William Hill creates new way to bet Sprint Cup Championship

Does the new Chase format hurt Junior the most?

LAS VEGAS - When the positive changes to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship format were first announced two weeks ago, the first thing that went off in a lot of Las Vegas bookmakers’ minds was how they could spin it off into making odds that would create some attention and force wagers through the bet windows. The first group of sports books to offer something unique was William Hill’s chain of books throughout Nevada.

They have 10 drivers posted with six options to choose, asking how far a driver will finish in the Sprint Cup Chase- or if they‘ll make it at all. For instance, Jimmie Johnson is 50-to-1 to ‘Miss the Chase’, the most unlikely of scenarios. If you think he’ll make the Chase but be eliminated in the ‘Challenger Round’, they’ll give you 20-to-1 odds. If he makes it only as far as the group that advances to the next set of three races called the ’Contender Round’, the payout reduces to 4-to-1. Should he make it to the final race at Homestead, one of four drivers to participate in the championship game of sorts, but not win, that option is the favorite at EVEN money. And finally, if he wins the Sprint Cup by having the best finish at Homestead, they’ll pay 14-to-5, or +280, which is a juicier number than the 5-to-2 most books currently have on him on their standard championship odds index.

This is a fun new way to wager on the season championship in Las Vegas and we applaud William Hill for taking the time and effort to post them, as well as share them with us. We’ve also offered a few of our own thoughts on where we think each driver might finish.

Furthest JIMMIE JOHNSON will go in Sprint Cup
Miss The Chase………..50-1
Challenger Round……...20-1
Contender Round…….…4-1
Eliminator Round …….…3-1
Championship Round…..EV
Win Sprint Cup…………14-5

Linemakers take: We like the favored option in this prop, which is being one of the final four drivers at Homestead, but not winning the title. We can talk about Johnson never having to race hard at Homestead as an excuse for never winning there, but it still remains a fact- he’s never won there.

Furthest MATT KENSETH will go in Sprint Cup
Miss The Chase………..30-1
Challenger Round……...15-1
Contender Round…….…5-2
Eliminator Round …….…9-5
Championship Round…..7-5
Win Sprint Cup………..…6-1

Linemakers take: His seven wins in 2013 were more than anyone in the series, and surprisingly none of those wins came in restrictor-plate races where he led more laps than anyone. He should be in the Championship Round and he’ll definitely have a car capable of winning it all. He won at Homestead in 2007 and was runner-up last season.

Read more of the odds on eight other drivers.........