NASCAR at Darlington: Odds, key stats, bets to consider for Southern 500

September 27, 2019November 1, 2019 Satya

The rich southern history of NASCAR is going to be revived this weekend using throwback paint schemes, particular memorabilia and nostalgia as the circuit heads to historic Darlington Raceway for the famous Southern 500, unofficially one of NASCAR’s four big races.

Sunday night’s race also marks the second-to-last race of the season before 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 drivers currently with a slender opportunity to make the playoffs without a win while the rest of the area needs a victory at Darlington or Indianapolis to punch their ticket to the playoffs.

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With”The Lady in Black” prepared to paint a Darlington stripe on anyone who gets too near her wall, drivers will need to be at their best since the track changes when the hot South Carolina sun starts to set at the 1.366-mile asphalt trail. Among the most unique tracks in NASCAR features 25 levels of banking in Turns 1 and 2, and 23 degrees in Turns 3 and 4 as the track narrows by 17 ft since the vehicle rounds the egg-shaped oval.

There’s no additional track like Darlington making it hard to handicap however, the track is quite abrasive like similar tracks in length in Atlanta and Chicagoland. Sunday’s race-favorite Kevin Harvick will use his winning Atlanta chassis which led 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 the 2016 Darlington winner who has a series of three top-10 finishes at the monitor.

Entering Sunday’s race with the fourth-shortest chances is a driver who has mastered Darlington and still needs a good showing to secure a spot in the playoffs: Denny Hamlin.

The No. 11 Toyota driver is a two-time Darlington winner and defending race winner. Hamlin boasts the very best driver evaluation (110.3 — well above the upcoming statistical best of Kyle Busch at 105.1), the best average running place (7.8) and tops among the fastest laps run (272) in this race. Hamlin also has 10 top-10 finishes in 12 career starts at Darlington, including seven top-fives to go together with his 2 wins.

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 gambling 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