Darlington Throwback Weekend is almost upon us. The odds are out for the Goodyear 400, so let’s go over some of the favorites this week. Kansas was a wild ride. That was likely the race of the year. However, Darlington can provide its own drama and fun. Maybe NASCAR has figured out the intermediate package on these cars.
Whatever lies in store for Darlington, at least we’ll have some great paint schemes on the track. If Throwback Weekend doesn’t produce good racing, it produces some great looks on these cars. However, we’re here to talk about the race at hand and all of the favorites.
The Goodyear 400 at Darlington is a major event. This isn’t the Southern 500, but it does still carry some prestige with it.
The Track Too Tough to Tame doesn’t have one, but two odds on favorites for the weekend. Both Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin lead the way at 11-2 odds. After their big battle at Kansas, it would be awesome to see them duel it out at Darlington.
Hamlin also leads active drivers with the most wins at Darlington. The JGR driver has won four times (2010, 2017, 2020, 2021),
Another thing we learned from Kansas, those Toyotas like the intermediate tracks. Perhaps there is more of that dominance on the way. Just behind the favorites, Martin Truex Jr. is slated at 7-1 odds.
Rounding out the top-five drivers, we have Tyler Reddick at 17-2 odds. He has been working on his intermediate and short-track races a lot lately. After him, we have William Byron at 9-1 odds.
Goodyear 400 odds, what to learn from last year
This second year of the Next Gen car has been very interesting. We have seen some teams take off this year and seem to understand the car in ways they didn’t last season. Then there are teams that have come out of the gate struggling and it is hard to see why that is.
One driver that is low on the list of favorites is Erik Jones. A two-time winner at Darlington, including last year’s playoff race, Jones has 65-1 odds to win the race. Given his history at the track, why is he so low on the list?
Well, recent history plays a bigger factor in that than we realize. Yes, Jones won at Darlington last year. However, this season, prior to the Goodyear 400, has been a struggle. The No. 43 just can’t seem to get this season off the ground and he is running out of time.
Then again, given the switch to Toyota starting next season, LEGACY Motor Club might see this as a throwaway year. He hasn’t been great this season, but Erik Jones turns into a different driver at Darlington. We’ll see if he has enough to add a third win at The Lady in Black.
