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Kevin Harvick’s NASCAR Championship Odds Continue to Improve After 7th Top 5 Finish of the Season

David Golokhov

by David Golokhov in Racing

Updated Jan 6, 2023 · 8:02 AM PST

Kevin Harvick NASCAR
Kevin Harvick has some good momentum after a couple of stellar outings. Photo by NASCAR1996 (Wikimedia Commons) .
  • Kevin Harvick has had a couple of strong weeks, including a second-place finish at the All-Star Race
  • Harvick had not finished better than fourth prior to that, although he finished fourth five times
  • Harvick’s odds to win the championship have shortened to +570

Kevin Harvick is coming off a couple of good weeks of racing and his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Championship odds have shortened to +570. Is now a good time to invest in those futures or is there someone else on the board who is worth a bet?

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Championship Odds

Driver Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Championship Odds
Kyle Busch +325
Martin Truex Jr. +650
Joey Logano +700
Kevin Harvick +700
Brad Keselowski +850

Odds taken 05/23/19.

Harvick Has Seemingly Turned a Corner

The issue with Harvick all season long has been that he’s been doing good, but not great. In the first 11 races, he had finished no better than fourth, although he had finished exactly fourth five times. Even so, he had led for just 31 laps in nine of those last 11 races, which is a concern. Absent of wins or leading laps, it’s hard to put faith in him.

Although Harvick placed a disappointing 13th in Kansas, he did have the pole position on the starting grid and led for 105 laps.

However, the last couple of weeks he seems to have turned a corner. Although he placed a disappointing 13th in Kansas, he did have the pole position on the starting grid and led for 105 laps. That’s 17 more laps than he’s led in any other race. As for the poor finish, he had a tire issue down the stretch.

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At the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race, Harvick looked crisp again. He led for 33 laps and for a second straight week had either the car to beat or one of the top cars to beat. The 33 laps led were the most in the field. He placed second – his best finish of the year – and nearly tracked down Kyle Larson for the win.

What Will We See Going Forward?

The concern here is that this is two really good weeks for Harvick, but can he maintain this? He’s clearly been on a different level these last two races but remember that prior to that, he had been that solidly-good but not-spectacular driver. That’s the challenge when betting this prop.

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What’s The Best Bet?

To honest, the price that Harvick is at now is the price that’s fair had he been racing like he did in the last two races all season long. Absent of those two races, his price tag at +680 (which is what it was before) or +570 (which is what it is now) is way too high.

The good news is that the price isn’t going to change that much for him. If he races even better, that’s great for him and for us. It’ll reinforce that the last two weeks weren’t an aberration and that he’s really ready to make a run at the championship. If he reverts back to how he was before, then you’ll know your answer.

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The best bet here is to take a wait and see approach. Even if he races well, the prices won’t drop that much. And if he does, then he’ll be a good bet at that point.

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