Gardner Denver 200 Race Picks
NASCAR Nationwide Series Preview
Date and Time: Saturday June 21st, 2014. 3:00PM Eastern
Where: Road America Elkhart Lake, W.I
TV: ABC Sports
By: NASCAR Wagers, NASCAR Handicapping Service
Today the Nationwide Series will go road racing with the running of the Gardner Denver 200 at Road America. Nationwide Series teams took part in a two hour practice session on Friday in preparations for today’s race on the 4.048 mile road course. Friday’s practice session was actually delayed for two hours due to heavy rain. Fortunately today’s outcast looks bright with fair skies and just a slim chance of rain. However, GoodYear did bring their wet weather tires to Road America so rest assured we will go racing later this afternoon even if rain develops in the Elkhart Lake, W.I area. With that being said, let’s dive into the action and take a look at our Gardner Denver 200 race picks.
One of the biggest losers on Friday was our opening pick to win the race this week in Chase Elliot. Elliot did not even make a full lap around Road America before engine issues arose out of the #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet. The team spent the remaining length of practice changing out the engine in his Chevrolet. Needless to say, Elliot did not get any seat time in Friday’s practice. The good news for the #9 team is Elliot does have some experience at Road America in the ARCA Series and they still have plenty of time to make up for Friday’s woes starting with qualifying at 11:40am (EST). Elliot is still a solid pick to win today’s race especially since his odds have got much better since our pick earlier this week.
Among the rest of the field, Sam Hornish Jr and Alex Tagliani are the favorites to win today’s race. Hornish has been bet down to below 2 to 1 odds which is simply disgusting for a guy that is a part time driver in the Nationwide Series with just 3 career wins through 102 starts. On the alternative, Hornish did capture a win earlier this season at Iowa and has a strong road racing resume. More importantly Hornish looked really strong in today’s practice and posted the fastest lap of the day from his #54 Monster Energy Toyota. Still, Hornish’s odds will prevent him from being a play as the risk far outweighs the reward.
Another guy that many feel like will challenge for the win is Alex Tagliani in the #22 Discount Tire Ford that has been shared this season most often between Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano. Tagliani may be a name that few people are familiar with but he has a very solid road racing background. Tagliani raced in the Verizon IndyCar Series for several years specializing in road and street course racing. The 40 year old Montreal native was solid in practice finishing the day in the 3rd position and he may very well be a force to be reckoned with by the time the checker flag waves today. One of the things that make Tagliani a tough pick is his lack of stock car experience especially in recent years. Therefore it will be interesting to see how the open wheel veteran holds up throughout the course of 200 miles this afternoon.
Of course with any type of road racing, strategy may come into play this afternoon. If strategy comes into play that could give the opportunity for several drivers to possibly steal a victory. However, there are still some outsiders that may not even need a strategy card to get the job done this afternoon. Brian Scott and Elliot Sadler have plenty of experience at Road America. Sadler was in position to challenge for a win in 2011 before sliding back to a 4th place finish. Outside of the veterans, there may also be a few young guys that could surprise some people today. Chris Buescher won the ARCA race at Road America last season and finished 8th on the speed charts. Also, watch out for Justin Marks in the #31 car as he has some upside in these unique road course races.
Gardner Denver 200 Race Picks
Chase Elliot +500 (1 unit): Opening pick, did not practice due to engine change, finished 4th in ARCA race last year at Road America after attempting pass for the lead on final lap.
Regan Smith +1000 (.75 unit): Surprise pick of the race is Regan Smith. He was very happy with the #7 car after practice on Friday, finishing 4th in practices, and has the experience to keep his TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet at the front.
H2H Bets
Brendan Gaughan -120 over Dylan Kwasniewski (2 units)
Elliot Sadler +120 over Brian Scott (2 units)
Chris Buescher +125 over Justin Marks (2 units)
Qualifying starts at 11:40am (EST) today, check back afterwards for added plays once odds adjust to qualifying results