Weekend’s Underdogs
NASCAR Fantasy Racing and Betting Preview
by Jay Horne of NASCARWagers.com
A full weekend of racing awaits all 3 NASCAR touring series this weekend. The Camping World Truck Series will be alone at Gateway Motorsports Park while both the Xfinity and Sprint Cup Series’ will tangle on the fast surface of Michigan International Speedway. Over the last 4 races, we have hit some big winners resulting in +38.52 units during that stretch. Last week, our picks cashed with Martin Truex Jr at +1650 odds and we can only hope for continued results. Fortunately both Michigan and Gateway present opportunities for an unexpected name to visit victory lane while providing another opportunity for a big payday. Therefore we would like to take this time to review some of the weekend’s big long shots to consider on your betting roster for each race. Whether you are building a fantasy roster or wanting to take a shot on a big underdog, take a look at the best long shot for each race this weekend:
Drivin’ for Lineman 200 – John Hunter Nemechek +1700
Late Saturday night, the Truck Series will battle it out for 200 miles at Gateway Motorsports Park. The Truck Series just added Gateway back to the regular schedule last season and it turned out to be one of the best races of the year. Entering this week’s race, many will have eyes on Erik Jones, Matt Crafton, and Cole Custer amongst others. However, John Hunter Nemechek deserves some attention at +1700 odds. If you remember last year, Nemechek had his best race of the year at Gateway by leading 53 laps and was in contention for the win during the late stages of the race. Nemecheck has been limited to tracks of 1.25 miles or smaller due to his age so his experience on these shorter tracks is in his favor. Nemechek will actually celebrate his 18th birthday today meaning he will get to be in the #8 truck for the remainder of the season on all track sizes. This young guy scored several high quality wins in 2014 from the Snowball Derby to the All American 400. It is only a matter of time before he has a coming out party in the Truck Series and Gateway could easily be the place it happens this Saturday night.
Great Clips 250 – Chase Elliot +1350
This Saturday’s Great Clips 250 will be the first race of the weekend when the Xfinity Series drops the green flag at around 2:18PM (EST) at Michigan International Speedway. This weekend’s Great Clips 250 also just happens to be the most talented entry list of the entire season. Kyle Busch makes his return to the #54 car while Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Paul Menard (defending winner), and others will also be in action. It appears the Sprint Cup guys will dominate this race and for that reason we are getting good odds on the Xfinity Series regulars. As a result, I think Chase Elliot could be a play at +1350 as a strong sleeper pick. Elliot is not having the superstar year that we witnessed in 2014 but he is not having a bad year by any means either. In fact, Elliot has finished no worse than 8th all year outside of the restrictor plate tracks of Daytona and Talladega. The entire JR Motorsports team has shown a lot of speed at these similar horsepower tracks and Elliot had a strong 4th place showing at Auto Club Speedway back in March which shares some qualities with Michigan. If nothing else, consider Elliot in H2H matches this weekend and maybe even as a long shot if his odds keep getting better.
Quicken Loans 400 – Paul Menard +4400
Looking for the best long shot pick for the entire weekend? Look no further than Paul Menard in the #27 car this weekend at Michigan International Speedway. Michigan is easily one of Menard’s best tracks and he has posted 3 straight 4th place finishes in the last 3 races. Not to mention, he also posted a 4th place finish back in Fontana earlier this year. Menard also gets a nod of approval after beating several Sprint Cup drivers for the win at Michigan last year in the Xfinity Series race. If you consider the speed RCR cars have shown at similar tracks with this new rules package, I believe the #27 car could be a legitimate threat win this Sunday’s Quicken Loans 400. At extremely generous 44-1 odds, I find it hard to pass up the opportunity on such a big payday.
