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The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Darlington Raceway for the regular-season finale Sunday for the Cook Out Southern 500. The green flag drops at 6 p.m. ET (USA Network). Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the 2024 Cook Out Southern 500 odds, and make our expert NASCAR picks and predictions.
2024 Cook Out Southern 500: What you need to know
- RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski punched his ticket to the playoffs with a victory in the spring race at Darlington, posting an average speed of 124.750 mph. He starts from the 12th spot Sunday
- Keselowski has 2 career wins at the track with a 10.9 Average-Finish Position (AFP) and 432 laps led with just 1 DNF in 21 Cup starts
- Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson picked up a victory in the Darlington fall race in 2023, taking checkers from the 18th starting position. Larson goes off 4th on Sunday
- Larson has an 11.3 AFP in 13 career Cup starts with 1 win, 6 top-5 finishes and 785 laps led, 4th-best among active drivers
- Larson’s win last September was a rarity, as the winning driver at Darlington has started 9th or better in 12 of the past 18 Cup races at the track
- Hendrick Motorsports driver Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers with 4 wins at Darlington, while posting 13 top-5 finishes in 24 Cup starts and an 8.3 AFP, best among all active drivers. He starts from the 14th spot in the grid
- 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace is on the pole for Sunday’s race, thanks to a best speed of 167.146 mph in qualifying. Wallace is 21 points behind Chris Buescher on the cut line for the playoffs
- Spire Motorsports driver Carson Hocevar will start on the outside of Row 1 after recording a best speed of 167.010 mph in qualifying
- Stewart-Haas Racing driver Chase Briscoe is the top qualifying Ford, going off 3rd after a best speed of 166.270 mph
- JGR’s Ty Gibbs and Martin Truex Jr. are each above the cut line for the playoffs heading into Sunday’s race. MTJ is 58 points clear, but he has no victories, while Gibbs is 39 points above the line, also with no wins
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2024 Cook Out Southern 500 – Expert pick
Odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 2:02 a.m. ET.
BUBBA WALLACE (+1400) will be pulling out all the stops in the regular-season finale, trying to will his way into the playoffs.
He is 21 points short of Buescher, so he likely is going to need a checkered flag to get into the Group of 16 drivers who will be battling for a championship. But, there is still math which gets him into the picture, even if he doesn’t get the win. He has a lot at stake, and he is a good bet at this price since he won’t be nearly as comfortable as many of the other drivers in the field.
2024 Cook Out Southern 500 – Contender
CHRIS BUESCHER (+2500) is a value play at this price. Remember last season when Ross Chastain pulled off an insane wall move at Martinsville to sling shot around the final corner to get into the Championship 4 last season? Expect desperation like that at Darlington, especially when it comes to Buescher, Wallace, and others still jockeying to get into the Final 16.
Buescher has OK numbers in his career at the track, posting a top-5 finish, 4 top-10 runs and 22 laps led with a 17.4 AFP in 14 career Cup starts.
BUESCHER TOP-10 FINISH (-115) is also a solid play at this price level.
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2024 Cook Out Southern 500 prop pick
CHASE BRISCOE TOP-10 FINISH (+350)
A lot can change between the start of the race, and the finish, especially at the “Track Too Tough To Tame”. However, Briscoe goes off 3rd, and he’s in a strong position to get off to a good start. For the opportunity to multiply up by 3 1/2 times, play Briscoe, and hope for the best.
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