Dover 200 Race Picks
NASCAR Nationwide Series Betting Preview
Date and Time: Saturday, September 27th, 2014 3:45PM Eastern
Where: Dover International Speedway
TV: ESPN2
By:NASCARWagers.com, NASCAR Handicapping Service
This weekend’s racing action will kick off Saturday afternoon when the Nationwide Series tackles the Monster Mile with the running of the Dover 200 at Dover International Speedway. This Saturday’s 200 mile event marks the Nationwide Series 2nd stop at the Monster Mile in 2014. Back in May, Kyle Busch captured his 4th Nationwide Series win at Dover which also stopped Joey Logano’s string of 4 straight victories at Dover in the process. Logano and Busch return to Dover this weekend tied with the most wins in Nationwide Series history at the Monster Mile. Both drivers will be heavy favorites as they seek a record 5th win in the Dover 200. Take a look at our preview for tomorrow’s race and our Dover 200 race picks.
Drivers participated in two practice sessions Friday afternoon and qualifying will take place at noon on Saturday to set the grid for the Dover 200. Brian Scott paced the field in the first practice session on Friday with Cale Conley, Chase Elliot, Kyle Larson, and Kyle Busch rounding out the top 5. In the afternoon session, Chris Buescher topped the charts with Brendan Gaughan, Aric Almirola, Cale Conley, and Trevor Bayne making out the top 5. The afternoon practice session was definitely geared more towards race trim as several drivers went out for long consecutive green flag runs. Unsurprisingly, Sprint Cup veterans Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, and Kyle Busch posted the top 3 fastest 10 lap averages in the afternoon session which will only cement their status as favorites for tomorrow’s Dover 200.
Logano’s #22 Hertz Ford looked very strong in race trim. Kyle Busch opened up as the race’s overall favorite but we would definitely consider Logano as the car to beat heading into Saturday. However, there were a few other drivers that impressed through stretches of practice time on Friday. Brian Scott continued his practice dominance in the first session. Scott has been frequent at the top of the charts all season but it has yet to result in a victory this season. In 9 Dover starts in Nationwide Series competition, Scott has posted just 1 top 5 finish which is not exactly overly impressive either. Among other drivers, Cale Conley was the only driver to post top 5 times on speed in each of Friday’s practices. Conley has just 1 top 10 finish in his 9 Nationwide Series starts this year but this Saturday may be an opportunity for him to improve on that mark considering the #33 showed plenty of speed.
Among your Nationwide Series regulars, I believe you have to keep an eye on Chase Elliot every week at this point. Elliot was in the top 10 in both sessions and ran more laps than anyone on Friday. Elliot finished 5th at Dover back in May and he has a car that is ready to challenge on Saturday. A few other notes to consider: Brendan Gaughan backed up last weekend’s victory at Kentucky with two strong practice sessions and Trevor Bayne was also very solid in the #6 AdvoCare Ford. If you go back to the end of the Dover race in May, Bayne was running down Kyle Busch for the race lead but ran out of time. Bayne’s runner-up finish was the best of his 2014 campaign and he may be worth a play this weekend
either as a dark horse or in H2H action.
Dover 200 Race Picks:
Joey Logano +330 (3 units): winner of 4 straight Dover races from 2012-2013 before finishing 3rd back in May. Fastest in race trim and posted best 10 lap average in final practice
Kyle Larson +600 (1.5 units): 4th in practice 1, 2nd best 10 lap average in final practice, finished 6th back in May
H2H Matchup
Trevor Bayne +145 over R. Smith (2 units)
