Indianapolis Motor Speedway Track Facts: 2019 Big Machine Vodka 400

Kyle Busch is 3/1 favorite to win Sunday at Brickyard.

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 2019 Top 16 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Rank	Driver	Races	Poles	Wins	Top Fives	Top 10s	DNFs	Average Finish	Driver Rating
1	Kyle Busch	14	2	2	5	11	1	10.7	106.7
2	Joey Logano	10	0	0	3	6	0	11.8	90.2
3	Denny Hamlin	13	1	0	5	7	0	12.8	94.1
4	Kevin Harvick	18	2	1	6	12	0	9.4	98.6
5	Martin Truex Jr	14	0	0	1	3	3	20.9	78.4
6	Brad Keselowski	9	0	1	2	5	0	11.1	91.6
7	Kurt Busch	18	0	0	1	6	3	18.8	78.9
8	Chase Elliott	4	0	0	0	0	1	21.8	68.7
9	Kyle Larson	5	0	0	1	3	1	12.6	98.6
10	Ryan Blaney	4	0	0	0	0	2	20.5	81.9
11	Alex Bowman	3	0	0	0	0	1	38.7	34.3
12	Erik Jones	2	0	0	1	1	1	16.5	93.4
13	William Byron	1	0	0	0	0	0	19.0	73.2
14	Aric Almirola	7	0	0	0	0	0	22.3	67.5
15	Clint Bowyer	13	0	0	3	4	1	14.2	86.0
16	Daniel Suarez	2	0	0	0	1	0	12.5	76.3

* – Based on last 14 races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2005 – 2018)

Loop Data Leaders: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Monster Energy Series - Top 3 In Key Loop Data Statistics
Driver Rating		Avg. Running Position		Laps Led
Kyle Busch	106.7	Kyle Larson	9.735	Kyle Busch	324
Jimmie Johnson	101.3	Erik Jones	10.271	Jimmie Johnson	302
Kevin Harvick	98.6	Kyle Busch	10.836	Kevin Harvick	152
Fastest Laps Run		% of Laps in the Top 15		Quality Passes
Kyle Busch	201	Kyle Busch	1,733 (77.0%)	Kyle Busch	391
Jimmie Johnson	182	Kevin Harvick	1,633 (72.5%)	Kevin Harvick	377
Kevin Harvick	98	Jimmie Johnson	1,576 (70.0%)	Jimmie Johnson	360
Loop Data stats are from 2005 - Present

At Indianapolis Motor Speedway:

History

·        Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) has existed since 1909, and is the original "Speedway", the first racing facility to incorporate the word into its name.

·        With a permanent seating capacity for more than 250,000-plus people and infield seating that raises capacity to an approximate 400,000, it is the largest and highest-capacity sporting facility in history.

·        The first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was August 6, 1994 – won by Hendrick Motorsport’s driver Jeff Gordon (Chevrolet).

·        There have been 25 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway; one per year from 1994 through 2018.

Starts

·        A total of 157 different drivers have competed in at least one Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway; 125 have competed in more than one.

·        Jeff Gordon leads the Monster Energy Series in starts at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with 23.

·        Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman lead all active series drivers in starts at Indianapolis with 18 each.

·        Three drivers have made their first Monster Energy Series career start at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Danny Sullivan and Geoff Brabham (8/6/1994); Ron Barfield Jr. (8/3/1997).

·        David Green (two starts) leads the series in average starting position at Indianapolis with a 6.0.  

·        Ryan Newman leads all active series drivers in average starting position at Indianapolis with a 9.7.  

Top 10 in Average Starting Position at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (All-Time & Active)

Rank	All-Time Drivers	Avg. Start	Starts	Rank	Active Drivers	Avg. Start	Starts
1	David Green	6.000	2	1	Ryan Newman	9.667	18
2	Juan Pablo Montoya	6.625	8	2	Erik Jones	11.000	2
3	Kenny Irwin Jr	9.500	2	3	Brad Keselowski	11.778	9
4	Ryan Newman	9.667	18	4	Jimmie Johnson	12.059	17
5	Erik Jones	11.000	2	5	Joey Logano	12.300	10
6	Brad Keselowski	11.778	9	6	Denny Hamlin	12.385	13
7	Kasey Kahne	11.929	14	7	Kyle Larson	12.400	5
8	Jimmie Johnson	12.059	17	8	Kevin Harvick	12.722	18
9	Dale Earnhardt	12.286	7	9	Kurt Busch	15.056	18
10	Joey Logano	12.300	10	10	Kyle Busch	15.143	14

Poles

	Monster Energy Series
	Active Indianapolis Pole Winners
	Pole Winners	Poles
1	Kevin Harvick	2
2	Kyle Busch	2
3	Denny Hamlin	1
4	Jimmie Johnson	1
5	Ryan Newman	1

·        In total 19 different series drivers have won a Busch Pole Award at Indianapolis Motor Speedway; five are active this weekend.

·        NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon leads the Monster Energy Series in poles at Indianapolis with three (1995, 1996, 1999).

·        Kevin Harvick (2003, 2014) and Kyle Busch (2016, 2017) lead all active drivers in poles at Indianapolis with two each.

·        Rick Mast won the inaugural Busch Pole Award at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1994 with a speed of 172.414 mph (Ford). 

·        Three drivers have won consecutive Busch poles at Indianapolis: Kyle Busch (2016-17), Jeff Gordon (1995-96) and Ernie Irvan (1997-98).

·        Youngest Indianapolis Busch pole winner: Reed Sorenson (07/29/2007 – 21 years, 5 months, 24 days).

·        Oldest Indianapolis Busch pole winner: Mark Martin (07/26/2009 – 50 years, 6 months, 17 days).

·        Reed Sorenson (07/29/07) is the only driver to post his first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series pole at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

·        Five different manufacturers have won at least one pole in the Monster Energy Series at Indianapolis Motor Speedway; led by Chevrolet with 10, followed by Ford (six), Toyota (four), Dodge (two) and Pontiac (two).       

Wins

	Monster Energy Series
	Active Indianapolis Race Winners
	Race Winners	Wins
1	Jimmie Johnson	4
2	Kyle Busch	2
3	Kevin Harvick	1
4	Paul Menard	1
5	Ryan Newman	1
6	Brad Keselowski	1

·        A total of 15 different Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers have won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, six are active this weekend.

·        NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon leads the series in wins at Indianapolis with five victories (1994, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2014).

·        Jimmie Johnson leads all active series drivers in wins at Indianapolis with four victories (2006, 2008, 2009, 2012).

·        Kyle Busch is the only other active driver with multiple wins (2015, 2016).

·        Jimmie Johnson (2008-09) and Kyle Busch (2015-16) are the only two drivers to win consecutive Monster Energy Series races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.   

·        Youngest Indianapolis winner: Jeff Gordon (08/06/1994 – 23 years, 0 months, 2 days).

·        Oldest Indianapolis winner: Bill Elliott (08/04/2002 – 46 years, 9 months, 27 days).

·        Paul Menard (07/31/11) is the only series driver to post his first career MENCS win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 

·        Four of the 25 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races (16%) at Indianapolis have been won from the Busch pole: Kevin Harvick (2003), Jimmie Johnson (2008), Ryan Newman (2013) and Kyle Busch (2016).

·        The pole position is the most proficient starting positions in the field, producing four winners - more than any other starting position at Indianapolis.    

·        Six of the 25 (24%) Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Indianapolis have been won from the front row: four from the pole and two from second-place.

MENCS Wins by Starting Positions at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Starting Position	Wins	Winning %	Starting Position	Wins	Winning %
1	4	16.00%	13	1	4.00%
2	2	8.00%	14	1	4.00%
3	3	12.00%	15	1	4.00%
4	2	8.00%	16	1	4.00%
5	1	4.00%	19	1	4.00%
6	2	8.00%	22	1	4.00%
7	1	4.00%	24	1	4.00%
9	1	4.00%	27	1	4.00%
11	1	4.00%
Stats				Winning %	Wins
Winning from the First Starting Position:				16.00%	4
Winning from the Front Row:				24.00%	6
Winning from a Top-Five Starting Position:				48.00%	12
Winning from a Top-10 Starting Position:				64.00%	16
Winning After Starting Outside the Top 20:				12.00%	3

·        The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Indianapolis is 27th, by Jeff Gordon in 2001.  

·        In 2016, Kyle Busch became the first driver in history to sweep both the NASCAR Xfinity Series race from the pole and the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race from the pole in the same weekend at Indianapolis. 

·        All seven active Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race winners at Indianapolis Motor Speedway participated in at least one or more races before visiting Victory Lane.

·        Jeff Gordon won the Brickyard 400 in his first start at Indianapolis (inaugural event 1994).      

·        Ryan Newman competed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway 12-times before winning in 2013; the longest span of any the six active series winners.

·        Kurt Busch leads the series among active drivers with the most starts at Indianapolis without visiting Victory Lane at 18; followed by Martin Truex Jr. (14).

·        Hendrick Motorsports leads the series in wins at Indianapolis in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with 10; followed by Joe Gibbs Racing (five) and Richard Childress Racing (three).

·        Four different manufacturers have won at Indianapolis; led by Chevrolet with 17 victories; followed by Ford(four), Toyota (two), Dodge and Pontiac each have one.

·        Chevrolet won 12-straight from 2003-2014.

Additional Finishing Positions

·        A total of 18 different drivers have finished runner up in Monster Energy Series at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

·        NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace and Matt Kenseth lead the series in runner-up finishes at Indianapolis with three each.

·        Kyle Busch leads all active Monster Energy Series drivers in runner-up finishes with two.   

·        A total of 43 different Monster Energy Series drivers have finished in the top-five at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

·        NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon leads the series in top-five finishes at Indianapolis with 12; followed by Matt Kenseth (nine) and Tony Stewart (seven).  

·        Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick lead all active drivers in top fives with six each.    

·        A total of 63 different Monster Energy Series drivers have finished inside the top-10 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

·        NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon leads the series in top-10 finishes at Indianapolis with 17.

·        Kevin Harvick leads all active series drivers in top 10s at Indianapolis with 12.

·        Daniel Suarez leads the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at Indianapolis with a 7.0 in one start. Below are the top five MENCS drivers (all-time and active) in average finish at IMS:

Top 10 in Average Finishing Position at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (All-Time & Active)

Rank	All-Time Drivers	Average Finish	Starts	Rank	Active Drivers	Average Finish	Starts
1	Kevin Harvick	9.389	18	1	Kevin Harvick	9.389	18
2	Tony Stewart	9.722	18	2	Kyle Busch	10.714	14
3	Morgan Shepherd	10.000	4	3	Brad Keselowski	11.111	9
4	Jeff Gordon	10.043	23	4	Joey Logano	11.800	10
5	Rusty Wallace	10.250	12	5	Daniel Suarez	12.500	2
6	Dale Earnhardt	10.429	7	6	Kyle Larson	12.600	5
7	Kyle Busch	10.714	14	7	Denny Hamlin	12.846	13
8	Brad Keselowski	11.111	9	8	Clint Bowyer	14.154	13
9	Ernie Irvan	11.800	5	9	Jimmie Johnson	15.412	17
10	Joey Logano	11.800	10	10	Chris Buescher	16.000	3

Track Specific Stats

·        Since the advent of electronic scoring (1993) the closest margin of victory (MOV) in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the August 3, 1997 race won by Ricky Rudd over Bobby Labonte with a margin of victory of 0.183 second.

Top Five Monster Energy Series Margin of Victory Finishes at Indianapolis

Date	Margin of Victory	Race Winner	Runner-Up
8/3/1997	0.183	Ricky Rudd	Bobby Labonte
7/27/2008	0.332	Jimmie Johnson	Carl Edwards
7/26/2015	0.332	Kyle Busch	Joey Logano
8/5/1995	0.370	Dale Earnhardt	Rusty Wallace
7/26/2009	0.400	Jimmie Johnson	Mark Martin

·        Four of the 25 series races at Indianapolis have resulted with NASCAR Overtime:

Date	Scheduled No. of Laps	Actual No. of Laps	NASCAR Overtime Laps	Race Winner
7/23/2017	160	167	7	Kasey Kahne
7/24/2016	160	170	10	Kyle Busch
7/26/2015	160	164	4	Kyle Busch
8/8/2004	160	161	1	Jeff Gordon

·        None of the 25 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway have been shortened due to weather conditions.     

·        Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Indianapolis Motor Speedway only once – last season’s event (2018).    

Clint Bowyer is 40/1 to win at Brickyard

CLINT BOWYER Indianapolis Is His Most Important Race of 2019 KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina (Sept. 3, 2019) – How much do Clint Bowyer and his No. 14 Ford Mustang teammates at Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) have on the line Sunday in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway? Bowyer arrives at Indianapolis 15th in the playoff points just eight markers ahead of SHR teammate Daniel Suarez and Ryan Newman, who are tied for 16th. A good run at Indy likely earns Bowyer a berth in the 2019 NASCAR playoffs. A bad run leaves him on the outside. Sunday’s critical race also takes place on the 2.5-mile, high-speed Indianapolis oval, one of the world’s iconic racetracks and one of the crown-jewel races in the sport. “It’s all lining up to be a really big weekend, between racing at a place like Indianapolis and for as high of stakes as we are racing for,” Bowyer said. “It’s pretty clear cut what we have to do if we want to get into the playoffs. We are confident. We ran well at Indy last year and we’ll need to do it again. This is what the playoff format was designed to do. I mean, I wish we were more secure, but it’s going to be a hell of a show with a bunch of us racing hard to get in.” Bowyer nearly won at Indianapolis last year and hopes history repeats itself this weekend. He led 37 of 160 laps and won the second stage before dropping to fifth in a three-lap shootout at the finish. Bowyer arrives at Indianapolis after a sixth-place finish Sunday night at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. He started 13th and ran at the front of the field throughout the race.    Bowyer will drive the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford Fusion co-owned by Gene Haas and the Hoosier State’s favorite son, Tony Stewart. Bowyer knows sporting the livery featuring Rush Truck Centers and Columbus, Indiana-based Cummins while driving the three-time champion Stewart’s entry at the Brickyard is an honor and a lot to live up to, magnified by the No. 14 on his racecar made famous by four-time Indy 500 winner A.J. Foyt. “There’s just a lot of pride that goes into driving that Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing, Rush and Cummins each time we race,” Bowyer said. “But carrying the No. 14 at Indy ratchets it up a whole other level. Everyone knows what that number means there. I was watching some stuff on A.J. Foyt and I was like, ‘Man, what a bad dude.’ That guy was so cool out of that racecar, and then he got in that thing and drove it just like that grizzly bear he looked like out of the car.” Rush Truck Centers been the primary partner on the No. 14 team since Bowyer arrived at SHR in 2017 and has been with the organization since 2010. The Texas-based company has used Bowyer and the team to appeal to NASCAR fans as one way to recruit the technicians it needs to operate the largest network of commercial truck and bus dealerships in the country, with locations in 22 states. According to Rush Truck Centers, the trucking industry is expected to need 200,000 diesel technicians over the next 10 years to keep up with maintenance demands. Cummins makes its first appearance at Indianapolis with Bowyer. The company is no stranger to victory lane with its racing lineage dating back to the inaugural Indianapolis 500 in 1911, when company founder Clessie Cummins was on the pit crew of the race-winning Marmon Wasp of driver Ray Harroun. Since its founding in 1919, the company now employs approximately 58,600 people and serves customers in about 190 countries and territories through a network of some 500 company-owned and independent distributor locations and approximately 7,500 dealer locations.  While Cummins is a corporation of complementary business segments that design, manufacture, distribute and service a broad portfolio of power solutions, it is best known for its diesel truck engines. Bowyer said he’ll take any advantage he can get this weekend because Indy is a difficult track for the stock-car crowd, whose cars lack the downforce of their open-wheel counterparts in the IndyCar Series. The rectangular oval track includes two 5/8-mile straightaways and four nearly identical quarter-mile turns connected by short, eighth-mile straightaways. The turns are banked about 9 degrees – far flatter than the 30-plus-degree banking at tracks like Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and many others on the NASCAR schedule. “Indy is just so unique,” said Bowyer, who has posted three top-five and four-top 10 finishes in 13 starts at Indianapolis. “You’re going so fast. The corners are so flat. You’ve got to have that baby flat to the floor, all the way around. It’s just a hard, hard track to get around.” He said the key to racing success there is managing risk behind the steering wheel. “The challenge is trying to be patient,” he continued. “You just have to be patient. You push it to the edge there. You come off of them corners and you’re like, ‘There’s no way – I’m gonna hit the wall – whoo.’ By the way, I’ve got to do that 400 more miles.” All this at the season’s most important race at the world’s most famous track.

Clint Bowyer, Driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

What are your playoff chances after your sixth-place finish at Darlington? “We put ourselves back in position but, kid you not, yes, I want to make the playoffs, but I want to make the playoffs to get past the first round and to hit that thing in stride and race to our capabilities. Darlington showed our capability. Single-digit finishes we’re capable of rattling off and that was a good shot in the arm, a momentum boost for our race team going into this last race in Indy. And if we can do that again is what I’m looking for because, again, you always have to be looking down the road. Yes, the task at hand is right here in front of us, at the forefront of making the playoffs but, man, to be honest with you, my eye is on making those playoffs and getting through that first round. It’s kind of like racing on this racetrack, you’re racing that guy in front of you, but you’ve always got your eye on the guy in front of him, as well.” What are your thoughts on Indianapolis? “I love going to Indianapolis. The history and tradition behind it is very special. It’s a huge opportunity, and a privilege, to be able to race on it. I understand the significance of Indianapolis. I enjoy not only the city but also the racetrack. Knowing Tony’s thoughts about Indianapolis only makes it more important we do well this weekend.” What makes winning at Indianapolis so special? “Oh, I think it’s the racetrack, man. It’s the history behind it. It’s a hard race. It’s a hard place to get around, as a driver. But it all comes down to the history, the people who have won that race and won at that racetrack before you. That’s why you want to win there so badly.”

Daniel Suarez is 40/1 to win Sunday at Brickyard

DANIEL SUÁREZ Playoff Spot on the Line in Indy KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina (Sept. 4, 2019) – Daniel Suárez and the No. 41 Haas Automation Mustang team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) make the trek to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Sunday’s final regular-season Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the season – the Brickyard 400. It’s been a crown jewel event since its inception, but it’s even more significant this weekend for Suárez and a handful of other drivers competing for the final two playoff spots. Suárez heads into the weekend coming off of an 11th-place finish at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. The Haas Automation driver is tied with Ryan Newman for the 16th and final playoff position with Suárez holding the tiebreaker. It may come down to the final lap at the iconic 2.5-mile oval at Indy to determine who will take the final playoff positions. While he and Newman are tied for 16th, Suárez’s SHR teammate Clint Bowyer is 15th, eight points ahead and the only other driver in the top 16 to not have secured a playoff position. Should Suárez and Bowyer earn a playoff position, it will mark the second consecutive season SHR will have all four entries in the championship hunt, and it would be Suárez’s first time making the playoffs in his Cup Series career. SHR’s Aric Almirola, who sits 14th entering the weekend, has already secured his playoff spot based on points, while teammate Kevin Harvick secured his spot in this year’s playoffs with his wins in July at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, and last month at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. Indy will be filled with pressure for the guys behind the wheel, but it’s something Suárez is used to. “I live for pressure, that’s why I’m here,” he said. “I feel like if you’re a racecar driver and you don’t like pressure, you’re in the wrong business. As a driver, you always have pressure, whether it’s from sponsors to perform, the playoffs or something else.”   In his two previous Cup Series outings at Indy, the 27-year-old has a best starting spot of 15th and a best finish of seventh, with an average starting position of 17.5 and an average finishing positon of 12.5. In his two Xfinity Series starts there, Suárez has a best starting position of second and best finish of third, both earned in his first race there in 2015.   This weekend marks the first time the current Cup Series rules package has been run at Indy, so not only are drivers trying to win one of the biggest races of their careers, some find themselves in a must-win situation to earn a playoff spot. “I have raced in the Xfinity Series at Indy, which is a similar package to the Cup car now, and we ran pretty well,” he said. “We need to have a clean day at Indy and be strong. It’s one of my favorite tracks and it has a lot of history and I’m looking forward to having a solid run.”   Haas Automation, founded in 1983 by SHR co-owner Gene Haas, is America’s leading builder of CNC machine tools. The company manufactures a complete line of vertical and horizontal machining centers, turning centers and rotary tables and indexers. All Haas products are constructed in the company’s 1.1-million-square-foot manufacturing facility in Oxnard, California, and distributed through a worldwide network of Haas Factory Outlets.

Daniel Suárez: Driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

Are there any moments from the season so far that, if you could do it over, you wish you would’ve done it differently?   “Honestly, no. I feel like I’ve played my year pretty smart. I try to be smart when I’m aggressive and pick my battles. I feel like I’ve been pretty fair and I feel like people are pretty fair to me, for the most part.”   Do you feel like you’re racing the other 39 drivers out there this weekend at Indianapolis? Or do you feel like you’re racing Ryan Newman, who you’re tied with?   “I’m racing those 39 people because of stage points and everything that is involved with that. At the same time, I’m obviously tied with someone to make it into the playoffs. It’s one of those deals where you have to focus on your race and try and get the most points for yourself, but at the same time you’re always wondering where that other guy is.”

Odds to win 2019 Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard

Brad Keselowski won at the Brickyard last season

WESTGATE LAS VEGAS SUPERBOOK

ODDS TO WIN 2019 BIG MACHINE VODKA 400

INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2019 - 2:15 PM ET

Kyle BUSCH 3/1
Denny HAMLIN 6/1
Kevin HARVICK 6/1
Martin TRUEX JR 8/1
Erik JONES 8/1
Brad KESELOWSKI 10/1
Joey LOGANO 10/1
Kyle LARSON 12/1
Ryan BLANEY 20/1
Kurt BUSCH 20/1
Chase ELLIOTT 20/1
Clint BOWYER 40/1
William BYRON 40/1
Daniel SUAREZ 40/1
Aric ALMIROLA 60/1
Jimmie JOHNSON 60/1
Alex BOWMAN 60/1
Ryan NEWMAN 100/1
Matt DiBENEDETTO 100/1
Paul MENARD 100/1
Chris BUESCHER 100/1
Austin DILLON 200/1
Ricky STENHOUSE JR 200/1
Daniel HEMRIC 300/1
Ryan PREECE 1000/1
Michael McDOWELL 2000/1
Darrell WALLACE JR 2000/1
David RAGAN 2000/1
Ty DILLON 2000/1
Matt TIFFT 5000/1
Corey LAJOIE 5000/1
Landon CASSILL 5000/1
Reed SORENSON 5000/1
FIELD (all others) 500/1

