LAS VEGAS – Kyle Busch looked simultaneously relaxed in his hometown of Las Vegas on Thursday afternoon and ready to get after it. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs begin with Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (7 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) and as the regular-season champion, Busch starts the 10-race championship push as the top-seed among the 16 Playoff drivers. On-track action begins Friday with opening Cup practice.
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Defending Las Vegas race winner Brad Keselowski is among those expecting the intensity to increase this weekend with the Playoff opener. A three-time winner at Vegas, Keselowski is a favorite this weekend and conceded that he’s fully prepared to do whatever is necessary to earn one of the coveted winner’s trophies en route to the Homestead-Miami Speedway Championship finale.
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For the first time in 16 years Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson won’t be a part of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ championship Playoff run, however, his three young teammates will. Chase Elliott, 23, paced the championship organization with two wins – at Talladega and Watkins Glen – this season and heads into Sunday’s Playoff opener ranked seventh.
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With seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson not a part of this season’s Playoff picture, there is a good chance that NASCAR could crown its first multi-time champion since Johnson earned his seventh title in 2016. He is the only active driver with more than one championship.
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Sportsbooks in Las Vegas have decided one of the city’s native – Kyle Busch – is the odds on favorite to win both this weekend’s South Point 400 as well as the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup championship.
Busch, the driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, is the regular-season champ and a four-race winner in 2019. The casino’s sportsbook puts him as a 9-2 favorite to win Sunday’s Playoff opener and a 7-2 favorite to win the Cup championship. Defending race winner Brad Keselowski has the next most favorable odds to win again at Vegas.
Reigning series champion, Team Penske’s Joey Logano has the second-best odds 5-1 to repeat as champion, followed by Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, and Martin Truex Jr.