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.
LAS VEGAS, NV – SEPTEMBER 12: A general view of the start/finish line of Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the upcoming South Point 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Playoff race on September 12, 2019, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, NV. Photo by Chris Williams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
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.
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – SEPTEMBER 08: Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Mobil 1 Ford, crosses the finish line to win the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on September 08, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale at
Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Big Machine Vodka 400 on Sunday afternoon
was high pressure for the bubble drivers around the cutoff line trying to race
their way into the playoffs with a win.
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – SEPTEMBER 08: Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Mobil 1 Ford, shakes hands with Bubba Wallace, driver of the #43 World Wide Technology Chevrolet, after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on September 08, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images
SPEEDWAY, Ind. – It was the kind of day Bubba Wallace had likely pictured as a kid – a triumphant performance on one of racing’s brightest stages. His third-place finish in Sunday’s Big Machine Records 400 at the Brickyard was his best showing since a runner-up finish in the 2018 season-opening Daytona 500.
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – SEPTEMBER 08: Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Mobil 1 Ford, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on September 08, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images
SPEEDWAY, Ind. – It was a dominating victory for Kevin Harvick and a statement of superiority for his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford team as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads toward its ten-race Playoff.
It was an ignominious end to Jimmie Johnson’s unique and unprecedented streak of qualifying for every Cup Series postseason.