2016 VFW Sport Clips Help A Hero 200 Race Predictions

2016 VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 Race Predictions
NASCAR Xfinity Series Betting Preview
Saturday September 3rd, 3:46PM (EST) at Darlington Raceway
by Jay Horne of NASCARWagers.com, NASCAR Handicapping Service

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will try to tackle the track labeled “Too Tough To Tame” at Darlington Raceway this afternoon when the green flag is waved for the VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200. If the lure of Darlington is not enough to get fans excited for some old fashioned hard-nosed racing, perhaps today’s entry list will pique your interest. Among the names that will be in action this afternoon include Paul Menard, Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and all of the Xfinity Series regulars. With so many top competitors in action today combined with one of the toughest tracks in NASCAR and a limited amount of practice time, things are bound to get interesting. Don’t worry though because we got it covered as we provide our 2016 VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 race predictions!

Hurricane Hermine swept through the Carolinas on Friday which cancelled both Xfinity and Sprint Cup Series qualifying along with other on-track activities. As a result, both series will turn to owner points to determine the starting lineups for both races. Luckily the Xfinity Series did get some on-track time this morning in the only practice session for today’s VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200. There were a few things that came out of this morning’s practice. However, the ultimate product of this morning’s practice was something most people already expected and that is Denny Hamlin will be the driver to beat when the green flag waves. That news should not be surprising to anyone. Hamlin has been incredible at Darlington in the Xfinity Series with 4 wins in his last 6 starts including this race last year. In the two instances he did not win in those last 6 races, he posted runner-up finishes.

This morning Hamlin proved those numbers were not a thing of the past as he led the field with the fastest lap and 10 consecutive lap average to prove that he should be the driver to beat once again when things get rolling later this afternoon. Kyle Larson, Elliot Sadler, Erik Jones, and Ty Dillon rounded out the top 5 in single lap speed. However, Hamlin appeared to have the field covered by a pretty solid amount and rest assured his odds will be very low for today’s event. Outside of Hamlin, I thought Erik Jones may have been the next best in terms of race speed. Jones posted very similar lap times compared to Hamlin throughout every interval of this morning’s session. Hamlin was a bit more consistent lap over lap but the #20 machine was very close in terms of race speed.

I know the JGR cars have been incredible on the ovals this season so it should not be very surprising to mention those cars among the guys to beat this afternoon. The other JGR driver in today’s field is Daniel Suarez who posted a pretty impressive 3rd place finish in his first Darlington start last year. I had Suarez on my radar this week as a potential dark horse. However despite being 6th on the final speed charts, Suarez and the #19 car seemed to really struggle on the long run. His lap times really fell off which was a bit surprising so I may back off of any dark horse predictions with the #19 car this afternoon.

As far as the guys that could challenge the JGR brigade, I believe Kyle Larson is at the top of the list. Larson was 2nd fastest in practice and while he did not show the race speed as the JGR cars, his driving style is well suited for a place like Darlington where you have to run right up against the wall while tweaking your racing line throughout the day. I expect Larson to be good on the long runs and he definitely has a fast enough car to contend for the victory. Also last week’s Sprint Cup Series at Michigan has to be a confident boost going into this weekend as well. Among the other Sprint Cup Series drivers in Paul Menard, Ryan Blaney, and Kevin Harvick, I did not think those cars had enough speed to contend for the victory today. Those 3 cars seemed to be pretty far off in terms of race speed. Harvick was actually not bad on the long run but the #88 just lacked takeoff speed. I am sure Harvick will be strong on the long run which he typically proves as these types of tracks but I do not think the #88 had enough raw speed to contend for the victory this afternoon.

If you want a true dark horse to consider this afternoon, I suggest Elliott Sadler. I know Sadler does not have the raw talent that some of the other top competitors have at the wheel. However, Sadler was really solid in practice and I would like to point out the fact that Sadler has two runner-up finishes along with a 3rd place finish in his last 5 starts at Darlington in the Xfinity Series against similar competition. I really like Sadler as a true dark horse if the odds are good and even better in mid-tier H2H matchups. Expect Ty Dillon and Justin Allgaier to be decent as well.

2016 VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 Race Predictions

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Erik Jones +550 (1.5 units)
Elliott Sadler +1500 (.75 unit)

Two Team Parlays

Denny Hamlin +105 wins VFW Sport Clips 200
Team 2 – Open for Southern 500
Risking 1.5 units to win: TBD

Kyle Larson +385 win VFW Sport Clips 200
Team 2 – Open for Southern 500
Risking .5 unit to win: TBD

H2H Matchups

Kyle Larson -160 over Daniel Suarez (2 units)