NASCAR Cup Series
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By Vegas Odds
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The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series is certainly going to be a special one not just because lots of fans have anticipated the return of the sport but also because it will be making the 50th season for the modern-era Cup Series. As always there is a lot of exciting action to look forward to for the entire run of the series, especially for bettors. In this guide, we are going to break down just about everything you will need to know about betting on the NASCAR Cup Series in 2021.
Table of Contents
2021 NASCAR Cup Series
This guide aims to give all you need to get started on a fun-filled NASCAR betting experience by providing you with regular updates of the odds and the schedule. We will also revisit the standings and power rankings and provide you with newsworthy updates on the drivers throughout the racing season. Moreover, this guide to betting on NASCAR offers some handy tips and other insights to help you make informed bets.
Here are the latest drivers’ odds to win the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series. We will be updating the odds as the season progresses and marking down any updates regularly:
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NASCAR Cup Series Vegas Odds
The drivers’ odds will be updated depending on current sportsbooks predictions and drivers’ standing in the overall rank list. All in all, there are over 31 drivers to watch out for this season. Many of the accomplished 33 drivers who competed the season last year are back, helping fans make their betting decisions based on a trove of data.
For the minute-to-minute odds changes, check out the link above the odds table.
2021 NASCAR Cup Series Schedule and Winners
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| Event | Date | Location | Broadcaster | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Busch Clash at DAYTONA | Feb. 9 7:00pm ET |
Daytona Road Course | FS1, MRN | Kyle Busch |
| Bluegreen Vacations Duel 1 at DAYTONA | Feb. 11 7:00pm ET |
Daytona International Speedway | FS1, MRN | Aric Amlirola |
| Bluegreen Vacations Duel 2 at DAYTONA | Feb. 11 7:00pm ET |
Daytona International Speedway | FS1, MRN | Austin Dillon |
| DAYTONA 500 | Feb. 14 2:30pm ET |
Daytona International Speedway | FS1, MRN | Michael McDowell |
| O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 At Daytona | Feb. 21 3:00pm ET |
Daytona Road Course | FOX, MRN | Christopher Bell |
| Dixie Vodka 400 | Feb. 28 3:30pm ET |
Homestead-Miami Speedway | FOX, MRN | William Byron |
| Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube | Mar. 7 3:30pm ET |
Las Vegas Motor Speedway | FOX, PRN | Joey Logano |
| Instacart 500 | Mar. 14 3:30pm ET |
Phoenix Raceway | FOX, MRN | Martin Truex Jr. |
| Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 | Mar. 21 3:00pm ET |
Atlanta Motor Speedway | FOX, PRN | Ryan Blaney |
| Food City Dirt Race | Mar. 28 3:30pm ET (Postponed to 3/29) |
Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt | FOX, PRN | Joey Logano |
| Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 | Apr. 11 7:30pm ET |
Martinsville Speedway | FS1, MRN | Martin Truex Jr. |
| TOYOTA OWNERS 400 | Apr. 18 3:00pm ET |
Richmond Raceway | FOX, MRN | Alex Bowman |
| GEICO 500 | Apr. 25 2:00pm ET |
Talladega Superspeedway | FOX, MRN | Brad Keselowski |
| Buschy McBusch Race 400 | May 2 3:00pm ET |
Kansas Speedway | FS1, MRN | Kyle Busch |
| Goodyear 400 | May 9 3:30pm ET |
Darlington Raceway | FS1, MRN | Martin Truex Jr |
| Drydene 400 | May 16 2:00pm ET |
Dover International Speedway | FS1, MRN | Alex Bowman |
| Texas Grand Prix | May 23 2:30pm ET |
Circuit of the Americas | FS1, PRN | Chase Elliott |
| Coca-Cola 600 | May 30 6:00pm ET |
Charlotte Motor Speedway | FOX, PRN | Kyle Larson |
| Save Mart 350 | June 6 4:00pm ET |
Sonoma Raceway | FS1, PRN | Kyle Larson |
| NASCAR All-Star Open | June 13 6:00pm ET |
Texas Motor Speedway | FS1, PRN | Aric Almirola |
| NASCAR All-Star Race | June 13 8:00pm ET |
Texas Motor Speedway | FS1, MRN | Kyle Larson |
| Ally 400 | June 20 3:30pm ET |
Nashville Superspeedway | NBCSN, MRN, NBC Sports | Kyle Larson |
| NASCAR Cup Series Race at Pocono-1 | June 26 3:00pm ET |
Pocono Raceway | NBCSN, MRN, NBC Sports | Alex Bowman |
| NASCAR Cup Series Race at Pocono-2 | June 27 3:30pm ET |
Pocono Raceway | NBCSN, MRN, NBC Sports | Kyle Busch |
| NASCAR Cup Series Race at Road America | July 4 2:30pm ET |
Road America | NBC, MRN, NBC Sports | Chase Elliott |
| Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart | July 11 3:30pm ET |
Atlanta Motor Speedway | NBCSN, PRN, NBC Sports | Kurt Busch |
| Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 | July 18 3:00pm ET |
