Kyle Larson is in a position to win his second career Cup Series championship according to the latest odds from BetMGM.
The 2021 Cup champion, who won his fourth race of the season last weekend, sits at +350 after 22 races. Larson is just ahead of Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell, who are both in a tie at +375. William Byron is fourth in the Cup championship odds at +800.
Reigning champion Ryan Blaney is fifth in BetMGM's odds midway through a two-win season. He entered the Olympic break at +900 after posting four consecutive top-10 finishes, a run that included a win at Pocono and a third-place finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Larson topping the odds is not surprising considering he is in the midst of another multi-win season. He has already matched his win total from last season despite missing the Coca-Cola 600 due to heavy rainfall postponing his participation in the Indy 500 and his subsequent trip to Concord, North Carolina.
Larson's season has featured wins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Sonoma Raceway, and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He has led 762 laps, the second-most in the series behind Hamlin (772). Larson has nine top-five finishes, putting him in a tie with Tyler Reddick for the most in the series.
Of course, accumulating the most wins in a season does not guarantee a championship. The 2020 season proved this as Kevin Harvick won a series-high nine races and then missed the Championship 4.
2020 aside, Larson is still in a position to make his way through the opening rounds of the playoffs.
He is atop the Cup standings with four races remaining in the regular season. This puts him in a position to win the regular-season championship and lock up 15 bonus playoff points before the Round of 16 opener at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Even if Larson misses out on the regular-season championship, he will still enter the playoffs with 28 playoff points earned by winning four races and eight stages. The only driver with more stage wins this season is Bell, who has nine.
Bell has 24 playoff points after winning three races and the nine stages. Hamlin is the only other driver with more than 20 playoff points. He has 21 after winning three races and six stages.