Goodyear 400 Picks, Odds & Predictions 5/9/2021

by Tony Sink - 5/5/2021

Race: Goodyear 400

Date: Sunday, May 9, 2021 at 3:30 PM EST

Location: Darlington Raceway

TV: FS1

Darlington Raceway will host the 120th Cup race in the Goodyear 400 this Sunday. This will be the first time this season that Darlington has been the location of a Cup series race. The 1.33 mile oval track is in Darlington, SC and has 25 degrees of banking in both the first and second turn. The 3rd and 4th turn sit at 23 degrees and the variance in degrees on this track, it makes for a unique race for the drivers and they'll be forced to race against the wall. This is where earning your "Darlington Stripes" comes from. Drivers often graze the wall through these turns. In addition, the track is very narrow and the track will wear down tires from being so rough. The track has been dubbed "The Track Too Tough to Tame."

Be prepared for a lot of cautions and an exciting race!

Buschy McBusch Race 400 Recap

Leading the field into green was Brad Keselowski at the Buschy McBusch 400. Both Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain worked their way to the front half of the field from the rear. We had a clean race through the competition caution. The only kind of action we saw was Ryan Newman being penalized for illegal body modifications to his vehicle during the stop. It got a little tight during the end of the stage, but Kyle Busch would come out on top for the stage win.

Stage 2 would stay green throughout the entire stage. That said, there were still a few highlights to talk about. Cody Ware attempted to bring out a caution by burning out and spinning. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and some others attempted to bring out a caution as well. Kyle Larson ended up getting the win for this stage.

Early in the final stage, Alex Bowman and Bubba Wallace made contact with one another and hit the wall. Tyler Reddick had his day ended by a loose tire on pit road. 15 laps after a tire rolled into the infield, NASCAR called for a caution flag. On the restart, Denny Hamlin got off to a great start and took the lead, but would end up hitting a wall and cutting his tire which would bring out another caution. Stenhouse Jr. caused another caution after spinning out. On the restart, Kyle Busch got into Ryan Blaney and almost caused him to spin out, however, Blaney was able to save it. Kyle Busch used this chaotic moment to earn his first win of the season.

2021 Cup Series Standings Update

Kyle Busch's win got him into the top 10 with 330 points. Denny Hamlin is still the leader with a whopping 481 points and Marin Truex Jr. is in second with 394 points. Following those two drivers are William Byron (385 points), Joey Logano (373 points) and Ryan Blaney with 370 points.

Goodyear 400 Odds

Kyle Larson - +550
Denny Hamlin - +600
Kevin Harvick - +700
Kyle Busch - +800
Brad Keselowski - +800
Martin Truex Jr. - +800
Chase Elliott - +1,100
Joey Logano - +1,100
William Byron - +1,500
Ryan Blaney - +1,600
Alex Bowman - +1,800
Christopher Bell - +2,800
Matt DiBenedetto - +3,300
Kurt Busch - +3,500
Austin Dillon - +5,000
Tyler Reddick - +6,000
Aric Almirola - +8,000
Erik Jones - +8,000
Chris Buescher - +10,000
Daniel Suarez - +10,000

Kyle Larson is a good pick because of how fast he is on intermediates this season. That said, I like Denny Hamlin in this one. He has been dominate at this track. He has 5 top-5 finishes at Darlington and has been incredible in every 750 hp race he's participated in this season. Unless he shoots himself in the foot, Hamlin has a great chance to take the checkered flag.

Tony's Pick: Denny Hamlin - (+600)

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