New Hampshire Motor Speedway | NBCSN, PRN, NBC Sports | Aric Almirola |
| Go Bowling at The Glen | Aug. 8 3:00pm ET |
Watkins Glen International | NBCSN, MRN, NBC Sports | Chase Elliott |
| Verizon 200 at the Brickyard | Aug. 15 1:00pm ET |
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course | NBC, NBC Sports, RADIO NETWORK | AJ Allmendinger |
| FireKeepers Casino 400 | Aug. 22 3:00pm ET |
Michigan International Speedway | NBCSN, MRN, NBC Sports | Ryan Blaney |
| Coke Zero Sugar 400 | Aug. 28 7:00pm ET |
Daytona International Speedway | NBC, MRN, NBC Sports | Ryan Blaney |
| Cook Out Southern 500 | Sept. 5 6:00pm ET |
Darlington Raceway | NBCSN, MRN, NBC Sports | Denny Hamlin |
| Federated Auto Parts 400 | Sept. 11 7:30pm ET |
Richmond Raceway | NBCSN, MRN, NBC Sports | Martin Truex Jr |
| Bass Pro Shops Night Race | Sept. 18 7:30pm ET |
Bristol Motor Speedway | NBCSN, PRN, NBC Sports | Kyle Larson |
| South Point 400 | Sept. 26 7:00pm ET |
Las Vegas Motor Speedway | NBCSN, PRN, NBC Sports | Denny Hamlin |
| YellaWood 500 | Oct. 3 2:00pm ET |
Talladega Motor Speedway | NBC, MRN, NBC Sports | Bubba Wallace |
| Bank of America ROVAL 400 | Oct. 10 2:00pm ET |
Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course | NBC, PRN, NBC Sports | Kyle Larson |
| Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 | Oct. 17 2:00pm ET |
Texas Motor Speedway | NBC, PRN, NBC Sports | Kyle Larson |
| Hollywood Casino 400 | Oct. 24 3:00pm ET |
Kansas Speedway | NBCSN, MRN, NBC Sports | Kyle Larson |
| Xfinity 500 | Oct. 31 2:00pm ET |
Martinsville Speedway | NBC, MRN, NBC Sports | Alex Bowman |
| NASCAR Cup Series Championship | Nov. 7 3:00pm ET |
Phoenix Raceway | NBC, MRN, NBC Sports | Kyle Larson |
Daytona 500 is one of the most revered events and it arrives almost at the beginning of the NASCAR racing season. With the track having packed some of the finest events throughout the years, it’s no surprise that all drivers will be keen on establishing their dominance early in the series.
Not least of all, Daytona 500 offers the biggest purse, which is in itself an incentive to pump the gas pedal and hope the engine won’t overheat. We have covered Daytona 500 (2021) in quite some detail to allow you to make an informed betting choice ahead of this ultimate motorsport showdown.
Changes to the 2020 & 2021 NASCAR Schedule
Last year the 2020 season was a transitional one for NASCAR. The event will no longer feature Monster Energy as an exclusive sponsor and this season’s premier partner program has already added multiple big brands such as Xfinity, Coca-Cola, Geico and Busch Beer.
Speculation has been swirling around as to what the 2021 schedule will look like, with fans anticipating the 2021 edition to feature several notable shifts from what we have gotten in the past. And fans seem to be spot on, with some changes to this year’s schedule already in place. Most notably, the 2021 schedule introduced three new tracks in addition to expanding to six road courses and placing a dirt-track race on the calendar for the very first time in over five decades.
Just like it was in 2020, the 2021 Cup Series retains its 36 points-paying races kicking off with the Daytona 500 and ending with the Phoenix Raceway’s championship finale. A decent number of new venues and schedule changes have been slotted in between all that.
Here is a brief overview of the schedule’s highlights:
- Circuit of The Americas, a pristine 3.426-mile road course in Austin, Texas, that has been host to Formula 1, IndyCar, and IMSA competition will host the NASCAR CUP Series on May 23.
- Ally 400 will go down on June 20 at the Nashville Superspeedway, a 1.33-mile oval in Lebanon, Tennessee, that was confirmed for the 2021 schedule last spring.
- Road America, a historic 4.048-mile road circuit in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, that last hosted the Cup Series in 1956 will be the venue for the NASCAR Cup Series Race at Road America on July 4.
- Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard powered By Florida Georgia Line come to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.439-mile road course on August 15, a shift from the 2.5-mile oval layout.
- The 2021 NASCAR All-Star Race will move to Texas Motor Speedway for the first time on June 13 date. This event’s annual invitational has now been officially set to this date.
- Darlington Raceway will host a total of two Cup Series races in 2021. The first one will be NASCAR Cup Series Race at Darlington on May 9 and the second will be the Cook Out Southern 500 on September 5.
- Atlanta Motor Speedway has also seen an expansion to two annual stops on the Cup Series schedule. These are March 21’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 and July 11’s Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart.
