NASCAR Cook Out Southern 500 odds, favorites at Darlington Raceway

The Round of 16 is upon us as the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Darlington. Southern 500 odds are out with a single favorite. 26 races this season have led to this moment. While there are 16 drivers in the playoffs, there might be a surprise winner to take away that auto-bid to the next round.

If you win a race in the playoffs, you advance to the next round. Sounds simple, right? Well, last season we had to wait until the fifth race of the postseason to get a playoff driver in victory lane.

This weekend the Cook Out Southern 500 odds are leaning towards a quiet veteran.

Martin Truex Jr. is the favorite this weekend heading into Darlington. That might change once qualifying is over. However, he is a 5-1 favorite at the moment and will have a chance to win on Sunday.

The opening round is kind of Truex Jr.’s bread and butter. He’s won three times in the opening playoff race, but that was two wins at Chicago and another at Las Vegas.

Close behind in the Southern 500 odds is Kyle Larson. He’s almost always fast at Darlington. For that, he’s at 6-1 odds despite back-to-back finishes of P26 and P27 in the last two races.

The winner from the Goodyear 400 earlier this season, William Byron is listed at 15-2 odds alongside Denny Hamlin, a four-time Darlington winner. Ross Chastain and Christopher Bell are tied for that fifth spot in the odds at 11-1.

Southern 500 odds, favorites for Darlington

So, what should we expect from Darlington this weekend? The Southern 500 odds seem to put some stock into the notion that this is a track veteran drivers excel at. However, there is a lot of “young” talent that has had plenty of experience at The Lady in Black.

Here is what I’d like to see from this race – the reemergence of Ross Chastain. What happened to the bad boy of NASCAR that was in headlines weekly a few months ago?

Well, Darlington was the race that triggered that meeting with Rick Hendrick more or less. It was a big moment that has resulted in Chastain fading away almost into obscurity compared to his public persona prior to that race.

I am hoping that Chastain and his team just kept their heads down and hope to unleash the Melon Man in all his glory in the postseason. If Ross isn’t beating and banging against other cars, he doesn’t seem to have much of a chance. With some decent odds for the Southern 500, maybe this is the race Chastain brings back his old self? He hasn’t had a top-5 finish since his win at Nashville.