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NASCAR insiders struggle to pinpoint favorite for 2025 NASCAR championship after Talladega

Brian Jones Profile Picby: Brian Jones13 hours agobrianjones_93
NASCAR 2025 Round of 8 (1)
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Two NASCAR insiders are having a hard time pinpointing which driver is the favorite to win the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship after Chase Briscoe won at Talladega on Sunday. On The Teardown podcast, Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic looked at which one of the eight remaining playoff drivers has the best chance to win the title.

“It feels wide open,” Bianchi said. “If [Team Penske] doesn’t get to Phoenix, I don’t think there is a clear-cut favorite.”

The playoff drivers from Team Penske are Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney. Both are below the playoff cut line, but they have won the last three titles. Logano won it last year and in 2022, and Blaney won the championship in 2023. Bianchi said Blaney was the favorite to win the title last year, but Logano was also a driver to watch. When it comes to 2025, he feels like it’s “anybody’s championship, and that’s really cool.”

Who has the best chance to win the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship?

Gluck talked about how he’s having a hard time choosing between Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe, the two drivers who have clinched a spot in this year’s Championship 4. “Between Hamlin and Briscoe, I think even just that is really hard to pick, let alone who the other two are going to be,” Gluck said.

Later in the podcast, Gluck shared different scenarios on championship favorites. “If [Christopher] Bell makes it, I think Bell becomes the favorite of the JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) drivers,” he said. “I would rank it this way: If a Team Penske car is in, they’re the favorite for Phoenix. If it’s [Kyle] Larson or [William] Byron or [Chase] Elliott, I have to put the Hendrick car fourth and JGR above them.”

As mentioned, Hamlin and Briscoe are on top of the playoff standings and clinched spots in the championship race. The two drivers behind them and above the cut line are Bell (+37) and Larson (+36). The four drivers below the cut line are Byron (-36), Logano (-38), Blaney (-47), and Elliott (-62). The next race is on Sunday at Martinsville, and this will be the final opportunity for the playoff drivers to clinch a spot in the championship race at Phoenix.