The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Darlington Raceway this week, one of the most iconic tracks on the schedule that’s also one of the toughest for the drivers.
The track coined ‘too tough to tame’ usually tends to favor experienced veterans, but last season’s fall race produced a long-shot winner in Erik Jones with several veteran drivers experiencing difficulties with the Next Gen Car.
While the unpredictability surrounding the Next Gen continues to make picking the winner challenging, we’ve found five drivers that offer value to reach victory lane along with the complete odds for all 36 drivers in the field.
FAST FIVE PICKS
Chalk play
Kyle Larson (+400 to win)
Larson is always in the mix at Darlington, but he’s yet to record a win here despite his strong results. There’s no driver running better than Larson right now, so we’re going to bank on him breaking through to get that first Darlington win and are willing to pay up to have him as one of our five drivers this week even though his odds are very short at 4-to-1.
Trending up
Tyler Reddick (+850 to win)
Reddick recorded a pair of top-three finishes during last year’s Darlington races, and this is the type of track that suits a talented driver like him since it’s such a challenge to drive on. Reddick has run well enough with his new team this season to where he should be in the mix once again to grab his second win of 2023.
Best value
Ross Chastain (+1000 to win)
Darlington hasn’t been kind to Chastain, but we could see that changing this week as he searches for his first win of 2023. Chastain’s been in the headlines a lot due to his controversial driving style, but he’ll look to avoid trouble as he looks to add a win to what’s been an otherwise strong start as the overall series points leader.
Mid-pack play
Ryan Blaney (+2000 to win)
Blaney’s been on a major dry spell as far as winning a Cup race, but his odds have dropped enough to where we’re willing to take a shot on him. Darlington isn’t one of Blaney’s better tracks, but his teammate Joey Logano is the defending winner of this race, so he should have the speed needed to run up front and possibly pull the upset.
Longshot play
Chris Buescher (+7500 to win)
It was tough to find a solid long-shot play this week since favorites typically run the show at Darlington, but Buescher is an intriguing option at 75-to-1. Buescher’s performance has slipped somewhat lately after a hot start, but RFK Racing has shown enough improvement overall to where we feel it’s worth taking a chance on him.
2023 GOODYEAR 400 FULL FIELD ODDS
Odds from Caesars Sportsbook
+400 to win
Kyle Larson (+140 top three finish, -160 top five, -340 top 10)
+550 to win
Denny Hamlin (+180 top three, -130 top five, -340 top 10)
+700 to win
Martin Truex Jr. (+180 top three, -115 top five, -240 top 10)
+850 to win
Tyler Reddick (+250 top three, +125 top five, -190 top 10)
William Byron (+300 top three, +140 top five, -160 top 10)
+950 to win
Joey Logano (+300 top three, +140 top five, -160 top 10)
+1000 to win
Christopher Bell (+300 top three, +140 top five, -160 top 10)
Kyle Busch (+300 top three, +140 top five, -160 top 10)
Ross Chastain (+300 top three, +140 top five, -160 top 10)
Kevin Harvick (+325 top three, +140 top five, -160 top 10)
+1400 to win
Chase Elliott (+400 top three, +225 top five, -130 top 10)
+2000 to win
Ryan Blaney (+550 top three, +250 top five, -115 top 10)
+3000 to win
Bubba Wallace (+800 top three, +400 top five, +140 top 10)
+4000 to win
Daniel Suarez (+800 top three, +600 top five, +170 top 10)
Erik Jones (+1000 top three, +450 top five, +160 top 10)
Brad Keselowski (+1200 top three, +550 top five, +140 top 10)
+6000 to win
Josh Berry (+1600 top three, +750 top five, +225 top 10)
Ty Gibbs (+1600 top three, +750 top five, +225 top 10)
+7500 to win
Chris Buescher (+2000 top three, +850 top five, +250 top 10)
+10000 to win
Chase Briscoe (+2500 top three, +1200 top five, +240 top 10)
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (+2500 top three, +1200 top five, +240 top 10)
Austin Dillon (+2500 top three, +1200 top five, +240 top 10)
+12500 to win
A.J. Allmendinger (+2800 top three, +1000 top five, +400 top 10)
+15000 to win
Ryan Preece (+2800 top three, +1800 top five, +400 top 10)
Aric Almirola (+4000 top three, +1800 top five, +400 top 10)
Justin Haley (+4000 top three, +1800 top five, +400 top 10)
Austin Cindric (+4000 top three, +1800 top five, +400 top 10)
+20000 to win
Michael McDowell (+4000 top three, +1400 top five, +375 top 10)
Noah Gragson (+4000 top three, +1400 top five, +400 top 10)
+50000 to win
Ryan Newman (+12500 top three, +6000 top five, +1200 top 10)
+75000 to win
Corey LaJoie (+15000 top three, +6000 top five, +1000 top 10)
+100000 to win
Harrison Burton (+25000 top three, +7500 top five, +1500 top 10)
+150000 to win
Todd Gilliland (+30000 top three, +4000 top five, +1600 top 10)
+250000 to win
Ty Dillon (+45000 top three, +6000 top five, +4000 top 10)
+500000 to win
Brennan Poole (+75000 top three, +10000 top five, +7500 top 10)
B.J. McLeod (+75000 top three, +10000 top five, +7500 top 10)
