2015 Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200 Race Picks
NASCAR Xfinity Series Betting Preview
Saturday August 15th, 3:48PM (EST) at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
by Jay Horne of NASCARWagers.com, NASCAR Handicapping Service
NASCAR’s Xfinity Series takes center stage this afternoon at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the running of the Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200. With both the Sprint Cup and Truck Series in Michigan this week, today’s field will feature Xfinity Series regulars and a few road course specialists that should present plenty of betting options for today’s race. Last year, Chris Buescher scored his first Xfinity Series win in the Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200. Today Buescher, who already has two wins on the season, tries to repeat at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Take a look as we provide our 2015 Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200 race picks!
Earlier today, Alex Tagliani won the pole for the Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200 in the #22 Discount Tire Ford for Penske Racing. For those that may not be familiar with Tagliani, he is a veteran driver with an open wheel background that has several Xfinity Series starts under his belt. Last year, Tagliani posted two top 5 finishes in his only two starts in the series including a 5th place finish in this race one year ago and a runner-up showing at Road America. Therefore, it should be of no surprise that Tagliani is on the pole for today’s race considering this is his 3rd pole in just 7 starts. The better question is today the day that Tagliani pulls through to score his first win in Xfinity Series competition?
Along with Tagliani, a few other road course warriors will be chasing the same hopes of a victory this afternoon including guys like Justin Marks, Boris Said, and Kenny Habul. Said had a solid showing last week at Watkins Glen with a 4th place finish. However despite the 52 year olds experience on road courses, this will be his first start at Mid-Ohio in the Xfinity Series. Justin Marks on the other hand does have some experience at Mid-Ohio. Marks posted a 6th place finish in this race last year in the #31 car for Steve Turner and returns this year with a very solid #42 car for HSM. Marks posted the fastest time in the final practice on Friday and appears to be poised for a solid showing this afternoon.
While the road course specialists definitely bring some extra flavor into today’s race, the Xfinity Series regulars are still the guys to beat. Drivers like Brian Scott, Chris Buescher, and Regan Smith all have a lot of upside in today’s field. Smith has a good reputation of being a strong road course driver including a 2nd place finish in this race 1 year ago. Buescher, the defending winner, has been rock solid throughout both practices. Meanwhile Brian Scott is another driver to keep on your radar this afternoon as well. Not only has Scott been strong in practices, which seems to be the case every week, but he led several laps in this race 1 year ago in route to a strong 3rd place finish.
All 3 of those drivers should be a factor again this afternoon and should also have solid odds from a betting standpoint due to the fact Tagliani is the overwhelming favorite. With Tagliani listed at 2-1 odds, I believe there is more value in the field than in taking the #22 car. There is no doubt that Tagliani is a talented driver but history tells us that backing him would be a high risk/low reward type of scenario. With so much value behind Tagliani, we are going to attack the next best options:
Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200 Race Picks
Chris Buescher +350 (1.5 units): defending winner, top 5 in both of Friday’s practices, starting outside pole
Regan Smith +900 (1 unit): runner-up last year at Mid-Ohio, strong road course resume, finished 4th in final practice, starting 7th
Two Team Parlay
Kyle Busch +115 wins Careers for Veterans 200
Alex Tagliani +200 wins Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200
Risking 1 unit to win: +545
H2H Matchups
Regan Smith -105 over Ty Dillon (2 units)
Justin Marks -175 over Kenny Habul (1 unit)
