No matter where you are this Sunday, if you are a true motorsports fans, you mustn’t miss the return of NASCAR at Darlington Raceway. The 293-lap race is the 116th to take place at the famed raceway and it will offer plenty of gasoline-guzzling action, featuring some of the top racers, after a long-anticipated pause in the regular season.
While eNASCAR provided a much-needed relief, the NASCAR Cup Series are back at Darlington this Sunday, May 17, at 3:30 p.m. ET. Previously, Erik Jones secured a victory in the race, but he’s priced at (+1600) today and analysts aren’t too sure if he can pull the same feat once again. We will take a deep dive into the latest NASCAR Cup Series odds to give you a better overview.
NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington: Odds to Win
| Driver | Odds |
| Kyle Busch | +600 |
| Denny Hamlin | +700 |
| Kevin Harvick | +600 |
| Martin Truex Jr | +750 |
| Chase Elliott | +800 |
| Joey Logano | +800 |
| Brad Keselowski | +800 |
| Alex Bowman | +1000 |
| Erik Jones | +1600 |
| Kurt Busch | +1800 |
| Jimmie Johnson | +2500 |
| William Byron | +2800 |
*Odds taken on May 16
The odds are definitely quite interesting. Once again, Kyle Busch is in the lead, neck-and-neck with Kevin Harvick. The pair will be contesting this one and contesting it hard. Yet, we ought to look into the stats to be absolutely certain – or at least as much as you could be – if either driver is a good pick.
Darlington Raceway has a story to tell and that is that Kyle Buch has had the most laps in Top 15, pulling ahead of Harvick with 1,081 compared to Harvick’s 1,069. Brad Keselowski, one of the underdogs we like, comes fifth with 1,011.
In terms of average position, Kyle Busch is again in the pole with 6.2, but Brad Keselowski pulls a close-second here with 6.7. The only statistics in which Kyle Busch falls out of is fastest laps run. That’s for Kurt Busch to hold the top spot for. Yet, Kyle seems to be a well-balanced driver who doesn’t bet on being the fastest in some laps, but rather to consistently deliver good results.
And this shows in his overall rating where he stands at 113.1. All this data applies to the Darlington Raceway. However, Kyle Busch last won in 20018 whereas Keselowski secured both the NASCAR Xfinity Series Race and NASCAR Cup Series, making for a very strong performance.
Understandably, Keselowski is our underdog pick for Darlington this weekend. The driver has shown a lot of potential, even though his overall stats at Darlington has been middling. Yet, Keselowski had his most recent wins sealed in 2018 and that’s reason enough for us to seek an underdog pick in this situation.
Where and When to Watch NASCAR Darlington Raceway?
- Date: Sunday, May 17
- Time: 3:30 p.m. EST
- Location: Darlington, South Carolina
- Watch: FOX, FOX Sports
If you are keen not to miss a second of the upcoming race, you can tune in and watch the NASCAR Darlington race on Sunday, May 17 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX. Before we part, we should probably mention a thing or two about Jones.
A Quick Word about Erik Jones at Darlington
We dismissed him mostly because there have only been so few starts featuring him – only three. Yet, Jones has kept his end well and he is priced at another (+1600). We agree that Keselowski has more of a chance, but Jones might be just another dark horse to keep your eye out for. Besides, Jones did win the NASCAR Cup Series in 2019 at Darlington, so that’s doubly impressing.
We know, it’s definitely the first thing we should have said about Jones, but can he do a back-to-back victory?