Dale Earnhardt Jr. has made his pick for who he thinks will be the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series champion, and it is a familiar choice.
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On his podcast "The Dale Jr Download," Earnhardt predicted that Ryan Blaney will defend his championship and go back-to-back in 2024. That was the same pick Earnhardt made before the 2023 season started.
If Blaney were to win the championship in 2024, he would be the first driver in the Cup Series to win consecutive championships since Jimmie Johnson did so from 2006-2010. This is a feat that has not been accomplished since NASCAR introduced the elimination format of the playoffs.
"I got Blaney repeating. Now, I know the odds of that happening are very not good at all, right?" Earnhardt said. "It's never happened. But this is a short sample of what we're pulling from to say, 'Oh this has never happened.' We're not talking about 75 years of history here. Just a few."
Rounding out Earnhardt's Championship 4 are Joey Logano, Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin. Earnhardt thinks William Byron will come up just short and doesn't expect Byron to repeat his six-win performance from 2023.
Christopher Bell is an interesting name to Earnhardt. He says Bell will either win the championship or be eliminated after the Round of 12. Bell continues to fly under the radar for many. There are people still sleeping on Bell and considering him an underdog, even though he has made the Championship 4 the last two years.
One hot take Earnhardt made was that Corey LaJoie will win a race this season and get himself into the playoffs. With LaJoie making the playoffs, that takes away a driver from making the playoffs — and Earnhardt believes that driver will be Chris Buescher. Buescher did score three victories in the final five races of the regular season in 2023, but he did not impress as much in the playoffs even though he did make it to the Round of 8.
Earnhardt is riding the Blaney train in 2024, just as he did in 2023. That ride starts on Feb. 18 at Daytona International Speedway for the Daytona 500.
