Good thing we all reaped the benefits of Chase Elliott earning the win in Monday’s rain delayed NASCAR Cup Series race at the Monster Mile in Dover, because none of us also had the 2nd, 3rd or 4th place finishers either.

Elliott, held on for his 1st Cup win in nearly a year and his 1st oval triumph since his championship win on Nov. 8, 2020 at Phoenix. Eric gained $35 while CJ picked up a $26 win too. Greg was the biggest benefit in netting $125 for the Elliott victory.

Now, we head to Darlington to where last year, this race was a battle between Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Larson. Coming into this weekend, the duo have combined to have just 1 win all season and that came via Larson during the 2nd race of the year. While Larson has 3 straight runner-ups at Darlington, is he ready to give Chevrolet their first trip to victory lane on the Lady in Black since 2013. They’re 0-for-10 since.

The door is open despite Toyota having won 3 of the last 4 including 7 of the last 10. They’ve won two races this season but both were realistically stolen at that. Denny Hamlin led the final 5 laps in Richmond while Kyle Busch won the final straightaway on Bristol Dirt. I don’t like where they’re heading at the moment.

HMS is there to capitalize. So is Trackhouse. Darlington was the place that started the big break for Ross Chastain (stats above) in 2019. His teammate Daniel Suarez (3rd in 2 straight NXS starts) is good here too.

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RCR may find victory too. Austin Dillon (stats above) and Tyler Reddick (stats above) are great at this track too and have been knocking at the door of victory lane all year. They have combined to score 4 top 5’s in the last 6 races on the season with 3 of the last 4 weeks one of them finishing 2nd or 3rd.

Is the door at all open to Ford too then?

Team Penske has 1 Darlington win. None of their current drivers really fare well on this track. Stewart-Haas Racing could come through the opening. Chase Briscoe won here in an Xfinity Series race a few years back while Kevin Harvick (stats above) and Cole Custer (stats above) figure to play into things.

With all this said, Sunday’s race figures to be a battle of Chevy vs. SHR with Chevy winless in the last 10 at Darlington. They have the top drivers but among the drivers coming for the win, just 4 of them have won this season.

Race Odds

5-1…K Larson

7-1…M Truex Jr.

8-1…C Elliott and D Hamlin

10-1…Kyle B

12-1…R Blaney, W Byron and R Chastain

14-1…A Bowman and J Logano

16-1…K Harvick

20-1…T Reddick

30-1…C Bell, Kurt B, A Dillon and Suarez

40-1…C Briscoe, C Buescher and E Jones

50-1…A Cindric and B Keselowski

80-1…A Almirola and R Stenhouse Jr.

150-1…D Hemric and D Wallace Jr.

200-1…C Custer and J Haley

500-1…H Burton and T Dillon

GOODYEAR 400 PICKS: RACE 12

CJ Radune

K Larson…5-1…$23 ($115)

M Truex Jr…7-1…$17 ($119) 

D Hamlin…8-1…$15 ($120) 

Kyle B…10-1…$11 ($110) 

R Blaney…12-1…$10 ($120) 

W Byron…12-1…$10 ($120)

A Bowman…14-1…$8 ($112)

T Reddick…20-1…$6 ($120)

RECORD: 8 for 11

TOTAL: +3

Eric Smith

K Larson…5-1…$25 ($125)

M Truex Jr…7-1…$10 ($70) 

Kyle B…10-1…$11 ($110) 

W Byron…12-1…$10 ($120)

R Chastain…12-1…$10 ($120) 

A Bowman…14-1…$8 ($112)

K Harvick…16-1…$7 ($112)

T Reddick…20-1…$6 ($120)

D Suarez…30-1…$4 ($120)

A Dillon…30-1…$4 ($120)

E Jones…40-1…$3 ($120)

C Custer…200-1…$2 ($400)

RECORD: 5 for 11

TOTAL: -343

Greg DePalma

K Larson…5-1…$17 ($85)

Kyle B…10-1…$25 ($250) 

R Chastain…12-1…$12 ($144) 

A Bowman…14-1…$13 ($182)

K Harvick…16-1…$10 ($160)

C Bell…30-1…$6 ($180)

Kurt B…30-1…$5 ($150)

A Dillon…30-1…$6 ($180)

E Jones…40-1…$5 ($200)

C Custer…200-1…$1 ($200)

RECORD: 3 for 11

TOTAL: -490

ARCHIVES

DURAMAX DRYDENE 400 PICKS: RACE 11

DURAMAX DRYDENE 400 WINNER: Chase Elliott

CJ Radune

K Larson…4-1…$27 ($108) …6^th

W Byron…9-1…$14 ($126) …22^nd

C Elliott…9-1…$14 ($126) …1^st  

A Bowman…10-1…$11 ($110) …5^th

R Blaney…12-1…$9 ($108) …26^th

J Logano…12-1…$9 ($108) …29^th

M Truex Jr…12-1…$9 ($108) …12^th 

T Reddick…16-1…$7 ($112) …30^th

RECORD: 1 for 1

TOTAL: +40

Eric Smith

K Larson…4-1…$30 ($120) …6^th

W Byron…9-1…$15 ($135) …22^nd

C Elliott…9-1…$15 ($135) …1^st 

A Bowman…10-1…$15 ($150) …5^th

K Harvick…12-1…$10 ($120) …9^th

M Truex Jr…12-1…$10 ($120) …12^th   

D Suarez…60-1…$3 ($180) …14^th

C Custer…100-1…$2 ($200) …15^th

RECORD: 1 for 1

TOTAL: +50

Greg DePalma

K Larson…4-1…$20 ($80) …6^th

W Byron…9-1…$10 ($90) …22^nd

C Elliott…9-1…$25 ($225) …1^st 

A Bowman…10-1…$10 ($100) …5^th

K Harvick…12-1…$25 ($300) …9^th

D Suarez…60-1…$5 ($300) …14^th

C Custer…100-1…$5 ($500) …15^th

RECORD: 1 for 1

TOTAL: +150