Cheez-It 355 Race Picks
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Betting Preview
Date and Time: Sunday August 10th, 2014. 1:18PM Eastern
Where: Watkins Glen International
TV: ESPN
By: NASCAR Wagers, NASCAR Handicapping Service
The Cheez-It 355 at Watkins Glen International will get started with the drop of the green flag tomorrow afternoon at approximately 1:18pm (EST) for the 2nd and final road course race of the season. With just 5 races remaining before the “Chase for the Sprint Cup,” tomorrow’s race provides a prime opportunity for several winless drivers to capture a spot in the Chase. Just as Carl Edwards proved at Sonoma, anyone can win these road course races when strategy comes into play as it always does at Watkins Glen. So take a look at our thoughts on the drivers that could put their selves into position tomorrow to score a victory at Watkins Glen in our “Cheez-It 355 Race Picks.”
The overall favorite entering Sunday’s race is the Aussie Marcos Ambrose. Ambrose is one of the best road racers on the planet and he is at his best when he visits Watkins Glen. Ambrose has won 2 of the last 3 Sprint Cup races at the Glen and will start outside pole tomorrow afternoon. Ambrose also pulled out a strong win earlier today in the Nationwide Series Zippo 200 that featured a stack field of talent. It was Ambrose’s 4th straight win in his last 4 starts at the Glen in Nationwide Series competition. Tomorrow the Aussie looks to become the first driver to pull off the weekend sweep at Watkins Glen International.
Outside of Ambrose, who are the leading candidates to reach victory lane tomorrow? Well the answer to that question could be a multitude of drivers depending on the way the strategy card plays out. However a few drivers that appear ready to contend on Sunday include guys like Brad Keselowski, AJ Allmendinger, Kyle Busch, and perhaps Jeff Gordon. Keselowski has posted 3 straight runner-up finishes in the Sprint Cup Series at Watkins Glen and is looking to break through with his first win on a road course. Allmendinger is 0 for 212 in his career in the Cup Series. However the “Dinger” is known for his road racing capabilities and he has come very close to capturing a win at Watkins Glen previously. Allmendinger was fastest in final practice and will roll off 6th on Sunday. Meanwhile Kyle Busch has become one of the best road racers in the business in recent years. Busch is the defending Cheez-It 355 winner and has finished no worse than 9th in his last 8 starts at the Glen. Busch did not have the greatest qualifying effort but rest assured he will work his way to the front once the green flag drops.
A few other names that deserve some attention tomorrow include Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart. The two older veterans have combined for 9 victories at Watkins Glen. Smoke leads all active drivers with 5 victories compared to Gordon’s 4. The majority of Gordon’s victories resided in the late 90’s and he has not been overly impressive in recent years on the road courses. However this season has been a resurgence for the 4 time Sprint Cup Champion. With Gordon starting on the pole for tomorrow’s race, perhaps he can turn back the time and find some Watkins Glen magic once again. Meanwhile Smoke’s 5 wins have all come within the last dozen races at the Glen. This would seem like the perfect track for Stewart to earn his first victory of 2014. However, Stewart has under-performed at several tracks in recent weeks where he has been historically run well. After a pair of average practices, things do not appear on the upside for the #14 team.
However, there are a few other drivers that do have some upside entering Sunday’s event. Kevin Harvick has not been the greatest road racer throughout his career. However, he put together a solid pair of practices on Friday and qualified in the 4th position. Harvick was the class of the field at Sonoma before pit road mistakes put him in the back of the field where he got caught up in a wreck. Expect the #4 car to be strong on long green flag runs again tomorrow. Drivers like Carl Edwards and Joey Logano deserve a look tomorrow as well. Edwards captured his 2nd victory of the season at Sonoma earlier this year and surprisingly has the 5th best career average finishing position (8.78). Logano has been one of the fastest cars over the weekend finishing in the Top 10 in both practices and qualifying 11th. Logano impressed a lot of people in the Nationwide Series race earlier today and he appears to have a car that could impress again on Sunday.
Cheez-It 355 Race Picks
Brad Keselowski +700 (1.5 unit): 3 straight runner-up finishes at Watkins Glen, 3rd in practice 1, starting 9th
Joey Logano +2000 (1 unit): 6th in practice 1, 7th in final practice, Penske cars appeared strong in race trim, starting 11th.
Martin Truex Jr +5500 (.5 unit): Sonoma 2013 winner, finished 3rd at Watkins Glen in 2013, under rated road racer, value play
AJ Allmendinger +1400 (1 unit): 4th in practice 1, fastest in final practice, starting 6th
Kyle Busch +975 (1.5 unit): 2008 and 2013 winner at the Glen, finished in top 10 in last 8 career starts, 3rd in final practice, starting 19th
H2H Matchups
Marcos Ambrose -125 over Jeff Gordon (2 units)
Joey Logano +145 over Jimmie Johnson (2 units)
Nelson Piquet Jr -120 over Boris Said (3 units)
Carl Edwards +295 wins Group C (1 unit over Kahne, Biffle, Menard, and Truex)
Dale Earnhardt Jr +1275 Top 3 finish
