville brings sigh of relief for Ryan Blaney The guys talk about Ryan Blaney’s win for Team Penske at Nashville, Carson Hocevar’s current spot in NASCAR and Kyle Larson’s merchandise sales. Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin are co-favorites to win the NASCAR race at Michigan. Odds for various drivers are provided, ranging […]
Daytona Motor Mouths: Nashville brings sigh of relief for Ryan Blaney
The guys talk about Ryan Blaney’s win for Team Penske at Nashville, Carson Hocevar’s current spot in NASCAR and Kyle Larson’s merchandise sales.
- Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin are co-favorites to win the NASCAR race at Michigan.
- Odds for various drivers are provided, ranging from favorites to longshots.
It’s rare for us to trot out some breaking news here at the Odds Store.
But lordy, talk about odd! Kyle Larson isn’t the odds-on favorite for this weekend’s NASCAR race at Michigan.
But hold off on the pity or concern, and certainly don’t bake Kyle a ham.
Turns out, he’s the co-favorite, with Denny Hamlin. Neither has won at Michigan during the three previous seasons of Next Gen racing, but both post consistently strong finishes there (when not wrecked, as Kyle was last year).
Horsepower, you’d think, would play a big role every week in an auto-racing series. And it does, but at Michigan, it’s a very big factor. Why? Because the 2-mile oval, with 18-degree banking, is NASCAR’s fastest track.
Unlike the “plate tracks” — Daytona, Talladega and Atlanta — NASCAR doesn’t restrict speeds at Michigan. The 200 mph barrier has long been a magical number in stock-car racing. You should see it on the straights Sunday when the TV folks give us the in-car camera shots with telemetry.
Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson and other NASCAR betting faves
+525: Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson
+700: Ryan Blaney
+750: Tyler Reddick, William Byron
+1000: Christopher Bell
Of this group, Reddick is the only one to have won at Michigan in a Next Gen car. That win came last year. But in five other starts, he’s finished no better than 18th. Also, he’s had just one top-10 in two months, and that was a ninth last week.
Remember Chase Elliott? How about Kyle Busch?
+1400: Joey Logano, Chase Elliott
+1500: Ross Chastain
+1600: Carson Hocevar
+1750: Chris Buescher, Chase Briscoe
+2000: Kyle Busch
+2250: Brad Keselowski, Bubba Wallace
If Ricky Stenhouse decides to exact his revenge on Hocevar this week, it could get nasty, considering the aforementioned speeds at Michigan. Ricky might trend toward something more subtle and make Carson keep his head on a swivel for a few weeks before giving him the chrome horn.
A whiff of lost potential in this group of drivers
+3000: Josh Berry, Alex Bowman
+4000: Ty Gibbs
+5000: Ryan Preece, Austin Cindric
+6000: Erik Jones
+7500: Daniel Suarez
+10000: Michael McDowell, Zane Smith, Austin Dillon, AJ Allmendinger
Every week or two, you’re tempted to take a flier on Bowman because, you tell yourself, he just has to eventually win again, right? Then you look at his Michigan record (bad) and recent run of 2025 results (worse).
What to do with longshots? Maybe some top-10 action
+15000: Noah Gragson
+20000: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., John Hunter Nemechek
+25000: Shane van Gisbergen, Todd Gilliland, Justin Haley
+50000: Riley Herbst, Ty Dillon, Cole Custer
+100000: Cody Ware
Gragson is +525 for a top-10 at Hard Rock. Not the worst idea out there. As for van Gisbergen, don’t expect to see him here much in the coming weeks. Beginning next week in Mexico, three of the next five races are on road courses.
Odds from Hard Rock Bets.