The 2023 NASCAR Playoffs will begin on Sunday as the NASCAR Cup Series descends on Darlington Raceway for the 2023 Cook Out Southern 400. The green flag is scheduled to drop at 6 p.m. ET. Martin Truex Jr. is the 5-1 favorite in the 2023 Cook Out Southern 500 odds. Kyle Larson is 6-1, while Byron and Denny Hamlin are 15-2 in the NASCAR at Darlington odds.

Our proven NASCAR projection model has simulated the race 10,000 times and came up with a surprising leaderboard. Developed by daily Fantasy pro and SportsLine predictive data engineer Mike McClure, this proprietary NASCAR prediction model takes into account a slew of factors including track history and recent results.

McClure's model is off to a red-hot start this season, already nailing Martin Truex Jr.'s Clash win (20-1) as well as his win in New Hampshire (11-2), Joey Logano's Duel win (8-1), Kyle Busch's Fontana victory (10-1), Denny Hamlin's triumph in Kansas (6-1) and Kyle Larson's wins at Martinsville (6-1) and the NASCAR All-Star Race (13-2). In Austin, it listed Tyler Reddick as one of its best values and he went on to win for a 10-1 payout. It also impressively nailed five of Larson's wins during his historic season in 2021. All told, the model has nailed a whopping 13 winners since 2021! Anyone who followed its lead on those NASCAR picks saw HUGE returns.    

Now, the model has dialed in on the 2023 Cook Out Southern 500 and released its projections.

Darlington Raceway bills itself as "A NASCAR Tradition" and has showed up on the NASCAR schedule since 1950. Sunday's race will be the 125th NASCAR Cup Series race held on the 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval, which got its shape because the original owner of the property wanted to preserve a minnow pond. William Byron won the spring race at Darlington to give Chevy its second win in a row as a manufacturer, but Ford and Toyota split the previous six races at the "Lady in Black." 

For the 2023 Cook Out Southern 500, we can tell you the model is high on Joey Logano, even though he's an 18-1 longshot in the latest 2023 NASCAR at Darlington odds. He's a target for anyone looking for a HUGE payday. And a massive shocker: The model says William Byron, one of the Vegas favorites at 15-2, stumbles big-time and fails to crack the top five! There are far better values in the 2023 Cook Out Southern 500 starting lineup.

The model is also targeting two other drivers with 2023 NASCAR at Darlington odds of 12-1 or higher to make a serious run at the checkered flag! Anyone who backs these drivers could hit it BIG. You ABSOLUTELY need to see who they are before locking in any NASCAR picks.

So who wins the 2023 Cook Out Southern 500? And which EPIC longshots are a MUST-BACK? ... Join SportsLine right now to see the full projected NASCAR at Darlington leaderboard, all from the model that has already called the winners of seven races in 2023!