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If the Daytona 500 is anything to go by, then we are in for a wild season in the Cup Series. The opening race of the year went to double overtime, had a final lap crash, and announced Ricky Stenhouse Jr. as the winner even when those watching thought it was Joey Logano who crossed the finish line first. In short, it was one of the crazier finishes in recent memory. That race, great though it was, is now in the past, so we need to look forward to the next race on what is always a long schedule. This week, the Cup Series is in California for the Pala Casino 400, with the focus back on picking up points and moving up the rankings. Let’s take a quick look at some of the NASCAR Cup Series Odds and favorites for Sunday afternoon’s race.

NASCAR Cup Series Betting Preview for the 2023 Pala Casino 400 Race

Kyle Larson

When looking to wager on NASCAR, one of the things you look at is how driver have historically performed on a specific track. The main reason why Larson is in as the favorite this weekend is because he won this race last season, 1 of only 3 wins he had on the entire season. This is, of course, no guarantee that he will win here again, but it is amazing how often drivers seem to routinely perform well on one track or another. Larson ran 18th in the Daytona 500, which was not a huge surprise given that he has rarely excelled in that race. I think his season may begin in earnest this weekend.

Denny Hamlin

If we are going to focus on driver performances on a specific track, them perhaps choosing Hamlin to win this weekend might not be the best idea. He has not been terrible on this track and has consistently been in the top 10 in previous runs in California, but wins have eluded Hamlin to this point. What he will be looking to do, for sure, is improve on his performance in Daytona last weekend, where he ended up finishing 17th overall. Not the best start to the season, but Hamlin is a great driver who will bounce back.

Ryan Blaney

Blaney made it all the way to the Round of 8 last season before falling at that hurdle. While it was certainly a decent showing, he will be well aware that winning a Cup Series championship without winning a single race is about as close to impossible as it gets, Blaney needs to start racking up wins if he wants to seriously challenge this season and he got off to a decent start this season, finishing 8th in the Daytona 500. He does have a couple of top 10 finishes on this track, so he might be worth a look.

Chase Elliott

For a driver that has been in the final four in each of the last 3 seasons, a 38th place finish at the Daytona 500 is a result that is not going to sit well. One thing you can say about Elliott, though, is that he does not tend to dwell on poor runs, so we can expect to see a whole lot more from him this weekend. His previous best finish on this track was 4th, with that run coming a few years back, but I think he might be a very decent top 5 pick this weekend.