Finally, it’s the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, with a field that’s whittled down to just 16 drivers. All 16 drivers will be looking to survive into the next round of the playoffs. Let’s take a look at some of the names to watch out for at the 2020 Cook Out Southern 500.
Harvick has simply been sensational all year. He enters the playoffs with seven wins, the most among any driver this season, to go with 17 top 5s and 21 top 10s. Harvick has two top 4s in his last three starts, including his win late last August at the Drydene 311. Harvick has two wins and 10 top 5s in 25 career starts at Darlington Raceway.
Denny Hamlin (+350)
Hamlin had a great stretch towards the end of the regular season, as he finished inside the top 10 in seven of his last eight starts, which include wins at Kansas and Dover. Hamlin has three wins and nine top 5s to go with 13 top 10s in 16 career starts at Darlington Raceway. In his last start there, Hamlin won the Toyota 500 last May.
Martin Truex Jr. (+800)
Truex is another driver who had a superb finish to the regular season. Although he only won once in the regular season, he ended it on an eight-race streak of top-4 finishes. Truex has a win and an average finish of 11.13 in 16 career starts at Darlington Raceway. He got that win four years ago during the Bojangles’ Southern 500.
SLEEPERS
Aric Almirola (+2800)
Almirola didn’t record a win in the regular season, but he’s riding into the playoffs, thanks in large part to a midseason performance in which he stitched together consecutive top-10 finishes. Almirola fared well in his last start at Darlington Raceway, finishing seventh last May at the Toyota 500.
Alex Bowman (+2200)
Bowman has been decent all season long. He finished the regular season eighth overall in stage points to go with four stage wins. He’s warmed up for the playoffs, too, having finished fifth at Drydene 311 and seventh at the Coke Zero Sugar 400.
LONG SHOT
Austin Dillon (+6600)
Dillon is worth a punt, especially when you consider that he’s been good on intermediate tracks. In fact, Dillon has two wins and 10 top 10s to go along with 16.35 average finish in 46 career starts on 1.5-mile tracks.
