Virginia 529 College Savings 250 Race Picks
NASCAR Nationwide Series Betting Preview
Date and Time: Friday, September 5th, 2014 7:43PM Eastern
Where: Richmond International Raceway
TV: ESPN2
By:NASCARWagers.com, NASCAR Handicapping Service
Tonight the Nationwide Series will go 250 miles under the lights at Richmond International Raceway in the Virginia 529 College Savings 250. Another stacked field awaits tonight’s event including Sprint Cup drivers Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, and Kevin Harvick. Last week Harvick posted a simply dominating performance by winning the Great Clips 300 at Atlanta. Harvick led 159 of the scheduled 195 laps to earn his 3rd Nationwide Series victory of the season. This week Harvick will be one of the main guys to watch again as he returns to Richmond after dominating the ToyotaCare 250 in the Nationwide Series first stop at Richmond back in April.
Harvick will ride into tonight’s race with a big wave of momentum in the #5 car for JR Motorsports. However, JR Motorsports as a company has just as much momentum going in the Nationwide Series that has fallen a bit under the radar. JR Motorsports has two drivers that are on top of the Nationwide Series points standings. Currently, Chase Elliott holds a 15 point lead over Regan Smith in what is becoming a two driver breakaway for the Nationwide Series points championship.
However, JR Motorsports accomplishments in 2014 are more profound that having a couple of drivers in the championship hunt. The team has amassed 8 victories this year through just 24 races which is a far cry better than the two wins the team earned in 2013. With all of JR Motorsports car competing at a high level, we have to consider their drivers on a weekly basis especially with talents like Kevin Harvick and Chase Elliot getting behind the wheel. Both Harvick and Elliot finished 1-2 at Richmond back in April and should be a force again tonight. Elliot finished 4th in final practice while Harvick ended the session in the 8th position.
Both Nationwide Series practices were conducted in the mid afternoon hours of Thursday while sun blared on the track. Track conditions will be a bit different when the green flag drops tonight at approximately 7:43pm (EST) so I would not put too much extra thought into practice speeds as the only method to predict tonight’s race. Outside of the JR Motorsports brigade, your best bets for a race winner will likely come from the likes of Kyle Busch or Kyle Larson.
Busch is the overall favorite for tonight’s race which is the case nearly anytime he suits up in Nationwide Series competition. Busch’s stats at Richmond have been very strong with 6 top 5 finishes in his 7 Richmond Starts in Nationwide Series competition. We know Busch is extremely strong at Richmond due to his dominating performances on the Cup side. However, Busch has just 1 victory at Richmond despite so many strong outings. Busch finished Thursday’s final practice in the #2 position on speed and he should be poised to be in the mix again tonight.
Outside of some of your obvious choices for tonight’s race, you may want to keep an eye on some of the young guys. Chris Buescher, Ty Dillon, and Ryan Blaney were all fast on Thursday through practices. Buescher surprised everyone with his win at Mid-Ohio and has been running fairly well on the ovals this season. Buescher finished 7th at Richmond back in May. Meanwhile both Dillon and Blaney posted the top 2 positions in final practice along with two fastest 10 lap averages. Blaney run among the top 5 for most of the ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond back in April before sliding back to a 9th place finish late. However, he proved at Bristol that he can win races and he could easily be a dark horse again tonight.
Virginia 529 College Savings 250 Race Picks:
Chase Elliot +925 (1.5 units): forums pick early this week, finished 2nd back in April, 4th in final practice.
Kevin Harvick +330 (2 units): 3 wins in 8 starts at Richmond, won most recently at Richmond back in April, starting 15th
Cover Parlay
Kyle Busch +160 wins Virginia 529 College Savings 250
Kyle Larson +115 over Matt Kenseth
To win: +688
H2H Matchups
Kevin Harvick -130 over Matt Kenseth (3 units)
Brian Scott -140 over Trevor Bayne (3 units)
