The Cup Series playoff drivers try to keep their championship dreams alive this weekend at the Charlotte Roval, but the odds predict they will have to go through a three-time Supercars champion.
According to BetMGM, Shane van Gisbergen leads all drivers heading to NASCAR's home track. He enters the weekend at +400 despite having no experience at the part oval/part road course. However, SVG has shown an ability to quickly adapt to new courses, such as Chicago, and the Roval falls into this category after going through a reconfiguration.
"The Roval is such a unique track and unlike anything I've ever raced," SVG said in a release from Kaulig Racing. "It's a pretty cool track, with the blind crest and hairpin spot and it's going to be a challenge for me.
"We don't really run on tracks with big curbs, so it's going to be interesting to feel the curbs and learn how much I can take and use and how to pass. Just a lot to learn this weekend in my WeatherTech Chevy Camaro, but it will be a lot of fun!"
2021 Roval winner Kyle Larson is second in BetMGM's odds at +700. Defending Roval winner AJ Allmendinger is +800. Tyler Reddick and William Byron round out the top five drivers at +1,000.
Byron is in a great position entering the weekend. He is the only playoff driver with a secure spot in the Round of 8. The remaining 11 playoff drivers are still battling for seven spots. This includes Reddick and Larson.
Some of these playoff drivers enter the weekend with far better odds to win than their competitors. This includes 2022 Roval winner Christopher Bell at +1,100, two-time Roval winner Chase Elliott at +1,300, and Alex Bowman at +1,800.
For comparison, Denny Hamlin and Daniel Suarez are at +3,000 in BetMGM's odds. Joey Logano and Austin Cindric are both at +3,500 while 2018 Roval winner Ryan Blaney is at +5,000.
Chase Briscoe, who enters the weekend at 32 points below the cutline, has the worst odds among playoff drivers. He is at +6,000.
Briscoe has inconsistent results at the Charlotte Roval. He has made three starts at the road course, and he has one top-10 finish. He crossed the line ninth in 2022 as he survived the Round of 12 and moved on to the Round of 8.
Briscoe's other two starts at the Charlotte Roval resulted in finishes of 22nd and 28th.