The 11th Sprint Cup race of the 2010 NASCAR season takes us to Darlington Raceway in South Carolina for the Showtime Southern 500 this Saturday night starting at 7:30 P.M. Kyle Busch won last week in Richmond to notch his first Sprint Cup victory of the year, while Kevin Harvick moved back into the top spot in the Sprint Cup standings with 1467 points. As usual, Jimmie Johnson is one of the favorites to win this week, but there are a few drivers that might have something to say about that. The following is a preview of the top seven drivers in the Sprint Cup point standings along with their current odds to win this week.
Kevin Harvick 12-1
Harvick recaptured the points cup lead with 1467 after strong showing at Richmond. Last year in this race he started 24th and finished 11th. His best finish here was in 2002 when he started 13th and finished third. He has four career top 10 finishes at this track with the last one coming in 2004.
After a 10th place finish last week, Johnson dropped a spot in the standings with 1457 points, 10 back. Last year in this race he started 42nd and finished second. He recorded two victories in 2004 when NASCAR still ran two races at this track. He has nine top 10 finishes at Darlington including four in his last five races.
Busch’s win last week moved him up two spots in the standings with 1358 points, 109 out of the lead. Last year in this race he started 14th and finished 34th. He won this race in 2008 after starting from the sixth position. In his five career starts at this track he has two top 10 finishes.
Kenseth maintained his position in the standings with 1348 points, 119 back. Last year in this race he started on the pole but ended up finishing 10th. His best finish here was in 2006 when he started 31st and finished third. He has seven top 10 finishes at this track including four straight dating back to 2006.
Biffle’s poor showing in Richmond dropped him two spots to fifth with 1334 points, 133 off the lead. Last year in this race he started 11th and finished eighth. He has won this race twice before; in 2005 when he started third and in 2006 when he started ninth. He has four top 10 finishes at this track and three in this race.
Gordon’s second place finish last week moved him up four spots in the standings with 1305 points, 162 behind Harvick. It is no wonder Jeff is one of the favorites this week as he has 20 top 10 finishes at this track including a fifth place finish last year. He has seven career victories at Darlington and has finished in the top five the last five years running.
After last week’s race, Hamlin has 1268 points and moved up two spots from ninth. Last year in this race he started 23rd and finished 13th. His best effort here was in 2007 when he started seventh and finished second. He only has four career starts at Darlington, but has finished in the top 10 three times.
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