Chase Elliott won the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series regular-season championship but struggled with only three top-10 finishes during the playoffs. It was a disappointing final 10 races after a strong year.
Still, Elliott found himself in the Championship 4 against Joey Logano, Ross Chastain, and Christopher Bell. That came to an end when the driver of the No. 9 car threw a lousy block on Chastain and wrecked his vehicle.
Despite a poor end to the 2022 season, the oddsmakers think Elliott will have a great shot at becoming a two-time Cup Series champion. In fact, they think he will be the favorite heading into 2023.
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Chase Elliott has the best odds to become the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion
Elliott finished the 2022 season with five wins, 12 top-5 finishes, 20 top-10 finishes, and a 12.5 averaging finishing position. However, he was the 17th-best driver when it comes to average finishing position in the playoffs.
As stated above, Elliott is officially the championship favorite for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series championship, according to BetOnline. The top 10 most favored drivers for the championship can be seen below.
| Driver | Odds |
| Chase Elliott | +550 (23/4) |
| Kyle Larson | +600 (6/1) |
| Denny Hamlin | +800 (8/1) |
| Ryan Blaney | +1000 (10/1) |
| Joey Logano | +1200 (12/1) |
| Ross Chastain | +1200 (12/1) |
| Christopher Bell | +1200 (12/1) |
| William Byron | +1200 (12/1) |
| Kyle Busch | +1200 (12/1) |
| Martin Truex Jr. | +1200 (12/1) |
Logano might be the most interesting while looking at the list because he won the 2022 Cup Series championship but still has 12/1 odds of winning the entire thing next year. Chastain and Bell also sit with 12/1 odds.
There are a few drivers not mentioned that could be dark horses for the championship. Tyler Reddick moved to 23XI Racing and might be a driver that goes far in the playoffs after a good year.
Reddick has 16/1 odds despite having three wins in the No. 8 car for Richard Childress Racing in 2022. If there is someone who could pull off an upset outside of the top 10 drivers, it could be Reddick.
If not, some other sleepers could be Alex Bowman at 28/1 odds, Chase Briscoe at 40/1 odds, and Austin Cindric at 50/1 odds. All three drivers could break out in the second year of the NextGen car.
Either way, it appears the oddsmakers think that Elliott will be one being chased once again. It is not surprising after a five-win season that saw him lead the way most of the year.