NASCAR at Darlington: Vegas odds, fantasy advice, prediction, sleepers, drivers to watch

There are just two weeks left before NASCAR’s playoffs start and there are still plenty of automatic bids left for the taking. Denny Hamlin has to be thrilled the tour is led back to Darlington Raceway.

The defending champion of the Bojangles Southern 500, Hamlin is second among active drivers with 2 wins in the 1.366-mile track and he has seven top 5s and 10 top 10s to proceed with it at 12 career races at the monitor. He has finished in the top 3 in four of his last six races at Darlington and 4 in five of his last six on this track.

The 38-year-old needs to be thrilled to make his way to South Carolina this week because he looks for his first victory of the season in addition to an automatic berth into the playoffs. But with just three finishes inside the top 10 in his past six races, he isn’t performing his best.

The Big 3 of Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. are doing just that. All three have wins on the course in their careers and have combined for 11 top 5s and 24 top 10s at Darlington Raceway. Busch is second among active drivers in driver evaluation at the South Carolina track (105.1) and he is our choice to win the Bojangles Southern 500.