The wealthy southern history of NASCAR will 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 season prior to the 16-driver playoffs start 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 chance to make the playoffs with no 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, motorists will need to be at their best as the trail changes when the hot South Carolina sun begins 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 trail narrows by 17 feet since the vehicle rounds the egg-shaped oval.
There’s no additional track like Darlington which makes it tough to handicap but the track is quite abrasive like similar paths in length in Atlanta and Chicagoland. Sunday’s race-favorite Kevin Harvick will soon use his winning Atlanta chassis which directed 181 of 325 laps at February while Kyle Busch seeks another 50+ lap-leading win at Darlington like he’d at Chicago this summer. The final member of the”Big 3,” Martin Truex Jr. is the 2016 Darlington winner that has a streak 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 needs a good showing to secure a place in the playoffs: Denny Hamlin.
The No. 11 Toyota driver is a two-time Darlington winner and defending race champion. Hamlin boasts the top driver rating (110.3 — well over the upcoming statistical best of Kyle Busch in 105.1), the best average running position (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 top-fives to go together with his two 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 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
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