NASCAR Championship Odds: Betting favorites see shakeup following Martinsville

The NASCAR Cup Series championship odds have seen yet another major shakeup following Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway. Chase Elliott was victorious at Martinsville, using a bold pit strategy to get in front of Denny Hamlin and hold on for his first win of the 2026 season.

Both Elliott and Hamlin are among the top contenders to win this year’s championship. Several others are in the mix as well.

The Cup Series is off this week due to Easter. When the series returns on Sunday, April 12, it’s 500 miles of racing at Bristol Motor Speedway. BetMGM has the latest championship odds, with a new name at the top.

1. Denny Hamlin (+425)

Hamlin is back in the pole position coming off a dominant showing at Martinsville. Hamlin led 292 of 400 laps, falling short of his second win of the season.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver banked 56 points at Martinsville. He’s now up to third in the points standings.

2. Kyle Larson (+500)

“Yung Money” was surprisingly a non-factor at Martinsville, one of Hendrick Motorsports’ best tracks. He managed to finish ninth, his fourth top-10 of the season.

Larson, the reigning champion, has been approaching a year since his last checkered flag. It’s likely only a matter of time before he returns to Victory Lane, and it could happen at Bristol, a race he won last spring.

T3. Ryan Blaney (+550)

Blaney continues to perform more consistently than any other Ford driver in the field. He finished sixth at Martinsville and now has one win and five Top 10s in 2026.

Blaney is second in the points standings. He is a whopping 82 points behind Tyler Reddick.

T3. Tyler Reddick (+550)

Reddick was the odds-on favorite to win the championship coming off last Sunday’s victory at Darlington Raceway. The 23XI Racing driver made NASCAR history by becoming the first driver to win the opening three races of the season.

He now has four victories to his name, but his clear weakness is short tracks. A 15th place finish at Martinsville did nothing to change the narrative.

T5. Christopher Bell (+600)

Bell has been relatively quiet in recent weeks. He was off at Darlington, finishing 19th.

He finished seventh at Martinsville, though he was never as fast as his main competitors. Bell moved up one spot to seventh in the points standings.

T5. William Byron (+600)

Byron has been good in 2026, but this is a team that has championship expectations. So far, he hasn’t looked to be at that level.

That being said, four consecutive finishes of eighth or better is nothing to overlook. Sitting fifth in the points standings, Byron remains a contender for the championship.

7. Chase Elliott (+800)

You just knew the return of The Chase would benefit Elliott the most. Perhaps no driver does a better job of picking up quality finishes, even if he doesn’t have anywhere near the best car.

That was the case at Martinsville until crew chief Alan Gustafson short-pitted in Stage 3 to give Elliott the lead. They got the caution they needed and from there, Elliott held off Hamlin to score the victory. Elliott is up to fourth in the points standings.

8. Chase Briscoe (+1600)

Briscoe’s start to the 2026 season has been difficult to figure out. He showed plenty of speed before Martinsville; however, multiple issues stopped him from getting the finishes he deserved.

Briscoe then missed it completely at Martinsville. Briscoe did battle to finish 14th, but that’s still far off from where he wants to be. He is back in 21st in the points standings.

9. Joey Logano (+3000)

Logano stopped the bleeding at Martinsville. He finished third, picking up his first Top 10 since Daytona.

Logano always has speed at short tracks, so Bristol should be another golden opportunity for him to climb up the points standings. For now, he sits 12th.

10. Bubba Wallace (+3500)

Wallace’s stock has fallen in the last two weeks. Once third in the points standings, Wallace now finds himself in a four-way tie for eighth.

He posted a DNF at Martinsville after driving through Carson Hocevar on Lap 324, causing a massive pileup on the racetrack. It was a frustrating Sunday overall for Wallace, who has compiled just 12 points in the last two races.

Full 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Odds:

• Ty Gibbs (+3500)
• Carson Hocevar (+4000)
• Chris Buescher (+4000)
• Ross Chastain (+6000)
• Brad Keselowski (+6000)
• Austin Cindric (+12500)
• Kyle Busch (+12500)
• Ryan Preece (+15000)
• Connor Zilisch (+25000)
• Shane van Gisbergen (+25000)
• Erik Jones (+25000)
• Josh Berry (+35000)
• Daniel Suárez (+35000)
• Austin Dillon (+50000)
• Michael McDowell (+50000)
• John Hunter Nemechek (+50000)
• Noah Gragson (+100000)
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (+100000)
• AJ Allmendinger (+100000)
• Todd Gilliland (+100000)
• Zane Smith (+100000)
• Cole Custer (+200000)
• Ty Dillon (+200000)
• Riley Herbst (+200000)
• Cody Ware (+200000)

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