2017 Hisense 4K TV 300 Race Predictions

2017 Hisense 4K TV 300 Race Predictions
NASCAR Xfinity Series Betting Preview
Saturday May 27th, 1:19PM (EST) at Charlotte Motor Speedway
by Jay Horne of NASCARWagers.com, NASCAR Handicapping Service

Racing festivities for Memorial Day weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway will kick off on Saturday when the Xfinity Series takes center stage for the Hisense 4K TV 300. While many will be anticipating Sunday’s action filled day of racing with the Indianapolis 500 and Coca Cola 600, Saturday’s Hisense 300 has the ingredients to be very exciting with several big name drivers in action. It has been 3 weeks since the Xfinity Series battled at Daytona but we are ready to end the hiatus. Take a look as we preview and provide our 2017 Hisense 300 4K TV race predictions!

Tomorrow’s entry list is decorated with the likes of Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Austin Dillon, Ryan Blaney, and Kevin Harvick from the Monster Energy Cup Series. Keselowski, Dillon, and Hamlin are all former Charlotte winners in the Xfinity Series. Keselowski actually leads that group with 3 Charlotte victories to his resume. However, I believe all of the Cup Series drivers are capable of winning tomorrow’s event and all 5 drivers were in the top 6 in lap times for Thursday’s first practice.

Obviously the Cup Series drivers are not the only participants in tomorrow’s race, there are still several talented Xfinity Series regulars looking for an opportunity to steal a victory. William Byron posted the fastest lap in final practice on Thursday and is looking to build off his previous finishes of 7th, 14th, and 7th on the 1.5 mile surfaces. Behind Byron, Christopher Bell posted the 2nd fastest lap in final practice. Bell is making his Xfinity Series debut this weekend before he moved into a full-time role next season for Joe Gibbs Racing. Bell has been a strong competitor in the Truck Series the last two seasons and is obviously a rising talent in the sport. We have seen some very good drivers come from the Truck Series in recent years, most notably William Byron and Erik Jones.

So what can we expect from Bell in his first start? Well I made a forums post early in the week showing what similar talents have done in their first Xfinity Series starts. There have been several top 10 finishes from guys like Erik Jones, William Byron, Ben Rhodes, and Cole Custer in recent years for drivers making their first starts. However, none of those drivers finished inside the top 5. Now I have stated that I think a top 10 for Bell would be an accomplishment for his first start mainly because of the talent showing on tomorrow’s entry list. However, Bell has looked extremely good in practices not just from single lap speed but also in consecutive lap times as well. We all know that the JGR cars have the premier speed in the Xfinity Series and the #18 has been one of the fastest cars since unloading. Therefore, Bell has the opportunity for a really impressive debut.

In fact, I thought Bell was easily the fastest among the non Cup Series drivers on Thursday. Of course, race speed is where the experience factor will come into play. As far as other non Cup guys, I thought Justin Allgaier showed some surprising speed. The JR Motorsports cars have not been very strong on the 1.5 mile tracks this year but Allgaier was the exception on Thursday. William Byron and Daniel Hemric are two other guys that I would expect to run rather well. Both guys strive on the 1.5 mile surfaces and race better than their practices typically indicate. I especially like Hemric as he brings some value in potential lower tier H2H matchups.

With those things in mind, I still believe this race will be decided among the Cup Series drivers. Kevin Harvick posted the 3rd best 10 lap average in final practice on Thursday but “Happy” has never been that great at Charlotte in the Xfinity Series. Harvick is 0 for 27 in Xfinity Series starts at Charlotte with a best finish of 2nd (once). Furthermore the Stewart-Haas Xfinity program is not nearly as strong as their Cup Series program. For the rest of the Cup Series driver participating, I obviously like Denny Hamlin in the #20 car for JGR as they are surely going to be fast. I also really like Ryan Blaney even more than Brad Keselowski. The #22 car still has not won in 44 races. Though they have shown improvement and Keselowski is a 3-time winner, Blaney still appeared to be the fastest of the Penske Racing machines.

On a more surprising note, I am really starting to believe that Austin Dillon has a chance to win Saturday’s race. I am not sure he will have the speed to match the #12 or #20 but he has been excellent at Charlotte with finishes of 2nd, 1st, 1st, 2nd, and 14th in his last 5 starts. The #2 car had their best practices of the year on Thursday and it is obvious that the driver loves his hometown track. Therefore, I have Dillon listed as my top dark horse going into Saturday.

2017 Hisense 4K TV 300 Race Predictions

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Kevin Harvick +700 (1.25 units)
Ryan Blaney +750 (1.25 units)
Austin Dillon +1250 (1 unit)

H2H Matchups

Ryan Blaney -130 over Justin Allgaier (4 units) *early forums play
Daniel Hemric +110 over Ty Dillon (2 units)