Ahead of the NASCAR Cup Series season, expectations run high for everyone. However, for the fans, it’s always a select few who they bet on for the championship win. But after NASCAR recently revealed who are the top drivers with the greatest odds for the championship win, fans were vehemently upset.

Mostly over the fact that Kyle Busch was excluded from the list.

Now anyone following NASCAR for a while knows what happened to Busch last year. The two-time champ had a rather rough year. Especially due to his bitter split from Joe Gibbs Racing. However, at the end of it all, Busch finally found himself a place at Richard Childress Racing. Following the move, many fans have high expectations from Rowdy this season. Almost as if he has something to prove to his former team.

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The usual suspects such as Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson showed up on the list. However, there was no mention of Busch. Fans soon took to social media to announce their displeasure and the outrightly disrespectful Kyle Busch snub.

NASCAR fans protest the exclusion of Kyle Busch

Given how good Busch usually is around the track on a good day, excluding him from the list was more of an insult. That is exactly what many of the fans felt. Plus the inclusion of too many Hendrick Motorsports drivers also pushed forward the idea that there is an inherent HMS bias present in NASCAR.

Despite the omission of Busch, we all know that he has something to prove this year. With RCR behind his back to support him throughout the season, Busch can look forward to a great season up ahead.

It’s very likely that his fans will witness a few wins, considering he is driving the same car in which Tyler Reddick won a couple last year. At the end of the day, we expect Busch to stay highly competitive—constantly fighting at the top of the field with seasoned regulars and former teammates.