- The Texas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway trade places in the postseason lineup, with Texas’ Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 (Oct. 17) acting as the Round of 8 Opener with Kansas’ Hollywood Casino 400 (Oct. 24) coming shortly after.
- Chicagoland Speedway and Kentucky Speedway are no longer part of the Cup Series schedule.
Changes to the Drivers Lineup in 2021
Unsurprisingly there were also changes when it comes to teams and alliances. Several drivers made decisions to change things up a little and found new homes for the 2021 NASCAR season. Here are the biggest shifts for the season:
- Erik Jones officially joined Richard Petty Motorsports as the driver of the organization’s #43 entry after a mutual breakup between him and Joe Gibbs Racing.
- Spire Motorsports announced that Corey LaJoie would drive the team’s new second car, the #7, full-time for the foreseeable future.
- Ross Chastain replaced Matt Kenseth as the Chip Ganassi Racing’s driver for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series.
- Bubba Wallace became the official driver of 23XI Racing’s #23 car.
- Daniel Suárez joined Trackhouse Racing Team full-time for the 2021 season.
- Hendrick Motorsports moved Alex Bowman from the #88 to the #48 team for 2021’s Cup Series.
- Austin Cindric will drive the #33 Ford in select Cup Series races while competing full-time in the Xfinity Series in 2021 before moving on to the Wood Brothers Racing #21 team next season.
- Chase Briscoe replaces Clint Bowyer in the Stewart-Haas Racing #14 team – the latter has retired from full-time driving and will now be working as commentators on NASCAR on Fox.
- Kyle Larson gets cleared to resume racing after suspension. He will be driving #5 for Hendrick Motorsports.
- John Hunter Nemechek returned to the Camping World Truck Series to drive full-time for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2021
- Timmy Hill, Chad Finchum, and Stephen Leicht return to the MBM Motorsports team in 2021, with Hill and Finchum attempting to run the 2021 Daytona 500.
- Front Row Motorsports confirmed that Anthony Alfredo will drive the #38 for the Rookie of the Year honors.
- David Ragan made a return to Front Row Motorsports’ #36 for the 2021 Daytona 500.
- 23XI Racing announced that Ty Dillon would drive the #23 at the 2021 Busch Clash.
- Spire Motorsports announced that Jamie McMurray would drive the #77 at the 2021 Daytona 500.
- Kaulig Racing announced that A. J. Allmendinger would drive the #16 at the Daytona road course which would be his first start in the Cup Series since the end of the 2018 season.
There are, of course, other pretty significant changes that have been with regards to such things as manufacturers and sponsorships. Several crew chiefs have also been switched or moved around.
NASCAR Power Rankings
The fight for the top spot is as usual a tough one. No power ranking out there exists to currently qualify a single driver as the absolute favorite for the 2021 season.
According to CNBC, here are some of the top driver/crew chiefs’ noteworthy rankings after the Daytona 500:
- Michael McDowell
- Denny Hamlin
- Austin Dillon
- Kevin Harvick
- Chase Elliott
- Kyle Busch
- Joey Logano
- Ryan Preece
- Kyle Larson
- Brad Keselowski
These rankings can be quite different from what was listed before the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series kicked off. More shifts are expected but it is quite clear that the teams and the drivers are bringing their A-game to the series. If all these power rankings and the way they are changing are anything to go by, you can expect even more fun and exciting action going forward.
Past NASCAR Cup Series Winners
| Year | Driver |
|---|---|
| 2021 | Kyle Larson |
| 2020 | Chase Elliott |
| 2019 | Kyle Busch |
| 2018 | Joey Logano |
| 2017 | Martin Truex Jr. |
| 2016 | Jimmie Johnson |
| 2015 | Kyle Busch |
| 2014 | Kevin Harvick |
| 2013 | Jimmie Johnson |
| 2012 | Brad Keselowski |
| 2011 | Tony Stewart |
| 2010 | Jimmie Johnson |
| 2009 | Jimmie Johnson |
Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson are the two drivers who sport the most titles in the past 11 years. The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series will be yet another opportunity to add to their track record of titles. Yet, whether Busch and Johnson repeat their past feats depends on many factors. Johnson is listed at the opening odds (+4000), far behind Busch. Whether Jimmie is past his racing prime remains to be seen.
A Look at the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Rookies
With a lot going on this season, we have almost missed out on the rookies. Well, they are here and they are all some promising names. This year there will be six newbies competing for the following outfits:
- Chase Briscoe – NASCAR Cup Series
- Anthony Alfredo – NASCAR Cup Series
- Sam Mayer – NASCAR Xfinity Series
- Hailie Deegan – NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
- Carson Hocevar – NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Rookies are generally considered wild cards in the Cup Series. Depending on past performance, they can prove quite disruptive to experienced racers. Yet, NASCAR is a different beast all on its own, and experience is usually needed to dominate. All six drivers seem to have the trappings to conclude a strong season.
There have been quite a few changes to the overall schedule and team shifts. The same powerhouses are still in the race for the 2021 edition of the NASCAR Series, which are no longer under the titular sponsorship of Monster Energy.
