It was such a relief to sports fans, particularly to motorsports aficionados, to see the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series resume over the weekend following a long pause. We saw Kevin Harvick got the win to add to his lead atop the standings. Can he keep it going? Or will we see another driver win in Darlington this coming Wednesday at the 2020 Toyota 500 race?
How can you not think of Harvick as a favorite to win in Darlington this Wednesday, when he just did that last Sunday at the same track? Harvick collected his first win of the series by snatching the chequered flag at the Real Heroes 400. Harvick was already on a roll even before his success over the weekend, as he’s finished inside the top 10 in all of his previous four races, which includes a runner-up finish in Phoenix before the COVID-19 pandemic took the season to a halt. Harvick has also finished no worse than fourth in four of his past five appearances in Darlington.
Joey Logano (+1200)
Things didn’t go as planned for Logano at the resumption of the NASCAR Cup Series, as he placed just 18th at The Real Heroes 400, but that performance could be something better charged to rust than anything else. Logano is still having a solid season, with two wins thus far and even though he faltered last Sunday, it remains fair to say that he’s a solid driver when he’s racing on an intermediate track. Dating back to 2018, Logano has three wins and 11 top 5s in 26 races on such tracks with an average finish of 8.31 — fourth best among all drivers during that stretch.
Chase Elliott (+800)
Currently third on the NASCAR Cup Series standing with 178 points, Elliott proved that the long layoff didn’t affect him much, as he finished fourth in Darlington during The Real Heroes 400 on Sunday. For those keeping count, Elliott has now placed inside the top 7 three times in his last three races. And that’s after a relatively slow start, having placed 17th at Daytona 500 and 26th in Las Vegas back in February.
SLEEPERS
Ryan Newman (+7500)
That Newman managed to race on Sunday was a huge success on its own. It could be remembered that Newman was involved in a scary crash at the Daytona 500 last February, one that looked as though no human would have never escaped alive. But that’s a thing of the past now, as Newman is clearly back on his feet. And finishing 15th at The Real Heroes 400, was more symbolic and important to the Team Roush Fenway Racing driver than what that position meant in the standings. Although Newman hasn’t won yet in Darlington, he has seven top 5s in 22 career races there.
Matt DiBenedetto (+5000)
DiBenedetto is still searching for his first career win at the place they call the “track too tough to tame.” DiBenedetto had a favorable starting position (third) last Sunday, but managed just a 14th-place finish. Nevertheless, he remains inside the playoff cut with 141 points — good for the ninth-place spot. DiBenedetto has a lone top-five finish this season, thus far. He was a runner-up at the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube last February.
It was another forgettable race for Wallace last Sunday, as he managed to finish just 21st overall at The Real Heroes 400. But as a long shot? Why not lay money on Wallace, who’s 19th on the standings with 103 points and a single top-10 finish (sixth at Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube) to date.
Writer’s Prediction
Joey Logano gets his first win since the return of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season — and third overall this year.
