NASCAR at Darlington: Odds, key stats, bets to consider for Southern 500
The rich southern history of NASCAR is going to be revived this weekend using throwback paint schemes, special memorabilia and nostalgia since the circuit heads to historic Darlington Raceway for its famous Southern 500, unofficially one of NASCAR’s four big races.
Sunday night’s race marks the second-to-last race of the regular season prior to the 16-driver playoffs start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (-79 points from cutoff), Ryan Newman (-91), Daniel Suarez (-93) and Paul Menard (-99) are motorists now with a slim opportunity to make the playoffs with no win while the rest of the area requires a victory at Darlington or Indianapolis to punch their ticket into the playoffs.
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With”The Lady in Black” ready to paint a Darlington stripe on anyone who gets too close to her wall, motorists will have to be at their best as the track changes when the sexy South Carolina sun starts to set at the 1.366-mile asphalt track. Among the most unique tracks in NASCAR features 25 degrees of banking in Turns 1 and 2, and 23 degrees in Turns 3 and 4 as the trail narrows by 17 ft since the car rounds the egg-shaped oval.
There is no other track like Darlington which makes it hard to handicap but the monitor is very abrasive like similar tracks in length at Atlanta and Chicagoland. Sunday’s race-favorite Kevin Harvick will be using his winning Atlanta chassis which directed 181 of 325 laps in February while Kyle Busch seeks another 50+ lap-leading triumph at Darlington like he did at Chicago this summer. The final member of the”Big 3,” Martin Truex Jr. is your 2016 Darlington winner who has a series of three top-10 finishes at the monitor.
Entering Sunday’s race with the fourth-shortest odds is a driver who has dominated Darlington and still needs a good showing to secure a spot in the playoffs: Denny Hamlin.
The No. 11 Toyota motorist is a two-time Darlington winner and defending race champion. Hamlin boasts the top driver evaluation (110.3 — well over the upcoming statistical best of Kyle Busch in 105.1), the best average running place (7.8) and tops the list of fastest laps operate (272) in this race. Hamlin offers 10 top-10 endings in 12 career starts at Darlington, including seven.
Odds to win Southern 500
Kevin Harvick 5/2
Kyle Busch 7/2
Martin Truex Jr 7/2
Denny Hamlin 6/1
Kyle Larson 6/1
Erik Jones 18/1
Ryan Blaney 18/1
Brad Keselowski 18/1
Kurt Busch 18/1
Clint Bowyer 18/1
Chase Elliott 25/1
Joey Logano 25/1
Aric Almirola 50/1
Jimmie Johnson 100/1
Ryan Newman 100/1
Daniel Suarez 100/1
Alex Bowman 100/1
Austin Dillon 200/1
Jamie McMurray 200/1
Paul Menard 200/1
Ricky Stenhouse Jr 300/1
Matt Kenseth 300/1
William Byron 300/1
Kasey Kahne 1000/1
Chris Buescher 1000/1
Darrell Wallace Jr 1000/1
AJ Allmendinger 1000/1
Ty Dillon 5000/1
Michael McDowell 5000/1
Field (All Others) 1000/1
Notable Southern 500 betting matchups
Kyle Busch -110
Martin Truex Jr. -110
Denny Hamlin -110
Kyle Larson -110
Kevin Harvick -145
Martin Truex Jr. +125
Erik Jones -110
Brad Keselowski -110
Brad Keselowski -110
Clint Bowyer -110
Kyle Busch -115
Denny Hamlin +135
Chase Elliott -110
Joey Logano -110
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