NASCAR fans and bettors, we have reached Championship Week as all three of the top Series in our beloved sport will compete on Halloween weekend to crown their 2025 champions live from Phoenix Raceway.

The Truck Series Championship gets underway on Friday night. Yes, while kids will be trick or treating, the Truck drivers, fans and bettors will be tuning into the Championship Race.

On Saturday, November 1, the Xfinity Series will hold their Championship Race as three of the Final Four spots are all on the same team. So, the layers of drama for this event have many NASCAR fans excited.

And, then we arrive at the Cup Series Championship on Sunday, November 2. The Final Four drivers pit two teams against each other as Hendrick Motorsports battles Joe Gibbs Racing for this year’s ultimate crown.

With that said, let’s take a look at the latest 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship odds, courtesy of the best sports betting sites, and make our NASCAR Cup Series Championship predictions. Check out our NASCAR Picks of the Week for a breakdown of the race itself.

NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Schedule

The following is a quick overview of the Playoff format:

• Round of 16 (Aug 31-Sep 13): Darlington, WWTR, Bristol
• Round of 12 (Sep 21-Oct 5): New Hampshire, Kansas, Charlotte ROVAL
• Round of 8 (Oct 12-Oct 26): Las Vegas, Talladega, Martinsville
• Round of 4 (Nov 2): Championship Race at Phoenix

After each round, four drivers will be eliminated until the Final 4 remain. Then, those four drivers will compete in the Championship Race for the Cup Series title on Sunday, November 2, live from Phoenix Raceway.

NASCAR Cup Series Championship Odds

Check out the latest Cup Series Championship odds:

As you can see from above, Chase Briscoe has been the longshot of the group all season long. Over the Playoffs he went from +2000 to +375, but is still bringing up the rear with the sportsbooks.

Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson were tied at the start of the postseason for the Championship odds. However, Hamlin is now leading by a nose. William Byron has closed the gap on the other two and enters this weekend coming off a win.

Keep reading to see how our Cup Series Championship predictions have changed with the conclusion of the regular season, and how they might compare to some of the best handicappers.

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NASCAR Championship Contenders

The following drivers will battle it out for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship:

Denny Hamlin

• Wins: 6
• Top 5: 14
• Top 10: 17
• 2024 Finish: 8th
• Career Best: 3^rd in 2014 and 2021

Denny Hamlin enters the Championship Race as the odds-on favorite to win the trophy after leading the Cup Series in victories this year with six. As of now, Hamlin has yet to win a championship in his illustrious career.

At Phoenix, Hamlin has two wins in 40 starts, along with 17 Top 5s and 23 Top 10s. He was runner up in the spring race, but hasn’t cracked the Top 5 in the fall race since 2021. He also hasn’t won at this venue since 2019’s fall race.

Looking at his last month, Hamlin hasn’t been spectacular other than his win at Las Vegas three weeks ago. In fact, if he didn’t win that race, there’s a great chance that the no. 11 car wouldn’t have made it to the Final Four.

In addition to that victory, Hamlin has three finishes of 23^rd or worse in his last for Playoff races. Four of his nine Playoff races have resulted in finishes of 23^rd or worse.

Kyle Larson

• Wins: 3
• Top 5: 14
• Top 10: 21
• 2024 Finish: 6th
• Career Best: 2021 Cup Champion

Kyle Larson didn’t dominate the regular season like in years past. Instead, his consistency was the superpower for the no.5 team this year. He finished tied with the third most wins, tied for the second most Top 5s, second in Top 10s, and third in average finish.

Unfortunately, Larson hasn’t won in the last 23 races; not since Kansas in week 12. However, his consistency has kept the no. 5 car advancing despite lack of wins like the other contenders in the Championship Race.

Larson has five Top 7s in the last six Playoff races. Furthermore, he has three Top 5s in the last four races including two runners ups and a 5^th last weekend in Martinsville.

The 2021 Cup champ won this race that year to cement his first career title. Since then, he has five Top 9s in the last six Phoenix races. Furthermore, he has 4.0 in his last six fall Phoenix races. That’s the best average among the contenders.

Lastly, what gives Larson a slight edge in this race is his Championship winning experience four years ago.

William Byron

• Wins: 3
• Top 5: 11
• Top 10: 16
• 2024 Finish: 3rd
• Career Best: 3^rd in 2023 and 2024

William Byron started off the year strong after winning at Daytona for the second time in his career. And, though his season stats weren’t as great as the other three contenders, Byron is coming in with momentum after winning at Martinsville last weekend.

That victory can’t be stressed enough as Byron dominated a race in a must-win scenario. He led 60% of the laps, won both stages and edged out Blaney, Elliott and Larson for the win. The first two needed a win to advance, as well.

For Byron, this is his third straight Final Four appearance. He was 6^th in the spring race at this venue earlier in the year. Byron finished third last year in this race and 4^th in 2023. In fact, over his last three fall Phoenix races, Byron has a 4.6 average finish. His lone win at this venue came in 2023’s spring race.

Chase Briscoe

• Wins: 3
• Top 5: 15
• Top 10: 19
• 2024 Finish: 14th
• Career Best: 9^th in 2022

Of the four contenders for the Cup title, Chase Briscoe was the biggest longshot to start the season. However, in his first year with Joe Gibbs Racing, Briscoe really turned things up by time we hit the summer and put together a strong second half of the year to become a true contender.

Before we touch further on the pros, Briscoe does have some concerns this weekend. He crashed out of the spring Phoenix race earlier this year and has the worst average finish among the contenders at 18.4. Three of his last four results have been 24^th or worse. Additionally, he blew an engine last weekend.

With that said, Briscoe led the Cup Series with 15 Top 5s and was second with a 12.5 average finish. He was also tied for second in wins (3) and third in Top 10s (19). But his Playoffs have been strong up to this point with two wins, seven Top 10s, and eight Top 15s in nine races. Those are the best marks among the four contenders.

Briscoe last won two weeks ago at Talladega. He also won at Darlington to start off the postseason, as well.

NASCAR Cup Series Championship Predictions

At the beginning of the season, I made the following comments about Kyle Larson:

“Some will call it bias, and I understand, but I still lean towards Larson being the best driver on Hendrick and the Cup Series field. He finished with six wins but slowed down in the Round of 8 last year. He was a few laps away from advancing to the Final 4, but came up short.”

During the summer, I reiterated my pick of Larson to win the Championship. Then, when the Playoffs started, I stated the following about the no. 5 team: “I expect this entire team to raise their game for the Playoffs as they know what it takes to win.”

So, now that we are a few days away from the Championship Race, there’s no way I can change my mind now. In fact, I am going to double down on Larson to win.

Among the final four drivers, Larson has the best average finish in this Phoenix fall race especially since 2021, when he won the championship. That gives him an edge over the rest of the contenders, as well.

You can make a case for all four drivers, but Larson’s Phoenix resume in the fall is too good to pick against. Additionally, he’s been very consistent in the Playoffs. If you want to take a flier, then go with Briscoe. His consistency and postseason stats are worthy of a unit.

Bet: Kyle Larson (+240)

Recent NASCAR Champions

The following list only includes the winners during the current Playoff format, which began in 2015: