NASCAR Toyota 500 Odds & Picks

• The Darlington 500k takes place on  May 20 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina
• The starting grid will be an inverted lineup of the Top 20 from Sunday’s results
• Kevin Harvick won Sunday but find out if we think he’s a good bet starting 20th

We’ve got a quick turnaround from Sunday as NASCAR is back on Wednesday, May 20th at 7:30pm ET for the Darlington 500k. Once again, the race will take place at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina but we’ve got a couple of bizarre twists. To start, this is a 500 kilometer race (Sunday’s was 400 miles), so it’s just 228 laps.

Also, the starting grid is going to be completely different here as the Top-20 finishers from Sunday’s race will be inverted. In other words, Kevin Harvick, who won the race, will start 20th. Meanwhile, Joey Logano, who finished 18th, will start third, and so on.

NASCAR Toyota 500 Odds

Odds taken May 18

Harvick Should Stay Hot

We had Harvick as one of our picks on Sunday and that turned out quite well. Harvick earned the win at Darlington, picking up the 50th victory of his career. At this point, I don’t see any reason to bet against him here. If you don’t think he wins again, a Top 5 or Top 10 prop surely makes sense.

Kevin Harvick now has one more Cup Series win than his boss. Fast Thoughts from Darlington with @bobpockrass. pic.twitter.com/Pui34LcCGE

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 18, 2020

Harvick has now placed in the Top 9 at Darlington in nine straight starts. As a matter of fact, that ninth-place result in 2017 is the outlier as he has placed in the Top 5 eight times and in the Top 4 five times while collecting a pair of wins. He does really well at this track, so I’d keep him in my bets for Wednesday.

Jonesing For Jones

Another one of my picks from Sunday cashed – Erik Jones for a Top 10 – and I’m going to stick with the same strategy here. Jones finished eighth on Sunday, which was a decent result. He didn’t lead a single lap, but he started 20th, so the fact that he moved up to finish eighth was a real positive.

Kevin Harvick prevails in NASCAR's first race back from the COVID-19 pandemic for his 50th career win.
FULL RESULTS:
1. 4 Kevin Harvick
2. 88 Alex Bowman
3. 1 Kurt Busch
4. 9 Chase Elliott
5. 11 Denny Hamlin
6. 19 Martin Truex Jr
7. 8 Tyler Reddick
8. 20 Erik Jones pic.twitter.com/AQztCbA8eJ

— NASCAR Briefing (@nascarbriefing) May 17, 2020

Taking a look at his track history here, it’s quite encouraging. We’re looking at a driver who has only made four starts at Darlington but has placed in the Top 8 each and every time. He’s finished eighth, first, eighth and fifth. I’m willing to take another Top-10 flier with him in this spot.

Kurt Busch For a Top 10

There was a lot of hype surrounding Kyle Busch as he was among the race favorites but as we indicated in our Sunday preview, we wanted nothing to do with him for the outright win. As a matter of fact, it’s his brother – Kurt – who ended up having the better day. I wouldn’t be surprised if the same happened again.

#NASCAR Which Busch brother was better on their prime time?

?Kurt Busch
?Kyle Busch pic.twitter.com/Gz6YLsSZzz

— Base Of NASCAR (@BaseNascar) May 12, 2020

Kurt Busch placed third on Sunday and has now finished in the Top 7 here four straight times and five of his last six. I wouldn’t mind taking a flier with him in this spot again for a Top 10. I don’t know that he’s got the car to win outright – he didn’t lead a single lap on Sunday – but he should finish in the Top 10.

Stay Away From Logano

You can take your pick here: I’d pass on Kyle Busch to win outright, but Joey Logano is not someone who on my radar either. He finished 18th on Sunday, which marked the third time in his last four starts at Darlington that he’s finished 14th or worse. He has placed 14th or worse in seven of his last 11 starts here, so I’ll pass on any Logano bets.