The race known as the Bojangles Southern 500 is now the Cook Out Southern 500 and it marks the return to Darlington. The race is also the first in the Cup Series Playoffs in which 16 drivers qualified for. The next several races will be geared towards making the next round when the field narrows to 12 drivers.
A complete list of drivers in the playoffs is listed below and you may notice something… Kevin Harvick, and a few other drivers favored to win the Southern 500, are also the points leaders heading into the Championship playoffs!
Where to Bet on the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs
Harvick comes in at +265 with Denny Hamlin at +275 and these are the top two drivers in the playoffs. Here are the top five favorite drivers to win the Southern 500 outright.
Kevin Harvick +265
Denny Hamlin +275
Martin Truex Jr +650
Brad Keselowski +1000
Chase Elliott +1000
NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Drivers
Here are the drivers racing for the Championship:
1. Kevin Harvick, 2,057 points
2. Denny Hamlin, 2,047 points
3. Brad Keselowski, 2,029 points
4. Joey Logano, 2,022 points
5. Chase Elliott, 2,020 points
6. Martin Truex Jr., 2,014 points
7. Ryan Blaney, 2,013 points
8. Alex Bowman, 2,009 points
9. William Byron, 2,007 points
10. Austin Dillon, 2,005 points
11. Cole Custer, 2,005 points
12. Aric Almirola, 2,005 points
13. Clint Bowyer, 2,004 points
14. Kyle Busch, 2,003 points
15. Kurt Busch, 2,001 points
16. Matt DiBenedetto, 2,000 points
2020 Cook Out Southern 500 Preview
Track: Darlington Raceway, Darlington, South Carolina
Type: 1.366 miles, oval
Turns: 4
Banking: Turn 1/2 25°, Turns 3/4 23°, front 3°, back 2°
Race Distance: 367 laps, 501.322 miles
Defending Track Winner: Denny Hamlin
TV/Radio: NBC-SN / MRN
Start Time: September 6, at 6:00 PM Eastern
Wins by manufacturer: Chevrolet 41, Ford 30, Toyota 8, (Mercury 10, Oldsmobile 6, Dodge 5, Pontiac 5, Buick 4, Plymouth 4, Hudson 3, AMC 2.)
Cook Out Southern 500 Predictions
Five Ways to Bet on NASCAR Races and Win Money.
Kevin Harvick +265
It’s not a fancy sports pick since he’s the favorite to win outright. But here are the reasons Harvick is at the top of the odds list. He’s won more races this season than any other driver. He’s won twice at Darlington in the Cup Series, and – over the last ten races – he’s finished fifth or better eight times including the two wins.
Denny Hamlin +275
Denny Hamlin is similar to Harvick. He is the defending track winner and has three wins at Darlington in a Cup Series car. He’s raced at Darlington sixteen times and finished in the top ten in thirteen of those races. He’s also won two of the last five races at the track.
Kyle Busch +1400
This is a gut pick – probably should swap him with Erik Jones listed below. But, I’ve faded Kyle Busch the last several races and that worked for me. Now I think he needs to ramp things up and that makes him a good NASCAR bet. Busch enters the playoffs on points only without a win on the season. He did that over a long regular season – now the window to rack up points before the cut is only four races. A win locks him into the next round.
Others I like
Erik Jones and Brad Keselowski: Both Erik Jones and Brad Keselowski have won recently at Darlington. Jones won at the track last year and Keselowski in 2018. Both have run strong there and Jones has the added incentive of doing good to help land a ride for next season as Joe Gibbs announced he would not be returning to the team.
Cook Out Southern 500 Odds
NASCAR bettors can bet on the race winner and props at America’s Bookie.
Kevin Harvick +265
Denny Hamlin +275
Martin Truex Jr +650
Brad Keselowski +1000
Chase Elliott +1000
Kyle Busch +1400
Joey Logano +1600
Kurt Busch +1800
Ryan Blaney +2000
Aric Almirola +2500
Alex Bowman +2800
Erik Jones +3000
Jimmie Johnson +3300
Tyler Reddick +4500
Clint Bowyer +4500
William Byron +4500
Matt Dibenedetto +5500
Christopher Bell +8000
Cole Custer +10000
Austin Dillon +10000
Matt Kenseth +12500
Ryan Newman +15000
Ricky Stenhouse Jr +25000
Chris Buescher +30000
Bubba Wallace +35000
John Hunter Nemechek +50000
Ty Dillon +75000
Brennan Poole +100000
Michael McDowell +100000
Daniel Suarez +100000
Ryan Preece +200000
Corey Lajoie +300000
Josh Bilicki +300000
J.J. Yeley +300000
Timmy Hill +400000
Reed Sorenson +400000
Quinn Houff +400000
Joey Gase +400000
James Davison +400000
