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 the famous Southern 500, unofficially among NASCAR’s four big races.
Sunday night’s race also 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 drivers now with a slim 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 anybody who gets too close to her wall, motorists will have to be at their best as the trail changes when the hot 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 vehicle rounds the oblong oblong.
There’s no additional track like Darlington making it tough to handicap but the track is quite abrasive like similar tracks in length in 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 seeks 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 the 2016 Darlington winner that has a streak of three top-10 finishes at the monitor.
Entering Sunday’s race with all the fourth-shortest chances is a driver that has dominated 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 champion. Hamlin boasts the top driver rating (110.3 — well above the upcoming statistical best of Kyle Busch in 105.1), the very best average running position (7.8) and tops among the fastest laps operate (272) in this race. Hamlin also offers 10 top-10 finishes in 12 career starts at Darlington, including seven.
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: betting site
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