2015 VisitMyrtlebeach.com 300 Race Picks
NASCAR Xfinity Series Betting Preview
Saturday September 26th, 8:18PM (EST) at Kentucky Speedway
by Jay Horne of NASCARWagers.com, NASCAR Handicapping Service
The Xfinity Series will take center stage tonight at Kentucky Speedway with the running of the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300. Tonight’s race will be the night cap to a busy Saturday afternoon in NASCAR. Earlier today Austin Dillon won the UNOH 175 in the Truck Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series also participated in two practice session’s this afternoon in preparation for tomorrow’s Sylvania 300. However our main focus tonight is putting together a strong betting lineup in hopes to cash a winning ticket. Take a look at our 2015 VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 race picks for tonight’s Xfinity Series at Kentucky Speedway!
One of the major contenders for tonight’s race will be Erik Jones who will be doing Saturday’s version of double duty. Jones raced in the Truck Series earlier today at New Hampshire Motor Speedway before catching a flight to Kentucky to race the #54 Monster Energy Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. Jones and Ryan Blaney are the two favorites for tonight’s race. Both Xfinity Series part-time drivers have solid resumes on the 1.5 mile tracks. In fact, Jones has two wins on the 1.5 mile tracks at Texas and Chicagoland this year. Jones also finished 2nd in the Kentucky 300 back in July when the Xfinity Series made their first stop at Kentucky Speedway.
Blaney, who has plenty of strong runs on the 1.5 mile tracks this season, will also be driving the #22 car that Brad Keselowski drove to victory lane back in July in the Kentucky 300. Blaney was one of the most consistent cars in both of Friday’s practices and qualified in the 5th position for tonight’s race. At this point, most would consider Jones and Blaney as the two big favorites for tonight’s VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300. Jones will have a more difficult path to victory lane if either driver is going to get the job done.
Due to his truck series responsibilities, Jones has not had any seat time in the #54 car thus far this weekend. As a result of not being able to qualify, Jones will also have to start at the rear of the field. However, Drew Herring proved the #54 had speed and actually posted the fastest lap in final practice yesterday. So far anyone wanting to back Jones, I would feel pretty confident that the #54 has plenty of speed to contend once the green flag drops after 8pm.
A few other drivers that deserve some attention tonight for different reasons include Daniel Suarez and Brendan Gaughan. Gaughan unloaded strong from practice times and he has been consistent around the 10th place range at 1.5 mile tracks this season including a 9th back at Kentucky in July. If you add in his strong run at Chicagoland and the way the #62 team unloaded, I think they could perform a little better than expected tonight given Gaughan some extra value in H2H situations.
Suarez on the other hand should be a threat for the win. I was hoping Suarez would not have been so strong in qualifying so that we could get better odds but the #18 actually won the pole for tonight’s race which will drop his value. Heading into the week, I had Suarez circled as a dark horse and should have pulled the trigger on openers. Either way Suarez is running well enough to finally earn his first win and he was really strong back in July at Kentucky which supports that argument.
One thing that is noticeable heading into tonight’s race is the amount of inexperience in tonight’s field. There are a lot of drivers participating in tonight’s race with limited experience and it will be interesting to see how things unfold. If cautions fly often throughout the night, it could really shake up the strategy throughout 300 miles. Back in July, there was only 1 caution in the final 125 laps as green flag runs dominated the event. I tend to believe we will see more restarts and calls to pit road tonight once that happens. Therefore a lot could change by the time the track cools off to the lowest temperatures we have seen this weekend and teams have several attempts to work on their cars. If that happens like I expect, do not be afraid to take a few chances on with guys with better odds whether it be from a winning or H2H standpoint.
2015 VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 Race Picks
Erik Jones +550 (1.5 units): runner-up in July, wins at Texas and Chicagoland, will start from the back but should contend
Two Team Parlay
Ryan Blaney +300 wins VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300
Regan Smith +110 over Brian Scott
Risking 1 unit to win: +740
H2H Match-ups
Regan Smith -110 over Chris Buescher (3 units)
Brendan Gaughan -110 over Elliot Sadler (2 units)
