2015 Owens Corning AttiCat 300 Race Picks
NASCAR Xfinity Series Betting Preview
Saturday June 20th, 9:46PM (EST) at Chicagoland Speedway
by NASCARWagers.com, NASCAR Handicapping Service
With the Sprint Cup Series having a rare off weekend, the Xfinity Series will be the only stock cars in action this weekend when the green flag drops later tonight for the Owens Corning AttiCat 300 at Chicagoland Speedway. Austin Dillon will be the only driver participating in tonight’s event from the Cup Series and while Dillon does have two wins in the Xfinity Series this season; the lack of Sprint Cup Series talent in tonight’s field definitely provides a winning opportunity for drivers like Chris Buescher, Ryan Blaney, Erik Jones, Chase Elliot, Ty Dillon, and possibly even Darrell Wallace Jr. Take a look as we preview tonight’s 300 mile race and provide our 2015 Owens Corning AttiCat 300 race picks!
There are a ton of interesting story lines entering tonight’s race including Ross Kenseth, the son of Sprint Cup Series star and champion Matt Kenseth, who will be making his first start in the #20 Dollar General machine. Kenseth has improved in every session from the first practice to qualifying this weekend and looks to have plenty of talent at the age of 22. A lot of eyes will be on Kenseth tonight and he has been impressive thus far especially after qualifying that #20 car in the 2nd place position. Another major story line will be Ryan Blaney who is having to go to a backup car after wrecking in round 2 of qualifying. Blaney appeared to have one of the best cars in the field and even posted the fastest lap in round 1 of qualifying. However, Blaney lost it on his qualifying lap coming out of turn 2 and will now go to a backup car while starting from the rear of the field.
The man that will lead the field to the green flag tonight will be Austin Dillon in the #33 machine. Dillon has won twice this season on 1.5 mile tracks and looks to have another strong ride for tonight’s race at Chicagoland. Dillon was fastest in final practice and his pole lap in round 3 just solidified his status as tonight’s overall favorite. The good news is there should be pretty decent odds behind Dillon tonight as it is a wide open battle behind the #33. Erik Jones did not get to any practice time in the #54 Monster Energy Toyota due to his Truck Series duties last night. However, Drew Herring practiced the car and it showed solid speed. Jones will roll off 11th tonight. Last year’s winner Chase Elliot struggled all through practice with the shock package on the #9 machine but rebounded with a strong 6th place qualifying effort. Elliot and the #9 team has been running well in recent weeks and this is a team that believes they can win at Chicagoland.
Among other drivers that could easily make some noise tonight includes the likes of Regan Smith, Chris Buescher, and Ty Dillon. All of the JR Motorsports cars look pretty good in race trim making Smith and Chase Elliot legitimate dark horses. Meanwhile Ty Dillon also flexed plenty of speed in his #3 WESCO Cheverolet. The younger Dillon was fastest in the first practice on Friday and qualified in the 8th position. Chris Buescher, who is currently leading the points and winner of two races already this season, also showed some speed through practices. Buescher finished in the top 5 in both of Friday’s practices and appears to have a fast #60 machine.
While the battle behind Austin Dillon looks like a guessing game, I would put the #20 and #22 cars as the next best in line. It will be interesting to see if the #22 backup car can produce the same speed. Obviously the #22 team knows what type of setup they will put in the car as it will be pretty close to what they had in their primary car. Therefore, I would definitely not rule out Blaney despite starting at the rear of the field. Additionally while it seems unheard of to take a guy in his first career start, I would also not look past Ross Kenseth. The kid proved he can win just recently in an ARCA race at Michigan in just his 3rd career ARCA start and he has improved with each progression of the weekend’s festivities at Chicagoland. Both drivers should be given consideration for tonight’s win despite the challenges ahead and should also be valuable in H2H match-ups.
2015 Owens Corning AttiCat 300 Race Picks
Ryan Blaney +950 (1 unit): 2nd best car in practices before wrecking in qualifying, odds have over adjusted due to backup car, still a threat to win tonight, finished 4th here last September
Ross Kenseth +1350 (.5 unit): very smooth driving style which will work well at Chicagoland, big risk in 1st start, but odds allow for small play for the brave, 3rd fastest 10 lap average in final practice, starting 2nd
Winning Parlay
Austin Dillon +190 wins Owens Corning AttiCat 300
Brian Scott +130 over Brendan Gaughan
Risking 1 unit to win: +565
H2H Match-ups
Ty Dillon -130 over Elliot Sadler (2 units)
Ryan Blaney -105 over Chris Buescher (2 units)
Regan Smith +100 over Darrell Wallace Jr (1 unit)
