Sunday May 17
Darlington Raceway
Sports are back, well at least NASCAR is back so let’s sit back and enjoy it on Sunday from Darlington (the oldest superspeedway on the NASCAR circuit). This is a fun track where anything can happen and usually does. NASCAR and sports in general have disappeared for a little over two months back they are slowly coming back and that means gambling on sports is coming back as well. Here are few of my hot plays for the race plus there will be more picks to come since NASCAR plans on having 7 races in 11 days in Darlington and Charlotte (Coca Cola 600).
Top Chevrolet Car
+250 Chase Elliott
Elliott leads NASCAR in total laps led at 186
+400 Alex Bowman
Has one of the four victories in NASCAR this season
+550 Kurt Busch
Had 2nd most laps led at Darlington last race
+650 William Byron
Waiting to make a splash this year still
+650 Jimmy Johnson
He has a great history in Charlotte, so I’ll pass on JJ until then
+700 Matt Kenseth
Kenseth is making his return to racing for the first time this campaign
+250 Chase Elliott
Elliott is in his fifth season and has been close this season and in this prop, he will finish better than the rest of the group.
Top Ford Car
+230 Kevin Harvick
The 44 year-old has been NASCAR’s most consistent driver so far
+300 Joey Logano
Logano has two wins out of four races
+350 Brad Keselowski
Was the winner here in 2018
+800 Ryan Blaney
+1400 Aric Almirola
+1400 Matt DiBenedetto
DiBenedetto has been impressive so far and is currently 9th in points
+1600 Clint Bowyer
Bowyer is extremely inconsistent
+350 Brad Keselowski
This is a nice value play with Keselowski. He won at Darlington in 2018 and led for 216 laps in 2015 while finishing second that race.
Best Finish in Group
+210 Eric Jones
Jones won here last year and recorded a 5th place finish in 2017
+215 Alex Bowman
Is fourth overall in points
+285 Kurt Busch
Was 2nd in laps led at Darlington last year (24 behind his brother Kyle)
+320 Jimmy Johnson
Johnson’s next two destinations (Charlotte and Kansas) will be the time to take a shot with him
+215 Eric Jones
This seems to be the oval shaped track that Jones shines at.
Match-Ups
-135 Denny Hamlin over Joey Logano
Hamlin (winner at Daytona) has the best lifetime average of finish (minimum 5 starts) at Darlington.
-135 Brad Keselowski over Alex Bowman
Bowman has had a productive season so far, but Keselowski loves racing here, and his past performances will tell you that he should be better than Bowman here.
To Win and Top 3
Kyle Busch
+600 and +160
Busch is well overdue plus he has a history of running great races at Darlington. In the past eight races here, he has seven top 10 finishes. Busch finished third last race and led the field in laps led with 118.
I hope everyone continues to stay safe and do the smart thing as we continue to combat the coronavirus. Enjoy the race on Sunday and I hope I can put a little extra cash in your pocket.
