Date: Saturday February 12th, 5:15PM (EST) |
Location: Daytona International Speedway
By: Jay Horne of NASCARWagers.com, NASCAR Handicapping
NASCAR’s Xfinity Series will get their opportunity to shine on the high-banks of Daytona International Speedway on Saturday when the green flag waves for the Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner 300. Saturday’s opening race in the Xfinity Series will be the ideal prelude to Sunday’s Daytona 500 featuring many of the sport’s youngest upcoming talents. Earlier today former Cup Series veteran Ty Dillon paced the field in the only practice for tomorrow’s event. Dillon lost his full-time Cup Series ride due to Germain Racing’s closure but is looking to make the best of his remaining opportunities which includes stepping behind the wheel of the #54 car for Joe Gibbs Racing on Saturday. As we take 1 step closer to Sunday’s grand finale, let’s take an opportunity to preview Saturday’s Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner 300 and discuss some of the drivers to keep on your radar if you plan on putting down a few wagers for the Xfinity Series’ opener.
The Xfinity Series will definitely have a new look in 2021. Chase Briscoe dominated the Xfinity Series last year with 9 victories but has graduated to a full-time Cup Series role. Austin Cindric returns as the series’ brightest talent on the heels of a 6-win campaign in 2020. Meanwhile, guys like Daniel Hemric, AJ Allmendinger, and Jeb Burton all move into full-time Xfinity Series seats. You can read all about the full-time changes in the Xfinity Series here: 2021 Xfinity Series Driver and Team Changes. For Saturday’s opener, we have several well-known names that will be joining the action including Dillon, Tyler Reddick, and Josh Berry will be joining the rest of the full-time competitors to provide an intriguing opening event. With so many talented drivers in capable equipment, there are numerous betting options to consider. While I will not be officially starting my race picks until Sunday’s Daytona 500, let’s talk about a few drivers that should be on your radar.
At the head of the field, Justin Haley remains among the most experienced and decorated superspeedway drivers in the field. Haley went to victory lane on 3 different occasions in 2020 and all of those victories were a product of superspeedways (Daytona (1)/Talladega (2)). Haley also owns a Cup Series victory at Daytona stemming from the 2019 rain-shorted Coke Zero 400. Needless to say, he has proven time and time again to be among the best drivers at this specific style of racing. Other notable drivers that have sniffed victory lane at the Daytona include the likes of Noah Gragson, Tyler Reddick, Michael Annett. Gragson has the aggressiveness and equipment to thrive in Saturday’s race while Reddick’s chances should be downgraded on the basis of equipment with the newly formed Our Motorsports.
Of course prior winners at Daytona are not guaranteed to have success this weekend. One wrong move by any of these drivers could potentially wipe out half the field including the innocent. Due to the volatile circumstances, I like to put some extra focus on the long shots that yield sufficient value for the inherited risk. If you are going to bet these events, then we should have a couple of long shots in our lineup. A few of the guys that fit within those parameters include the likes of Jeb Burton and Gray Gaulding. Burton moved over to Kaulig Racing this season which has a solid superspeedway reputation over the last few years. Burton actually posted the 2nd highest driver rating (112.6) in last year’s opener at Daytona but did not get the credit to show for it. For whatever reason, Burton continues to be undervalued in the terms of odds and bettors should take notice. Another driver that I doubt anyone will mention is Gray Gaulding who should be targeted for extreme long shot odds and in fantasy formats. Gaulding has never had the luxury of strong equipment but in 6 career starts between Daytona and Talladega, the young driver has posted 4 top 10 finishes and 2 top 5 finishes. Therefore, he deserves a lot more respect than what he is getting.
The downside to tomorrow’s event is the fact there are so many drivers in that intermediate range that are capable of winning. I look at Ty Dillon, Daniel Hemric, Austin Cindric, Harrison Burton, AJ Allmendinger, Brandon Jones, and Noah Gragson as guys that could easily win this race if given the opportunity in the closing laps. Personally I like Cindric and Gragson the best out of that particular group. Unfortunately, the odds for the majority of those options are less desirable. Because there is such a big group of talented names making up the bulk of this field, this race will be even harder to predict than normal superspeedway races. Therefore, my advice for bettors would be to watch as a fan and wait for next week’s races when the real handicapping begins. If you want to throw some bets into the air, just remember to target value and keep your risk relatively low.
