Food City 300 Race Picks
NASCAR Nationwide Series Betting Preview
Date and Time: Friday, August 22nd, 2014 7:43PM Eastern
Where: Bristol Motor Speedway
TV: ESPN
By:NASCARWagers.com, NASCAR Handicapping Service
Tonight a talented Nationwide Series field will take to the high banks of Bristol Motor Speedway for some good ole fashioned Friday night racing at Thunder Valley in the Food City 300. Sprint Cup drivers Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, and Kyle Larson headline tonight’s full field of 43 drivers as the leading favorites to take home the checkered flag. Busch, who has 16 wins in all NASCAR touring series at Bristol, has won 6 of the last 8 Nationwide Series races inside the ½ mile bullring and will be looking to make it 4 in a row when the green lag drops tonight at 7:43pm (EST). Drivers and teams participated in two practice sessions on Thursday and we were able to get a good look at the drivers that should contend later tonight. Take a look as we provide our thoughts and Food City 300 race picks!
After both of Thursday’s practice sessions, it would appear that the clear favorites for tonight’s race are Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson. Obviously Busch’s track record and Bristol dominance in all of NASCAR’s touring series makes him a favorite with every visit to the world’s fastest half mile speedway. However, Busch was equally strong in Thursday’s practices finishing 2nd in both sessions. Sprint Cup rookie Kyle Larson has never won at Bristol but he has performed very well in his few starts. Larson finished 2nd and 5th in last year’s Nationwide Series races at Bristol as a rookie in the Nationwide Series. Larson was strong again on Thursday finishing on top of the speed charts in final practice and he should be one of the cars to beat later tonight.
Outside of Larson and Busch, there are plenty of talented drivers in tonight’s field. Kevin Harvick is back in the #5 Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevrolet. Harvick’s 5 victories at Bristol in Nationwide Series competition is the 2nd most all-time behind Busch. Harvick finished 3rd in the first practice on Thursday but seemed to struggled with the handling of his #5 car in race trim. Perhaps a few over night changes will get the car better suited to compete later this evening. Outside of Harvick and Busch, the only other driver that has a victory at Bristol in Nationwide Series competition in tonight’s field is Elliot Sadler. Sadler has two victories at Bristol with the most recent win coming in the spring of 2012. Sadler is in the midst of a 3-way battle of the Nationwide Series Championship that is separated by just 16 points. Based on Sadler’s history at Bristol this should be a good opportunity for Sadler to close the gap on Chase Elliot. However, the #11 team not been very impressive in practices finishing outside the top 15 in both sessions.
It is always good to have some experience on your side at a place like Bristol. However, Chase Elliot has proved several times this year that experience can be over rated. Chase, Ryan Blaney, and Erik Jones are among tonight’s extremely talented crop of young talent. Jones is making just his 2nd career Nationwide Series start after a solid 7th place showing back at Chicagoland. Jones has done extremely well in his few Truck Series starts and his Nationwide Series role will likely pick up if he continues to perform well. Ryan Blaney, who will be moving to the Wood Brothers next year in the Sprint Cup Series, finished 4th at Bristol back in the #22 Discount Tire Ford. Blaney has been solid all weekend finishing in the top 5 in both of Thursday’s practices. Meanwhile Chase Elliot posted more laps than anyone in Thursday’s practices. The current Nationwide Series point’s leader posted more than a 100 laps in each of Thursday’s practices finishing 1st in practice 1 and 5th in final practice. Elliot finished 9th back in the spring in his only Bristol start and we would expect him to do even better tonight.
Food City 300 Race Picks:
Kyle Busch +150 (3.5 units): 2nd in both practices, won 6 of last 8 Nationwide Series races at Bristol
Kyle Larson +575 (1.5 units): early week pick, fastest in final practice
H2H Matchups
Brendan Gaughan -115 over Chris Buescher (3 units)
Chase Elliot -170 over Regan Smith (2 units)
Kyle Larson -130 over Kevin Harvick (2 units)
