2017 Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 Race Picks

2017 Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 Race Picks
NASCAR Xfinity Series Betting Preview
Saturday April 22nd, 1:44PM (EST) at Bristol Motor Speedway
by Jay Horne of NASCARWagers.com, NASCAR Handicapping Service

After a week off, NASCAR’s Xfinity Series returns in a big way tomorrow afternoon with the running of the Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Bristol has always been one of my favorites tracks for NASCAR racing. “The Last Great Colosseum”, “The World’s Fastest Half-Mile”, “The Bullring”, and “Thunder Valley” are just some of the infamous monikers that depicts the excitement and entertainment that is Bristol Motor Speedway. Tomorrow we will rekindle the best of short track racing at one of my favorites venues and try to keep our Xfinity Series winning streak alive with our 2017 Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 race picks!

While I have been heavily anticipating this week’s racing at Bristol, that anticipation could be put on hold on Saturday. If you were not already aware, the forecast does show that rain is expected in the Bristol area for both Saturday and Sunday. To be clear, both races between the Xfinity and Monster Energy Cup Series are in jeopardy of being rained out if the forecast holds true. If so, both races could be pushed back to late Sunday or even into Monday depending on circumstances. However, there are some gaps in the weather that could make it possible to see racing tomorrow. Therefore, we will proceed with the assumption that the green flag will wave at its normal start time on Saturday.

When the racing does begin, it should be to nobody’s surprise that Kyle Larson, Erik Jones, Ryan Blaney, and Austin Dillon should be the clear cut front-runners. All of those guys reign from the Cup Series and are typical threats any time they suit up in the Xfinity ranks. Larson is the overall favorite for tomorrow’s race at around 2 to 1 odds. However, it may be surprising to some that Larson is the only driver of the 4 listed above that does not have a Bristol win to his resume. Jones, Dillon, and Blaney all have wins in the Xfinity Series at Thunder Valley in the last few years. Larson on the other hand has 3 runner-up finishes overall and two straight 3rd place finishes in his last 2 starts.

Obviously, Larson is bound to strike pay dirt sooner or later if he continues to run so strong at Bristol. The question is will it be this week? I think Larson has a great shot because the talent field may not be quite as strong as it has been in recent years at Bristol mainly because Kyle Busch is not entered in this event. Still Larson, Dillon, Blaney, and Jones remain the top guys going into Saturday and they proved so by taking 4 of the top 5 spots in Friday’s only practice session. I personally believe Jones and Larson will be the top two cars when the green flag waves. However, all 4 drivers were very close in lap times from a practice standpoint.

Outside of the expected favorites, I have kept a close eye on Justin Allgaier throughout the early part of the week. Allgaier has a great Bristol resume that includes 3 straight top 5 finishes and a 2010 victory. If you remember, we hit Allgaier at 13.5 to 1 odds at Phoenix back in March in what was the biggest surprise victory of the year thus far in the Xfinity Series. Allgaier has some upset potential again this week. As he proved at Phoenix, he is excellent at short tracks and he has the quality results at Bristol to back it up as well. We took Allgaier over Elliott Sadler in one of our early match-up bets early in the week but I believe the #7 may be a real threat again on Saturday after posting the fastest lap in practice earlier today.

A few other guys that I have on my radar for potential match-up plays include both Darrell Wallace Jr and William Byron. Both drivers have been performing well in recent weeks. Wallace has posted 5 straight 6th place finishes to match his #6 car number. Oh the irony! All kidding aside, Wallace has been running very well and I think a lot of people forget his strength comes on short tracks. He posted his best finish at Bristol last fall with a 7th place showing and I would not be surprised if he improved that mark on Saturday. Byron is another guy that is starting to come along in his rookie season. The rookie has posted finishes of 4th, 5th, and 7th in his last 3 starts. The 4th place finish was at Phoenix and he has been pretty solid on short tracks in his young career if you look back to his Truck Series performances. Byron was only 14th on the practice charts earlier today but expect him to race better when the green flag waves!

2017 Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 Race Picks

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*More plays to come closer to race time

Austin Dillon +875 (1 unit)

H2H Matchups

Justin Allgaier -145 over Elliott Sadler (2 units)
William Byron -105 over Daniel Suarez (2 units)