Bojangles’ Southern 500 Race Picks
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Darlington
Date and Time: Saturday April 12th, 2014. 6:45PM Eastern
Where: Darlington Raceway Darlington, S.C.
TV: FOX
By:NASCAR Wagers, NASCAR Handicapping Service
Saturday night racing returns to the Sprint Cup Series tonight when Kevin Harvick leads the field to the green flag at Darlington Raceway in the Bojangles’ Southern 500. For those not familiar with NASCAR history, the ‘Southern 500’ is one of the biggest races of the season for fans and drivers. In NASCAR, 3 tracks stand alone at the pinnacle of stock car racing; they are Daytona, Indianapolis, and Darlington! For fans, Darlington is a short track and superspeedway blended for the perfect racing experience. For drivers, Darlington represents the ultimate driving test and there are few accomplishments in NASCAR that can match the prestige of winning at this historic venue.
Last year Matt Kenseth tamed the ‘Lady in Black’ for the first time in his career. It took Kenseth 20 starts and a ton of experience to finally capture a Darlington win. Outside of Regan Smith’s surprise win in 2011, experience has been a theme among past Darlington winners. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 7 victories at Darlington which is 2nd all-time only to David Pearson who has 10 wins. Gordon took the points lead with a 2nd place finish last week at Texas and is riding a wave of momentum. The #24 car showed speed in practice and as we mentioned earlier this week; this is a perfect opportunity for him earn another Darlington victory.
Outside of Gordon, only Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle have multiple Darlington wins. However, Biffle did not show much speed in practices on Friday and has not shown much speed all season for that matter. Johnson had a poor qualifying effort but #48 backers should not worry too much. The #48 machine was solid in race trim and Johnson strives on long green flag runs at Darlington. Johnson’s odds increased fairly well after qualifying meaning he has more value than he did earlier in the week.
A few of the remaining favorites from an odds standpoint include pole winner Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Joey Logano. Harvick has never won at Darlington and supports a pretty poor 17.2 average finish. The #4 car has been fast most of the season but has not had the finishes to show for it in recent weeks. Last week’s winner Joey Logano and the #22 team have been showing a lot of speed this season. Logano has a rather poor 17th place average finish as like Harvick, but we think he may be ready to crack his first top 5 at Darlington. Both Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin have previous Darlington wins. Both drivers showed speed during practice and know how to get around Darlington extremely well. If you are betting on teams to win this week, we may actually give Joe Gibbs Racing the nod over Hendrick Motorsports despite the 10 wins between Gordon and Johnson.
If you are looking for a future potential longshots, we would suggest starting with Kyle Larson. Darlington suits Larson’s driving style and he was pretty fun to watch last night in the Nationwide race. The Sprint Cup rookie was hitting the outside wall nearly every lap but keeping his foot in the throttle to make it work. Larson did not get the job done last night, but his talent was on display for everyone and he has done surprisingly well in the Sprint Cup cars despite his limited experience. Another long shot on our radar is Ryan Newman. Newman has the 6th best average finish among active drivers and was very fast in both practices on Friday. Newman has the tools to get the job done and receiving very generous 35-1 odds. Obviously a lot of drivers stand out tonight and it will be interesting to see if NASCAR gets their 8th different winner of the season. Based off the knowledge at hand, we have put together a solid roster for tonight’s race. Take a look at our Bojangles’ Southern 500 race picks:
NASCARWAGERS Picks to Win:
Jimmie Johnson +675: 3 time Darlington winner, fast in race trim, driving chassis that finished 6th at Las Vegas.
Kyle Busch +800: Past winner, fast in both practices, has led most laps from the prior two Darlington races.
Denny Hamlin +1100: Best average finish among active drivers, finished in top 5 in each of last two Darlington races.
Tony Stewart +2500: A guy not many people are not considering but has the 5th best average finish among active drivers. Crew chief Chad Johnston has had success with Martin Truex Jr at Darlington and gives Smoke a shot at a win tonight.
H2H Match-Up: Newman -105 over Ku. Busch (2 units)
