NASCAR Cook Out Southern 500 Picks, Predictions

Kevin Rogers Sports Betting Expert

2 minute read

Following 26 races this season, 16 drivers begin a 10-event odyssey in the NASCAR playoffs for the right to be crowned the champion in Phoenix on November 5.

The first playoff race takes place at Darlington Raceway on Sunday night for the Cook Out Southern 500. The top five drivers heading into the playoff are William Byron and Martin Truex, Jr., who were tied with 2,036 points this season, followed by Denny Hamlin (2,025), Chris Buescher (2,021), and Kyle Busch (2,019).

Sunday's race is the first of three races that constitutes the opening round of the playoffs as four drivers will be eliminated following the race at Bristol on September 16.

In the first event at Darlington on May 14, Byron picked up one of his five wins this season by topping Kevin Harvick and Chase Elliott.

Erik Jones captured last year's edition of the Cook Out Southern 500, his second win at this event in a four-year span.

COOK OUT SOUTHERN 500 TOP-5 FINISH PREDICTION

Top-5 Finish Prediction:

1.) #11 Denny Hamlin (8/1)
2.) #22 Joey Logano (20/1)
3.) #6 Brad Keselowski (16/1)
4.) #4 Kevin Harvick (16/1)
5.) #9 Chase Elliott (16/1)

COOK OUT SOUTHERN 500 PICKS & PREDICTIONS

Hamlin has posted five Top-5 finishes in the last eight races at Darlington since 2020, including a win at the Cook Out Southern 500 in 2021.

Hamlin also owns a pair of Top-5 finishes in races at intermediate tracks this season with at Kansas in May and a third-place finish at Nashville in June.

Joey Logano is seeking his second consecutive championship, even though he finished the season in 11th place in points.

Logano owns only one victory at Darlington in his career, coming in 2022 in the Goodyear 400. However, Logano has two Top-4 finishes in the last three races at Darlington.

Brad Keselowski seeks his first victory at Darlington since 2018, but captured a four-place finish in the May race at this track. Keselowski hasn't won a race since 2021, but the driver of the #6 Ford has placed in the Top-6 in five of his past eight races overall.

Harvick has been impressive over the years at Darlington by posting nine Top-6 finishes in the last 10 tries since 2018. The veteran driver was victorious at the Cook Out Southern 500 in 2020, while narrowly finishing behind Byron.

COOK OUT SOUTHERN 500 BETTING RESOURCES

Date: Sunday, September 3, 2023
Venue: Darlington Raceway
Location: Darlington, South Carolina
Distance: 501.3 miles
Laps: 367
Network-Time: USA - 6:00 p.m. ET
Defending Champion: Erik Jones

COOK OUT SOUTHERN 500 BETTING ODDS

• Martin Truex, Jr. +500
• Kyle Larson +550
• Ross Chastain +650
• Denny Hamlin +800
• William Byron +800
• Christopher Bell +1200
• Kyle Busch +1200
• Tyler Reddick +1500
• Chris Buescher +1600
• Chase Elliott +1600
• Brad Keselowski +1600
• Kevin Harvick +1600
• Ryan Blaney +1800
• Joey Logano +2000
• Bubba Wallace +2500
• Ty Gibbs +3300
• Erik Jones +4000
• Alex Bowman +5000
• Daniel Suarez +5000
• Michael McDowell +6600
• Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. +10000
• Corey Lajoie +15000
• Chase Briscoe +15000
• Austin Dillon +20000
• A.J. Allmendinger +20000
• Aric Almirola +25000
• Carson Hocevar +25000
• Austin Cindric +30000
• Ryan Preece +40000
• Justin Haley +50000
• Harrison Burton +50000
• Ryan Newman +50000
• Todd Gilliand +100000
• Ty Dillon +200000
• J.J. Yeley +200000
• B.J. McLeod +250000

Odds Provided by bet365 - Subject to Change

COOK OUT SOUTHERN 500 WINNERS

• 2022 - Erik Jones
• 2021 - Denny Hamlin
• 2020 - Kevin Harvick
• 2019 - Erik Jones
• 2018 - Brad Keselowski
• 2017 - Denny Hamlin
• 2016 - Martin Truex, Jr.
• 2015 - Carl Edwards
• 2014 - Kevin Harvick
• 2013 - Matt Kenseth

Kevin Rogers

Kevin has been handicapping professionally since 2007 at VegasInsider before shifting to ScoresAndOdds. He focuses on MLB, NFL, college football, NBA, college basketball, and NHL and mainly uses trends, systems, and situations as his top handicapping angles. More from Kevin Rogers