Kyle Busch will try to make it two wins in two races as the Sprint Cup Series heads to the “Lady in Black” in Darlington, SC, when NASCAR races under the lights at Darlington Raceway on Saturday May 7 at 7:44 pm for the Showtime Southern 500.

Auto racing enthusiasts should keep in mind that last year Denny Hamlin won this race while pole-sitter Jamie McMurray finished second place. However, in 107 races at Darlington the winner has come from the pole only 19 times and only 35 times from the front row. Kyle Busch the youngest driver to win at Darlington, and he is one of only two (Kevin Harvick) drivers who has won more than one race this year. Finally, during the offseason, Darlington installed “safer” barriers on the track. The energy-absorbing barriers were installed to help protect drivers during high-speed impacts. In the last four races at Darlington Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing have alternated wins; with JGR winning this race last year.

NASCAR Betting Picks: Who will win the Showtime Southern 500? 

Denny Hamlin almost won last week at Richmond, but he couldn’t escape the power of Joe Gibbs’ Racing as Kyle Busch took home his second victory of the season. The win propelled the younger Busch three spots up the standings to third place and 30 points behind Carl Edwards in first place and Jimmie Johnson, who is in second place. The night before Hamlin had won his own charity event at RIR, edging out Kyle Busch, who had dominated the race for most of the event.

The question is that after a solid weekend is Hamlin back? He desperately needed to improve from his 17th-place in the standings. Second place at Richmond did not move Hamlin anywhere as he is still in 17th place and 37 points out of the Top 10.  Hamlin is the Southern Showtime defending race winner, but until he can put together more consistency I am laying off him. Despite his second place last week, one of the main reasons I am not backing Hamlin in this race is because of how poorly he raced at Martinsville earlier this year, and he usually does very well at the paperclip.

Dale Junior will soon be known as the new ‘Cardiac Kid’ as he has managed to resurrect the pulse of Junior Nation and he is right back up the Sprint Cup standings in fourth place, down one spot from last week, and 34 points behind Edwards. Junior moved up three spots over the Easter break due to finishing fourth at Talladega. Junior has won at Richmond three times, but he has struggled mightily as of late. Last week he started in 24th place and only managed a disappointing 19th-place finish. It seems like as soon as Junior makes some progress he takes a step back. He has yet to win at Darlington and has notched three Top-5 and seven Top-10 finishes in 16 starts. As much as I’d like to back Junior to at least finish in the Top 3, I am not sold on a solid performance by the 88 car on Saturday night.

Johnson is only nine-points behind Carl Edwards in the Sprint Cup standings after a four-point drop from last week, but he is still in second place. You can’t count Johnson out of this race in either the Top-3 Finish or Win market investing. But betting on Johnson is sort of like dry Wonder Bread with processed cheese food; sort of boring when other choices are available. But Johnson does have two wins at Darlington courtesy of a 2004 season sweep. Last year Johnson struggled in his 36th-place finish; but the year before Johnson finished second. Johnson has six Top-5 finishes and nine Top-10 finishes in 12 starts.

Joe Gibbs Racing has been dominant as of late, especially with their intermediate program. However, if I am not going to back Hamlin I want another JGR team member and for that I am not looking any further than Kyle Busch. Busch has won the last three spring races at RIR and it has been three years since he has won at Darlington. The main challenge for Busch will be to keep his cool and not let the track and tempers get the best of him. Certainly there will be altercations, bumps, and wrecks as some drivers may or may not exact revenge for past indiscretions, but I think Busch should be able to hold on to win again on Saturday night.

Pick! Kyle Busch, No.18, +550
                                                   
Showtime Southern 500 - Lucky Dog Long Odds Special

Tony Stewart’s recent comments deriding his team’s equipment were most likely made to inspire his team to provide motivation to produce a better race car rather than bite the hands that feeds him. Stewart moved up two spots in the standings to 10th place and he is 60 points out of the lead. Stewart has never won at Darlington and could use a sweet victory this weekend to continue his climb. However, in 18 starts at the Lady in Black, Stewart has only recorded three Top-5 finishes. Stewart did finish this race third in 2009, but was 23rd in last year’s edition. I am not sure why, but something tells me to back Smoke as my Lucky Dog Long Odds Special this week.  

Pick! Tony Stewart, No. 14, +1000

Showtime Southern 500 – Odds for Top 3 Finish

Jeff Gordon has been money in the past at Darlington and his current seven-race Top-5 finish streak was started back with his 2007 win. Granted, Gordon has had an up-and-down year, and after the Richmond Race dropped three spots and 35 points out of the Top 10. But when it comes to the Lady in Black, the rules are different and somehow Gordon manages to get the most from his car. Gordon’s numbers are gaudy at Darlington with seven wins, 18 Top-5s and 21 Top-10finishes in 30 starts. On Saturday night I am backing experience more than anything else.  
 
Pick! Jeff Gordon, No.24, +200

Showtime Southern 500 - Odds for Top-Three Finish*
Darlington Raceway, Darlington, SC- May 7, 2011 7:44 pm EDT

551      AJ Allmendinger        +2000  
552      Bobby Labonte          +3000  
553      Brad Keselowski        +3000  
554      Brian Vickers             +1000  
555      Carl Edwards             +200  
556      Clint Bowyer             +450  
557      Dale Earnhardt Jr       +450  
558      David Ragan              +2000  
559      David Reutimann       +1800  
560      Denny Hamlin            +200  
561      Greg Biffle                +500  
562      Jamie McMurray        +800  
563      Jeff Burton                +800  
564      Jeff Gordon               +200  
565      Jimmie Johnson          +175  
566      Joey Logano               +800  
567      Juan Pablo Montoya   +800  
568      Kasey Kahne              +800  
569      Kevin Harvick            +300  
570      Kurt Busch                +450  
571      Kyle Busch                            +180  
572      Marcos Ambrose        +3000  
573      Mark Martin               +750  
574      Martin Truex Jr          +1200  
575      Matt Kenseth             +500  
576      Paul Menard               +2000  
577      Regan Smith              +3000  
578      Ryan Newman           +800  
579      Tony Stewart             +300   
580      Field                           +2500  

Showtime Southern 500 - Odds to Win*
Darlington Raceway, Darlington, SC- May 7, 2011 7:44 pm EDT
 
501      AJ Allmendinger        +7500  
502      Bobby Labonte          +10000  
503      Brad Keselowski        +10000  
504      Brian Vickers             +4000  
505      Carl Edwards             +750  
506      Clint Bowyer             +1500  
507      Dale Earnhardt Jr       +1500  
508      David Ragan              +7500  
509      David Reutimann       +6000  
510      Denny Hamlin            +700  
511      Greg Biffle                +2000   
512      Jamie McMurray        +3000  
513      Jeff Burton                +3000  
514      Jeff Gordon               +750  
515      Jimmie Johnson          +550  
516      Joey Logano               +3000  
517      Juan Pablo Montoya   +3000  
518      Kasey Kahne              +3000  
519      Kevin Harvick            +1000  
520      Kurt Busch                 +1500  
521      Kyle Busch                +550  
522      Marcos Ambrose        +10000  
523      Mark Martin               +2000  
524      Martin Truex Jr          +4000  
525      Matt Kenseth             +2000  
526      Paul Menard               +7500  
527      Regan Smith              +10000   
528      Ryan Newman           +3000  
529      Tony Stewart             +1000  
530      Field                           +8000                         

*Odds courtesy of BetUS