As Darlington approaches, the NASCAR season is already into the month of May. With 11 races under our belts, fans are starting to get an idea of what these Next-Gen cars can and cannot do. One thing is for sure. The expectation for chaos is high.
Now, this is the time when we present the top 12 drivers listed below in our NASCAR Online Betting Odds for the 2022 Championship. This reveals some intriguing NASCAR Darlington Best Bets. It would appear that the young guns are serving notice along with some vets on the track “too tough to tame”.
Kyle Larson is the favorite for the NASCAR Darlington race. Larson has not meteorically risen up the standings just yet. While he has moved up to 8th, the No. 5 car is now 83 points behind current leader, Chase Elliott. With several former Cup Champions ahead of him, Larson is not having such an easy time this year defending his crown. He has just one win in 11 races in the 2022 season.
With nearly a third of the season finished, he has just one win, yet five top-five finishes. The only troubling part maybe those three DNFs. Yes, Larson has some good luck at Darlington but has not won a race there in the last three years. The Hendrick Motorsports Racing driver has three top-five results with an average finish of 2.0. Take a guess at what that means. Yes, three runner-ups have come for Larson. Is a win on the horizon?
However, this Next-Gen car has proven to be a frustrating learning process. This has again resulted in the No. 5 car finishing away from the top spot. Last year, he led 204 out of the 660 laps. However, the checkered flag was not in the cards. An argument can be made that Larson could have problems in the final laps again like last year.
The big thing at VegasBetting, we suggest is to take a look away from the favorite here. There are some interesting trends on speed, the Next-Gen car, and drivers that can flat out drive a race car in crunch time. Larson is one of those drivers and is listed as a solid favorite for a reason.
It is a given why Martin Truex Jr. is an excellent shot again. The driver won the NASCAR Darlington once in the last three years (2021 Goodyear 400. He had two top-five results, four top tens, and two instances where arguably Truex Jr. was the victim of bad luck while showing the best loop data speed over the final stage of the last three races at Darlington.
So, the No. 18 car has been far from consistent in 2022. He has five top-ten results after 11 races. Furthermore, Truex Jr. was leading several hundred laps by now last year. This season that number is just 102. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has not ended up in victory lane once. However, Truex Jr. showed in early testing that he may be one of the racers to beat.
Again, Truex Jr. just did not get the result last week after that final lap spin but it is clear for a track like Darlington, the No. 18 is suited just fine. This 1.366-mile track has 23-25 degree banking that the driver thrives on. With the 90-95-108 setup, Martin Truex Jr. just needs a longer run at the end to outlast Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and the usual suspects.
With all that said, the NASCAR Darlington Best Bets say to consider Martin Truex Jr. maybe over Kyle Larson even.
Again, Ross Chastain has stayed in position and could be a force at Darlington. The Track house Racing driver remains sixth in points with Larson and Truex Jr. breathing down his neck. Unfortunately for Chastain, his engine could be a bit of a question mark at Darlington Raceway.
Chastain is the only driver with seven top-five results so far in the first 11 races. Again, Darlington can humble anyone but the driver served notice after a third-place finish where he was second fastest over the final stage last year. That Fall race turned quite a few heads with how aggressive the No. 1 car was.
That Chastain stat is a wild one and there are quite a few more candidates to consider. Look at drivers like Tyler Reddick (+1950) and Chase Briscoe (+3100). They are next to each other at the odds, with Briscoe and Reddick both possessing very fast Next-Gen cars. These two could make some in-roads at Darlington on Sunday.
Ryan Blaney carries a lot of Team Penske hopes as he is still second in the driver’s points so far in 2022. However, he just is not a factor at Darlington. That presents a problem as someone like Chris Buescher is an up-and-coming driver who has turned in some fast laps in testing as well this year. Again, watch out for Chastain, who is looking to win number three in 2022.
It is hard to dismiss Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, and even the Busch brothers. Harvick is at +1525 currently and might at least be worth a top-five bet once more.
Take Ross Chastain as our pick to win at Darlington, with Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Larson not too far behind.
See the top Vegas online betting sites, like MyBookie, where you can bet for “the lady in black” race.
