2024 NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 Preview
Photo: NASCAR
On Sunday night, the NASCAR Cup Series regular season comes to a close at the Lady in Black, Darlington Raceway. Coverage for the ‘Cook Out Southern 500’ begins at 6PM EST on USA.
Last year’s race was dominated by Denny Hamlin, but ultimately won by Kyle Larson, leading the last 55 laps en route to his first Cup win at Darlington.
Best Bets for Cup
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Best Bets for Cup |
Kyle Larson +550 | Top 5 -125 | Top 10 -450
Kyle Larson enters this weekend as the favorite, looking to retake the points lead in the regular season finale. Darlington has been a track where Larson has run so well at in the past, but could never win at, until last year’s Southern 500, where he won his first Cup race in his 12th attempt. Larson wrecked out in the Spring after having a Top 5 performance, got wreck in the 2023 Spring race, not to mention he finished 2nd in three consecutive starts from 2019 to 2021. Larson will be fast for Sunday’s race.
Denny Hamlin +600 | Top 5 -120 | Top 10 -400
Denny Hamlin went from having a shot at the regular season championship, to 8th in the points standings after his penalty. He can regain some momentum this weekend at the Lady in Black, where Hamlin has four times in the Cup Series, most recently in 2021. He dominated last year’s Southern 500, leading 175 laps but finishing 25th after getting caught up in a crash. Denny will be a fun driver to keep an eye on.
Tyler Reddick +650 | Top 5 -110 | Top 10 -350
Tyler Reddick enters this weekend with the regular season points title in his grasp, leading by 17 points over Kyle Larson. Reddick has been the best driver of the Summer, with one win, six Top 5s and nine Top 10s since June. He’s also been c,ose to winning many times during the Summer races, and even in the Spring. It was contact between both RFK Racing drivers that ruined his chances of winning. Reddick has finished 3rd or better in three of his last five Cup starts, look for him to close the regular season with an extra 15 bonus points.
William Byron +900 | Top 5 +115 | Top 10 -275
William Byron earned his first Darlington win in the Spring of 2023, and has been consistent at the track Too Tough to Tame. Byron has finished inside the Top 10 in his last four Cup starts, it would’ve been five had he not been bumped into the wall by Joey Logano in 2022. Byron has a chance to add more Playoff points to his resume as he looks to build momentum towards the post season.
Chris Buescher +1400 | Top 5 +180 | Top 10 -175
Chris Buescher enters this weekend +21 points to the cutoff line, and heads back to a race track where he nearly won earlier in the year. Buescher had added help from Tyler Reddick, bouncing into his Ford Mustang along the wall, costing both drivers a chance at winning. Prior to that, Buescher had finished inside the Top 10 in both Darlington races in 2023, with his best finish being 3rd in the Southern 500. He’ll need a strong run to stay in the fight on Sunday.
Bubba Wallace +2000 | Top 5 +260 | Top 10 +100
Bubba Wallace enters -21 points outside the cut off behind Chris Buescher in the points standings. Despite finishing 6th at Daytona, Bubba was frustrated that the team hasn’t broken through for a win this year. While he doesn’t necessarily needs a win to lock himself in, he can point his way in with a solid performance. Wallace has finished inside the Top 10 in his last four Cup starts at the Lady in Black. Expect Bubba to be in thr front for the majority of the race.
Josh Berry +4500 | Top 5 +550 | Top 10 +165
Josh Berry took a wild ride down the backstretch last weekend at Daytona. In a matter of seconds he went from fighting for a win to lock himself into the Playoffs, to flying upside down, spinning and crashing hard into the SAFER barrier. Berry’s 24th in the points standings -210 points outside the cutoff, with his only hope now is to win or go home. Berry did finish 3rd in the Spring and has finished inside the Top 10 in his last three Xfinity starts at the egg shaped oval. Expect Berry to be on his a-game this Sunday.