2022 Call 811 Before You Dig 250 Race Picks

NASCAR Xfinity Series Betting Predictions
Date/Time: Friday April 8th, 2022. 7:30PM (EST)
Where: Martinsville Speedway
TV: FS1

NASCAR’s Xfinity Series will get their chance to go racing under the lights at Martinsville Speedway on Friday with the running of the Call 811 Before You Dig 250. Last week, Ty Gibbs earned his 3rd victory of the season in controversial fashion by moving teammate John Hunter Nemechek on the final lap. Despite the controversy, Gibbs has quickly become the weekly favorite in the Xfinity Series with 3 victories through the first 7 races. However, Friday’s return to Martinsville promises to provide many of the fireworks that we witnessed last week at Richmond as we go short track racing for the 2nd straight week.

Among the notable storylines going into Friday includes Dale Earnhardt Jr who will make his rare return to Xfinity Series action. Since JR’s retirement, he has competed in at least 1 Xfinity Series event each season and Earnhardt will make his only planned appearance of the season on Friday. While Earnhardts’ return will be an intriguing factor from a fan standpoint, we must shift our focus towards finding the best betting opportunities that Friday’s race will provide. Fortunately, Xfinity Series teams and drivers were able to participate in practice and qualifying sessions earlier today to provide some baseline fundamental expectations going into the green flag Friday evening.

From a handicapping standpoint, Martinsville is one of those unique places that you would believe would favor aggressive betting. After all, it takes a very special type of skill set to consistently succeed at Martinsville and that is why we often see similar names emerge at the front of the field. However, track position is also one of the most overlooked factors to racing at Martinsville. Drivers can easily have dominating or strong performances only to get disappointing finishing results due to a late race incident, penalty, or restart where drivers get caught on the outside. Therefore, we will need a little luck to accompany our bets this week. Personally, I have always found that focusing on a few sharp match-ups typically outperforms the quantitative approach of numerous match-ups. As a result, I may not have as many bets this week but we will try to ensure we are sharp with each selection.

Practice and Qualifying Discussion

In Thursday’s brief 30 minute practice session, Ty Gibbs flexed his muscles yet again. Gibbs posted the 2nd fastest time behind Sheldon Creed and also showed elite pace in race trim. After practice concluded, Gibbs parlayed the strong practice session into his 3rd straight pole with a lap of 95.985mph. Needless to say, Gibbs continues to be the guy to beat in Xfinity Series competition. Beyond the #54 car, Daniel Hemric is another driver that stood out with really strong lap times. Hemric has finished 3rd in both of his Xfinity Series starts in his career at Martinsville and deserves dark horse consideration.

Other drivers that also stood out on the stopwatch included the likes of Brett Moffitt and Riley Herbst among the less popular intermediate talents. Moffitt has not had the season that I expected in terms of finishes but he is an underrated short-track talent. Meanwhile, Herbst is a driver that bettors should keep on their radar. The young driver has posted 3 top 5 finishes this season including 2 of the last 3 races. Following an impressive 5th place performance at Richmond, Herbst appears to have the speed for an encore style performance. Lastly, I would throw out names like Stefan Parsons and JJ Yeley as bottom-tier talents that had strong practices and could make some movement forward to bring value to fantasy lineups.

Betting Targets

In terms of betting targets, I think Ty Gibbs deserves the top spot if you can find value in his betting odds. Unfortunately, most sportsbooks have Gibbs’ odds at pennies on the dollar. Next best options include Daniel Hemric and Josh Berry. I have burned betting on Hemric often and his lone win at Phoenix last year does not exactly warrant optimism. However, I do believe Hemric is a solid driver especially at the shorter venues which means he should provide H2H value at minimum if he can stay out of trouble. Meanwhile, Josh Berry is a driver that is designed for racing at Martinsville which we saw in his breakout win last spring. After a mediocre qualifying effort, bettors may lose some interest in Berry but he will likely have the race speed needed to compete for the victory.

Unlike tonight’s Truck Series race, Friday’s 811 Call Before You Dig 250 will be slightly longer and that will produce a relatively sizable final stage that is composed of 130 scheduled laps. As a result, I don’t want to overlook the long-run speed components that may come into play late in this race. If we do get the long runs, I believe Justin Allgaier is a driver to watch in all formats. Allgaier was very solid in race trim, especially after several laps. After a strong qualifying effort, Allgaier may not have as much sharp value but he is still a driver to target. Lastly, I also would not overlook Dale Earnhardt Jr in fantasy lineups. Earnhardt butchered his qualifying effort but he knows how to get around the half-mile paperclip. As a result, I have him in multiple fantasy lineups.

Draftkings Call 811 Before You Dig 250 Optimal Lineup

2022 Call 811 Before You Dig 250 Race Picks

*Final*

Ty Gibbs +450 (1.5 units)
Justin Allgaier +650 (1 unit)
Daniel Hemric +1200 (1 unit)

H2H Match-ups and Props

Sheldon Creed -125 over Austin Hill (2 units)
Dale Earnhardt Jr -105 over Sam Mayer (2 units)
Riley Herbst -155 over Parker Retzlaff (2 units)