2015 Road America 180 Race Picks
NASCAR Xfinity Series Betting Preview
Saturday August 29th, 3:18PM (EST) at Road America
by Jay Horne of NASCARWagers.com, NASCAR Handicapping Service
Today the Xfinity Series will go road course racing at Road America in the Road America 180 with a green flag start time scheduled for 3:18PM (EST). A full field of Xfinity Series regulars and part time specialists will headline today’s race which will be the first of a double header on the road courses this weekend with the Camping World Truck Series following suit tomorrow at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. Follow along as we prepare for an exciting day of racing in Elkhart Lake and provide our 2015 Road America 180 race picks!
Today’s race will feature 50 laps around Road America’s 4.048 mile surface that makes up 14 different turns. Xfinity Series cars have about a 17-20 lap pit window under green flag conditions. Due to the track’s size, we will likely hear a lot of talk about fuel mileage as teams try to find the best strategy to stretch their fuel and make up ground on pit road. If you remember, several drivers ran out of gas with two laps to go in this race one year ago including leader Alex Tagliani which setup a green white checker battle between Chase Elliot and winner Brendan Gaughan. Last year’s race was also overshadowed by rain which led to some exciting racing once teams elected to put on rain tires to finish the race. While the rare use of rain tires in NASCAR provided some extra spice to last year’s race, today’s radar looks clear so we should have a full race without any interruptions from Mother Nature.
On Friday, Xfinity Series teams participated in two practice sessions with Paul Menard posting the fastest time in the final session. Menard led the likes of Boris Said, Chase Elliot, Ryan Blaney, and Ty Dillon who were the top 5 in terms of single lap speed. However, this race could easily be a wide open event from a betting standpoint. There are not any clear cut favorites nor anyone that has really dominated from a practice standpoint. Menard, Ryan Blaney, and the #54 car of Boris Said have looked solid throughout both sessions. Said, who is known for his road course skills, will be making his first start at Road America this afternoon but he has done fairly well in the #54 car this month at Mid-Ohio and posted a quality 4th place finish at Watkins Glen.
Still, Blaney and Menard are the two biggest favorites heading into today’s race. Blaney was 3rd fastest in practice 1 and finished 4th on the speed charts in final practice. Blaney scored a road course win at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park last year in the Camping World Truck Series. However, today marks his first start at any road course in a stock car so it remains to be seen if he can duplicate his Truck Series success on the road courses. For Menard, Elkhart Lake is a homecoming for the Sprint Cup veteran. Menard grew up about 3 hours away from Road America and scored one of his first signature wins at the start of his career at Road America back in 2001 in the NASCAR ReMax Challenge Series. After showing some impressive speed in the final practice, expect Menard to run well today as he tries to return to victory lane at Road America.
A couple of guys that run strong at all the road courses and deserve some attention heading into today’s race include guys like Regan Smith, Brendan Gaughan, and Chris Buescher. Smith grabbed a win at Mid-Ohio two weeks ago, Brendan Gaughan is the defending race winner, and Buescher has an excellent road course resume including top 5 finishes at both Mid-Ohio and Watkins Glen. All 3 drivers finished inside the top 10 in final practice and deserve some respectable attention.
The one guy I think could be the biggest dark horse for today’s Road America 180 is the reigning Xfinity Series Champion Chase Elliot. Elliot was leading this race after the restart of the green white checker finish in last year’s event but simply overdrove a few corners which let Gaughan take the lead. Still, last year’s near victory was Elliot’s first race at Road America and he admittedly stated it took him nearly more than half the race before he felt that he had got a grasp of how to drive the track. Today Elliot returns with a little more experience under his belt and thus far that has relayed into some fast times on the speed charts. I think one of the biggest surprises to the season is the fact the #9 car has not found its way to victory lane. However, I think there is a good chance that could change today in a surprising but not really surprising type of victory.
2015 Road American 180 Race Picks
Chris Buescher +650 (1 unit): strong road course racer, top 5 finishes at Mid-Ohio and Watkins Glen, starting 6th
Chase Elliot +850 (1 unit): finished 4th in this race last year, been solid in recent road course races with 5th at Mid-Ohio and 7th at Watkins Glen, finished top 3 on speed in both practices
Two Team Parlay
Ryan Blaney +195 wins Road America 180
Open Slot 2 (to be used on Sunday’s Chevrolet Silverado 250)
Risking 1 unit to win: TBD
H2H Matchups
Chase Elliot +135 over Regan Smith (2 units)
