The many drag racing fans who are taking part in PlayNHRA will now have the opportunity to place wagers on the winners of Professional championships in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. The experts at Alt Sports Data recently released their opening odds for the upcoming Countdown to the Championship playoffs with current points leaders Doug Kalitta, Austin Prock, Greg Anderson, and Gaige Herrera as the favorites in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle, respectively.

PlayNHRA bettors can wager on the championship odds with DraftKings, Betcris, and Bet365.

As part of the PlayNHRA initiative, NHRA has formed partnerships with leading sports books and fantasy sports providers to enable fans to sign up for free and legally wager on national events and other outcomes in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. NHRA fans now have the opportunity to engage in fantasy games, gaming, and betting.

The championship odds represent every driver who is currently eligible to win a 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series title in each of the Professional classes. The final list of championship contenders will be updated following the completion of this week’s 70th annual Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.

Kalitta is not only the current Top Fuel points leader, he’s also the reigning world champion and has mounted a proper title defense with three wins in five final rounds and an impressive 25-10 record in elimination rounds. Kalitta has been in numerous heated points battles during his career, so he’s about the last driver that one would expect to wilt under pressure. Kalitta opens at +423, meaning a wager of $100 would return a profit of $423.

Behind Kalitta, Justin Ashley, Steve Torrence, Antron Browqn, and Shawn Langdon are among the favorites. Torrence has won four Pro titles, while Brown has three and Langdon has one.

Prock has never won an NHRA championship, but he’s driving for a team that has won many titles, and after a strong regular season, he’s the favorite in Funny Car. Prock has had an amazing regular season with four wins in seven finals and a 30-9 record in eliminations. He’s also owned the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge event. Prock’s opening line is +285 to claim the championship.

While Prock has been dominant in Funny Car, he’s got plenty of company in the form of former champs Matt Hagan and Ron Capps, as well as Bob Tasca III. Also lurking is Jack Beckman, who is signed as a fill-in driver for injured John Force. Under NHRA rules, Beckman is eligible to earn points for Force for the remainder of the season with opening odds of +876.

Not surprisingly, the battle for the Pro Stock championship is wide open with more than a dozen drivers mathematically eligible for the title. After leading for most of the season, four-time world champ Greg Anderson remains the favorite, followed closely by Erica Enders, Dallas Glenn, Aaron Stanfield, Jeg Coughlin Jr., and his nephew, Troy Coughlin Jr. All of the above drivers have at least one win this season.

After dominating most of the last year and a half, Gaige Herrera is the overwhelming favorite to land his second NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle championship with opening odds of -.373. Herrera has won six times this year but has not won either of the last two events. That opens up some interesting possibilities as six-time champ Matt Smith is also a favorite along with Chase Van Sant, the reigning rookie of the year who scored his first win earlier this season in Seattle.

Below are the opening odds for the 2024 NHRA Professional championships as provided by Alt Sports Data.

(Note: In American sports betting, odds are typically expressed with a plus (+) or minus (–) symbol followed by a number. For example, +200 signifies the amount a bettor could win if wagering $100. If the bet works out, the player would receive a total payout of $300 ($200 profit + $100 initial stake.)

TOP FUEL CHAMPIONSHIP

FUNNY CAR CHAMPIONSHIP

PRO STOCK CHAMPIONSHIP

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE CHAMPIONSHIP