NASCAR Preview: 2020 Cook Out Southern 500 Picks

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!

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Where to Bet on the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs

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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

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Five Ways to Bet on NASCAR Races and Win Money.

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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