2023 NASCAR Darlington odds, picks and predictions for the Cook Out Southern 500
The first of 10 playoff races begins Sunday night from the track that’s “too tough to tame,” as the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500.
The top 16 Cup drivers who made the playoffs – along with the rest of the field – will race around the 1.366-mile, egg-shaped oval in the first of three postseason races that will determine which drivers move to the Round of 12.
A victory by any playoff driver will result in them automatically clinching a spot in the next round. There will be three playoff rounds (Round of 16, Round of 12 and a Round of 8) to determine which four drivers make the championship round and the season finale at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 5.
William Byron won the season’s first Darlington race in May, which was one of his series-leading five victories of 2023. Byron, however, isn’t the odds-on favorite heading into Sunday’s race.
That honor goes to Martin Truex Jr., who won three races and was crowned the Cup Series regular-season champion. Truex won the pole in the May race at Darlington but finished 31st after crashing.
Truex has two career wins at the track the drivers have named the “lady in black.”
FrontPageBets takes a look at drivers to watch in the Cook Out Southern 500 from Darlington Raceway on Sunday night (6 p.m., USA Network).
Pick to win: Denny Hamlin (+850)
Denny Hamlin, the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, leads all active drivers for the most wins at Darlington with four.
In the first race at the South Carolina track in May, Hamlin was 12th, but he’s finished in the top five, including two victories, in five of his last eight Darlington starts.
Hamlin, who finished second in Cup points during the regular season, has an average finish of 7.7 at Darlington Raceway, completing nearly 99.8% of possible laps through 22 career starts.
To go along with his four wins, Hamlin has 12 top-5 and 16 top-10 finishes at the egg-shaped racing oval.
Top-3 pick: William Byron (+200)
Bryon led the Cup series with the most wins in 2023, including Darlington in May.
In 10 career starts there, the driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy has three top-5 finishes.
Four of Byron’s victories this season have come at intermediate tracks (between 1 and 2 miles), as have six of his nine career wins.
Top-10 pick: Chase Elliott
Although Chase Elliott missed the playoffs, the driver of the No. 9 Hendricks Motorsports Chevy is still one of the most talented racers in NASCAR – not to mention one of the most popular.
Elliott has never won at Darlington in 13 career starts, but does have four top-5 finishes and six top-10s, including a third place in May’s race.
Odds-on favorites to win the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington
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