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

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

Sunday night’s race marks the second-to-last race of the season before the 16-driver playoffs begin at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (-79 points out of 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 remainder of the field 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, drivers will have to be in their best since the trail changes when the sexy South Carolina sun starts to set at the 1.366-mile asphalt trail. One of the most unique tracks in NASCAR features 25 degrees of banking in Turns 1 and 2, and 23 degrees in Turns 3 and 4 since the track narrows by 17 ft as the car rounds the oblong oblong.

There is no additional track like Darlington making it hard to handicap but the track is quite abrasive like similar paths in length at Atlanta and Chicagoland. Sunday’s race-favorite Kevin Harvick will be using his winning Atlanta chassis which led 181 of 325 laps at February while Kyle Busch expects another 50+ lap-leading triumph at Darlington like he’d at Chicago this summer. The final member of the”Big 3,” Martin Truex Jr. is your 2016 Darlington winner that has a streak of three top-10 finishes in the monitor.

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

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

Odds to acquire 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

Read more: nfllive.org