NASCAR 2021 Goodyear 400 Betting Preview | Prop Bet

NASCAR makes the trip back south shortly after a great Buschy McBusch Race. For this next event on the calendar, the Goodyear 400 is coming up next, with plenty of drivers taking aim at the victory.

Race Details
Date: Sun, May 9, 2:30 PM
Watch on: FS1
Track: Darlington Raceway

Betting Overview

The 1.366-mile asphalt track in South Carolina has held many events in the past that were excellent nail biters and dominating performances. Seasoned veterans typically perform great here, but there are also many that do well.

Head to Head Matchup to Watch

Denny Hamlin (111.727) and Kevin Harvick (116.296) are definitely two that you need to keep an eye on. As these two battle for position, you can expect them to be very close or at least top five based on previous experience at this course.

Dunkel Index For This Event

The Dunkel Index is showing these top 10 drivers that could win this event. The following 10 are:

1. Denny Hamlin - 111.727                                                                                
2. Marvin Truex Jr - 112.553                                                                              
3. Kyle Busch - 113.952                                                                               
4. William Byron - 114.265                                                                                   
5. Brad Keselowski - 114.619                                                                                
6. Joey Logano - 114.660                                                                                   
7. Ryan Blaney - 115.234                                                                                   
8. Alex Bowman - 116.191                                                                                
9. Kevin Harvick - 116.296                                                                                   
10. Chase Elliott - 116.758

*index is subject to changes

Drivers That Could Win

Kevin Harvick (116.296) was able to claim victory at NASCAR’s first appearance back at Darlington when the pandemic hit. Harvick has put up a few great places here, with third place at the second race, then he was able to go for the Southern 500 for two wins out of three Darlington starts.

Harvick also has stayed consistent by having nine straight top 10 finishes at this location. In addition, eight of those have been inside of the top five, making him a solid betting choice.

Kyle Busch (113.952) had a second-place finish in the second May race for Darlington, just behind Hamlin. Looking at his last four starts, he has two top-three finishes with just not having enough towards the end to claim a win.

Overall, he has a competitive resume with nine top-seven finishes out of his last 11 starts. It also helps that he is coming off of a recent victory with last Sunday’s event at the Buschy McBusch Race.

Potential Winning Pick

Denny Hamlin (111.727) was able to claim victory at the second Darlington race here in May. His record here has been one of the top ones or at least arguably the top three.

Hamlin has six top 10 finishes when looking at his most recent eight starts, which include five additional ones being in the top five. Overall, he has three victories here at Darlington and has three second-place finishes.

He appears to be as dangerous as any to claim victory this time around. However, he has proved to be the most consistent recently and has a victory for last season.

Prop Bet

Martin Truex Jr (-125) Over Kyle Busch

While Busch is a two-time series champion and has won at least one race in 17 consecutive seasons – just one behind Richard Petty’s record of 18 – last week’s win at Kansas stood out.

Coming off a subpar 2020 season in which he didn’t find Victory Lane until the 34^th race, it was a welcome sight to see Busch win early in the 2021 campaign and indicates he may be ready to make another run to the playoffs and a possible third championship.

One driver standing in his way is his teammate, Truex Jr. Unlike Busch, the No. 19 car has been the model of consistency. His 6^th-place finish at Kansas gives him 7 Top 10s in his last 9 races. Two of those were victories at Phoenix and Martinsville. The only two races he didn’t finish in the Top 10 were at Bristol (blown tire) and Talladega (crash).

Overall, Truex is 2nd in Average Running Position (8.8), Average Driver Rating (104.3) and 3^rd in Laps Lead (360) and Fastest Laps Run (284).

With Truex rated No. 2 in the Dunkel Index and Busch No. 3, we expect both drivers to compete for the checkered flag at Darlington. But we’ll take the more consistent Truex (-125) to maintain his steady excellence and finish ahead of Busch.

Keep up with your latest NASCAR news coverage and betting pick previews at The Dunkel Index.