Despite Still Leading Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Standings, Joey Logano’s Championship Odds Remain a Distant 7-1

• Joey Logano is the current points leader in terms of the Monster Energy Cup Championship standings.
• Logano is currently at +700 to win it all.
• Busch at +250 is still the best bet to win the NASCAR Championship.

Joey Logano has amassed the most points this season in terms of the Monster Energy Cup NASCAR standings. However, he’s still a distant +700 to win the championship in Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Championship odds. Is he flying under the radar a little bit and worth a bet? Or is there a reason the oddsmakers have him behind some of the other drivers?

Odds to Win 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Championship

*Odds taken 7/17/2019

Logano Has Struggled of Late

There’s no question that Logano has fallen off a little bit over the last month. When you take a look at what he did from the Bristol race through to his win at Michigan, it’s quite impressive. He had eight finishes in the top-seven in eight races, which included a win, a pair of runners-up and a third-place result.

However, over the last month, Logano has fallen back to the pack a little bit. He does have two finishes in the top-seven in that span (at Chicago and at Kentucky) but he also tied his season-worst finish with a 23rd at Sonoma and then topped it with a 25th at the second race at Daytona.

Does He Have the Car to Win It?

Logano looked like he had a fantastic car earlier in the year as he led laps almost every week. He led at least a lap in ten of his first 11 races this season. However, the story has been quite different of late.

He has led laps in back-to-back weeks but he’s only been in front just four times in his last nine races. And keep in mind that one of those was the All-Star race. I’m not too worried as he’s still maintained some great starting positions (11th, 1st, 19th, 3rd and 1st in his last five races) but he’s had some issues after the start.

It’s still the middle part of the season but based on his trajectory right now, I’d pass on his Monster Energy Cup Championship futures odds.

Busch Is the Best Bet

After a couple of off weeks in places where Busch doesn’t always do well, he bounced back with a second-place finish at Kentucky on Sunday. When you look at his overall body of work, he’s hard to bet against to win the NASCAR Championship. Sure, there isn’t much value but he is the best option on the board.

Even with the 22nd and 14th result over the last three weeks, Busch still has placed in the top-five in six of his last eight starts. He’s finished third or better in five of those. On the season, he has four wins, 11 top-fives and 16 top-tens in 19 starts. He’s already led 841 laps after leading 1469 last season.

Speaking of laps led, he’s been in front of the pack in all but four races this season. And he’s yet to have a pole position, so that shows just how well things are going for him. I wouldn’t bet against him at this point.