Updated odds to win 2019 NASCAR Cup Championship

Westgate Las Vegas Superbook			OPENING	CURRENT
Odds updated following Darlington			ODDS	ODDS
			11/26/2018	9/2/2019
Kevin HARVICK			9/2	6/1
Kyle BUSCH			9/2	7/2
Martin TRUEX JR			6/1	6/1
Chase ELLIOTT			7/1	14/1
Kyle LARSON			7/1	18/1
Brad KESELOWSKI			10/1	5/1
Ryan BLANEY			10/1	30/1
Joey LOGANO			10/1	5/1
Clint BOWYER			15/1	80/1
Erik JONES			15/1	30/1
Aric ALMIROLA			25/1	50/1
Denny HAMLIN			25/1	10/1
Kurt BUSCH			25/1	25/1
Jimmie JOHNSON			30/1	80/1
Daniel SUAREZ			40/1	80/1
Alex BOWMAN			50/1	30/1
Austin DILLON			60/1	1000/1
William BYRON			60/1	80/1
Ricky STENHOUSE JR			100/1	1000/1
Paul MENARD			100/1	1000/1
Daniel HEMRIC			300/1	2000/1
Ryan NEWMAN			300/1	300/1
Ryan PREECE			1000/1	2000/1
Darrell WALLACE JR			2000/1	2000/1
Chris BUESCHER			2000/1	2000/1
Matt DIBENEDETTO			2000/1	2000/1

Darlington Betting Preview: 2019 Bojangles Southern 500

Always great racing at Darlington.

No more week's off NASCAR...Okay?!?!

As payment for ruining my past weekend without it, I've been rewarded with paybacks of a Sunday night race at a historic track that produces amazing races and the cars will all be dolled up with throwback paint schemes. Yes, it was a fair deal.

Sunday's Bojangles Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway's 1.366-mile high-banked egg-shaped oval is going to be intense. I love everything about the track with four differing turns and banking different on each side of the track. I love "The Lady in Black" and all her amazing history that has been frustrating drivers since 1950. It is "The Track Too Tough to Tame" and part of the proof is the souvenir the Lady gives out called the Darlington Stripe.

“A Darlington Stripe is pretty easy to receive," Kyle Busch said. "Running at Darlington is so tough and we are carrying so much speed there nowadays that you have to run right up there against the wall in order to get your car pointed correctly for the next corner, the next apex you have to make. So, running next to the wall in (turn) one and (turn) two and turning down coming off of two and carrying big momentum and big speed down the backstretch in order to set yourself up for turn three is important.

"Running high in three and four all the way through the corner, trying to keep the momentum going, because it’s such a tighter corner that the radius difference between each end of the track, you try to spread that radius as wide as you can and that’s right up against the wall. So, at any moment that car can slip and, during a run when the tires fall off, you have to be aware of one to two seconds of tire fall-off and your car is slowing down and at any moment you might slip a little bit and tag that wall. It can be very easy to do.”

Kyle Busch's only win at Darlington came in 2008, but he's had the best car there at least three times. He's led laps in nine of his last 11 starts there and has finished no worse than 11th in his last nine starts. The Lady hasn't roughed him too much, but Busch doesn't exactly come in on a roll, or at least like he was in the first half of the season when he won four races. He hasn't won in his last 11 races, the last coming at Pocono on June 2.

Martin Truex Jr. has also been stuck on four wins for quite a while. His last win came at Sonoma on June 23. But his last four Darlington races have seen him finish 11th or better which includes his only Darlington win in 2016. Only one of his wins this season (Charlotte) have come with the race package using aero ducts and engines with 550 horsepower. The package using 750 horsepower on the shorter tracks have seen him be dominant.

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