With the running of the Foxwoods Resort Casino Resort 301 this coming Sunday, we will have officially run race #20 of 36 in the 2019 NASCAR season. At the top of the driver standings, we have Joey Logano and Kyle Busch separated by a measly 11 points, which suggests that we are in for a real treat in the second half of the season.

While it has been those two who have been getting most of the headlines this season, there are a handful of other drivers who are within reach of the leaders and ready to make their move in the second half of the NASCAR Betting action this season. Let’s dig into the second half and take a closer look at what might go down.

2019 NASCAR Season Second Half Betting Predictions

Will Joey Logano Successfully Defend His 2018 Title?

Given that Logano is at the top of the standings after 19 races, he certainly looks as though he is a very decent bet. While Logano has 7 stage wins, he also only has 2 wins on the season and is a bit of the pace in terms of total laps led right now. He has been incredibly consistent, though, finishing in the top 10 in 13 of his 19 races to this point.

It has been that consistency that has kept him on top, but with Kyle Busch lurking so close and arguably being the more consistent of the two with 16 top 10 finishes out of 19, you feel that Logano is going to need another couple of wins in the second half. He is more than capable of doing so, but I’m not so sure that he repeats in 2019.

Who is the Dark Horse in the Second half?

While I admit that calling a driver who is #6 in the standings a dark horse is a bit of a reach, the reality is that the majority of NASCAR fans and media pundits seem to be of the belief that the chase is going to come down to a battle between Logano and Busch for overall supremacy. The first half of the season would definitely seem to make that theory a sound one, but there are a few drivers sitting not too far off the pace, with Martin Truex Jr. being one of them.

He has as many wins as Kyle Busch does with 4, with 3 of those wins coming in the last 11 races. To put that in perspective, that more wins than Logano and Busch combined during that same stretch. If anyone is going to upset the top two, I’d go with Martin Truex Jr.

Who Lands Atop the Driver Standings When The Season Ends?

While I have just made a somewhat decent argument for Truex Jr. as the potential 2019 NASCAR season champion, I am also of the belief that it will be one of the current top two that wins it. I am looking at Kyle Busch as being your champion this year. The reality is that no driver has been as consistent as he has this season, and if he puts in a second half as good as the first, he will come out on top.