Following a two month hiatus due to COVID-19, NASCAR announced plans to return to racing earlier today. The updated schedule features back to back races at both Darlington Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway in short proximity. The official return to racing will take place on Sunday May 17th at Darlington Raceway followed by another race at Darlington on Wednesday May 20th. Similar events will unfold at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday May 24th with the running of the Coca Cola 600 followed by Wednesday May 27th’s shorter 500km event (310 miles). In total, there will be 7 different races in a 11 day window between the Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series from Darlington to Charlotte as we return to racing action.
For anyone wondering, NASCAR’s outlined plan to return to racing will be without spectators at both venues and there will be numerous changes to ensure COVID-19 precautions are carried out. NASCAR’s decision to hold multiple races at both Darlington and Charlotte were obtainable due to the fact both tracks are closest (in distance) to the vast majority of team shops that are based in the Charlotte and Mooresville, NC surrounding area. Therefore these events will be executed with minimal travel and personnel by race teams. These changes will obviously make things visually different from the spectator standpoint but nevertheless racing will resume in just two weeks time, barring any substantial changes around the COVID-19 pandemic.
*Updated Schedule for Darlington and Charlotte
| DATE | SERIES | TRACK | DIST. |
|---|
| May 17 | Cup | Darlington | 400 mi |
| May 19 | Xfinity | Darlington | 200 mi |
| May 20 | Cup | Darlington | 500 km |
| May 24 | Cup | Charlotte | 600 mi |
| May 25 | Xfinity | Charlotte | 300 mi |
| May 26 | Trucks | Charlotte | 200 mi |
| May 27 | Cup | Charlotte | 500 km |
NASCAR Betting Darlington and Charlotte
It’s not uncommon for NASCAR to visit multiple venues in the same calendar year though Darlington has not hosted multiple races since 2004. However, the new schedule update will mark the first time in the modern era that Cup Series races are held at the same venue within just a few days apart. From an expectations standpoint, I don’t believe 3 days of separation will provoke major changes from the competition. In explanation, typically teams have notes about certain things the car did well, certain things they struggled to get from the setup, and several ideas about what can be tested in the shops for the next trip to that particular venue especially at times under the same rules package.
In the instances of both races at Darlington and Charlotte, teams will not have the time to experiment with many different setup packages at the shop. Once the checkered flag falls on Sunday, the primary car for both of Wednesday’s shortened events will likely be nearly fully prepared. Sure teams will have the option to change setups on the car with shocks, camber, tire pressures, and other mechanical adjustments. However, I don’t expect there to be significant differences in the competition from Sunday to Wednesday’s races. Those cars/teams that perform well on Sunday will have a high likelihood of repeating their performance on Wednesday with such a narrow gap of time to explore changes. Obviously, the results from each race are not going to be replicated exactly in each Wednesday event. However, I do think we will have a very short list of drivers to target from a betting standpoint.
Betting odds will likely be least valuable for Wednesday’s events on the heels of Sunday’s results at both venues. Imagine if Denny Hamlin leads 200 of 293 laps to win the opening race at Darlington on May 17th. For Wednesday’s May 20th event, Hamlin will likely be something in the realm of a 3-1 favorite. Usually with terrible odds in the example above, it makes things extremely tough for bettors. In the event of this new schedule layout, we will obviously have some chalky expectations that stem from the Sunday race results. However with the short window of time between both secondary races, we have a high likelihood of having a short list of sharp betting targets. The odds may not provide huge profit potential but there will be sharp profit potential. Of course everything is speculative at this point until things unfold on the track but I firmly believe that there will be advantageous betting opportunities to profit once we return to racing at two tracks that have typically favored handicapping. Fortunately 7 races over a 11 day span will present plenty of opportunities and we will be ready when it happens!
