Sta-Green 200 Race Picks
NASCAR Nationwide Series Betting Preview
Date and Time: Saturday July 12th, 2014. 3:45PM Eastern
Where: New Hampshire Motor Speedway
TV: ESPN 2
By: NASCAR Wagers, NASCAR Handicapping Service
Tomorrow afternoon the NASCAR Nationwide Series will give fans an exciting 200 mile prelude to Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race with the running of the Sta-Green 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Earlier today Nationwide Series’ teams and drivers participated in two practice sessions totaling just over two hours. Richard Childress Racing cars topped the charts in both practices with Brian Scott in the first session and Paul Menard posting the fastest lap in final practice. Qualifying for the Sta-Green 200 is not scheduled until 10:10am (EST) tomorrow which will set the starting lineup. However, let’s go ahead and dive into our Sta-Green 200 race picks. As always be sure to check back closer to race time for added plays and H2H bets once odds are reposted following qualifying.
After both rounds of practice today there was one common theme in relation to the speed charts; that one distinguishable common theme which was ‘experience’. The majority of the young Nationwide Series drivers struggled mightily today as Sprint Cup veterans shined on the 1.058 mile flat surface. Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch were easily the best two cars on the race track throughout both sessions. Matt Kenseth, Paul Menard, and Kyle Larson also showed some strength with speed which reminded us that New Hampshire is a place that very few drivers in the Nationwide Series have experience outside of the Sprint Cup guys. In reality, the experience factor is nothing new when it comes to Loudon.
Sprint Cup veterans have dominated this race winning 9 of the last 10 races in Loudon. Most recently Kyle Busch has lead the dominance by winning 4 of the last 5 races at New Hampshire. Brad Keselowski is the only other driver that has won a Nationwide Series event in the last 5 years. Keselowski won from the pole in 2012 just as Busch won from the pole in this race a year ago. Both Busch and Keselowski can be considered extremely strong candidates to visit victory lane yet again tomorrow. Odds makers have both drivers listed at less than 3 to 1 odds which takes the value out of taking both drivers for tomorrow’s race. At this point, I think bettors must give the edge to Busch with the slightly better car, better track record, and better knack for simply getting the job done.
So who are the candidates to spoil the Keselowski and Busch show? Well if a driver outside the #22 and #54 visits victory lane tomorrow, you can almost guarantee that the winner will come from one of the other Sprint Cup veterans in the field. The only two Nationwide Series regulars that displayed a glimmer of consistent speed earlier were among the cars of Brian Scott and Chase Elliot. Scott bested the field in the first practice but his car faded significantly in the latter session. Elliot was able to hang towards the top of the speed charts but he also fought the handling of his car all afternoon. Both drivers may be in the ballpark in terms of speed but they have not made it over to the same field as the #54/#22 cars.
With the way the Richard Childress Racing cars have been running in Nationwide Series competition, it is hard to simply ignore Paul Menard’s chances tomorrow afternoon. Menard has not been the greatest at New Hampshire in the past but was really solid in the final practice today. Additionally most would expect Matt Kenseth to find his way to the front at some point in the race. Kenseth did not post any impressively fast laps in either practice but appeared solid in race trim nevertheless. In six career Nationwide Series starts in Loudon, Kenseth has been rock solid and finished no worse than 9th. Still both Kenseth and Menard appear to be in the group of outsiders looking ‘in’ when it comes to their chances to score the victory tomorrow afternoon.
The one driver that appears to have the car and talent to spoil the show is Kyle Larson. New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a track that Larson has publicly stated that he likes and he was impressive today finishing inside the top 4 in both practice sessions. Larson’s car appeared to roll through the turns very well today and his driving style should pay off on long green flag runs. Expect the #42 car to get better as the race progresses and the track rubbers in. At this point, Larson is listed at over 8 to 1 odds and he is our first bet for tomorrow’s Sta-Green 200. We will keep an eye on qualifying and wait to see how odds adjust once the starting lineup is set for tomorrow’s Sta-Green 200. The green flag is scheduled to drop at 3:45pm (EST) tomorrow so be sure to check back closer to race time for added plays.
Sta-Green 200 Race Picks
Kyle Larson +875 (1 unit): Finished top 4 in both practices, car was solid in race trim, finished 4th earlier this year at Phoenix.
Sta-Green 200 Parlay
Kyle Busch +170 wins Sta-Green 200 + Paul Menard +130 over Matt Kenseth (1 unit to win +520)
