The NASCAR Cup Series stops at Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500 Sunday. The green flag is set to drop at approximately 6:05 p.m. ET. Below we analyze the 2021 Cook Out Southern 500 odds and lines, with NASCAR picks and predictions.
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. lead 248 of the 293 laps in early May to win the Goodyear 400 at Darlington.
JGR’s Denny Hamlin won at Darlington last summer, with Stewart-Haas Racing driver Kevin Harvick winning the front-end of the doubleheader last year at the venerable track.
With three victories apiece, Hamlin and Harvick also head into Sunday’s evening race tied for the most wins at the track among active drivers.
2021 Cook Out Southern 500: What you need to know
- Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson leads all drivers with a 6.00 Average-Finish Position (AFP) in seven Cup Series starts, and he has never finished lower than 14th.
- Harvick leads all drivers with 11 top-5 finishes in his 27 Cup Series starts, and Hamlin is second with 10 top-5 runs in his 18 starts.
- Chevrolet hasn’t been to Victory Lane at Darlington since the Bojangles’ Southern 500 back in the summer of 2014.
- That Harvick win in 2014 was the last time a driver won from the pole. Hamlin’s win last summer was from the 16th starting spot, the furthest back for a Darlington winner since 2011 when Regan Smith won from the 23rd starting spot.
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Who is going to win the 2021 Cook Out Southern 500?
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 8:25 a.m. ET.
LARSON (+300) is the favorite for Sunday’s race. He will go off from the sixth position. While he has never picked up checkers at the South Carolina track, he had a runner-up finish last time out at “The Lady in Black.”
TRUEX JR. (+500), who goes off from the 10th starting spot Sunday, was utterly dominant at the Goodyear 400 at Darlington. With two wins, outside of Hamlin and Harvick, he is the only active driver with multiple victories at Darlington.
JGR’s KYLE BUSCH (+600) is also a pretty decent value. He has one win in his 19 career Cup starts at Darlington, and his 10.74 AFP is very good. He has been out front for 725 laps, and those are the most laps led among active drivers outside of Harvick (792).
Long-shot and prop bets for the 2021 Cook Out Southern 500
SHR’s CHASE BRISCOE (+10000) has some rather long odds, but he has been driving well lately. He was ninth at Watkins Glen, and then was up front for most of the Indianapolis road course before a late crash pushed him back to 26th.
Briscoe was also a solid 11th at Michigan before tumbling to 21st last week at the Coke Zero Sugar 400 in Daytona. He was also 11th in his first-ever Cup Series start at Darlington in early May.
While winning is quite the long shot, BRISCOE TOP 10 FINISH (+400) is quite a bit more realistic, and a great value.
RYAN NEWMAN TOP 10 FINISH (+500) is also worth a roll of the dice. He has finished 10th or better in 14 of his 25 career starts at Darlington, posting a respectable 12.72 AFP.
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