Kansas Lottery 300 Race Picks
NASCAR Nationwide Series Betting Preview
Date and Time: Saturday October 4th, 2014. 3:46PM Eastern
Where: Kansas Speedway
TV: ESPN
By: NASCAR Wagers, NASCAR Handicapping Service
The Nationwide Series moves to Kansas Speedway this weekend with the running of the Kansas Lottery 300. With just 7 races to go in the season, rookie sensation Chase Elliot has put some space on the field in the race for the Nationwide Series Championship. Teammate Regan Smith is still in striking distance but has lost ground in recent weeks and currently trails by 26 points. As we keep our eye on the points battle, we also look forward to an exciting race on Saturday that will be stacked with Sprint Cup Series talent with drivers like Paul Menard, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, and Matt Kenseth. Take a look as we preview tomorrow’s 300 mile event and provide our Kansas Lottery 300 race picks:
Even though Saturday’s field is stacked with Sprint Cup Series talent, it was the younger talent that shined on the leaderboard throughout Friday’s lone practice session. Mother Nature interrupted the first scheduled practice on Friday leaving teams and drivers just 1 practice session to prepare for tomorrow’s event that will see the green flag drop at approximately 3:46pm (EST). Ryan Blaney topped the charts in practice with a lap of 180.048mph. Blaney was followed by Chris Buescher, Ty Dillon, Kyle Busch, and Trevor Bayne to round out the top 5. Blaney, Buescher, and Dillon have all scored their first Nationwide Series wins this year and have been running very well in recent weeks. Blaney appears to have the best chance of the 3 to contend in tomorrow’s race based on how the #22 appeared in race trim but he is still going to have to deal with those talented Sprint Cup drivers for the victory.
Leading the Sprint Cup Series brigade, Kyle Busch was really strong in practice with the 4th best time in terms of speed and the #54 car also posted the best 10 lap average. Rowdy, Harvick, and Matt Kenseth have all captured one victory each at Kansas Speedway in Nationwide Series competition. Kenseth is the defending winner of the Kansas Lottery 300 and has 5 top 5 finishes in his 7 career starts at Kansas in the Nationwide Series. Kenseth appeared solid in race trim but he has not exactly performed well this season finishing only as high as 3rd in 15 starts. More importantly the #20 car has struggled at the majority of the 1.5 mile speedways so far this year. Despite Kenseth’s strong Kansas resume, his ability to close the deal in a Nationwide Series car this year remains questionable.
One of the surprises on Friday was the lack of single lap speed from the Junior Motorsports cars. Harvick, Chase Elliot, nor Regan Smith finished in the top dozen in terms of speed which is rather odd considering the organization’s dominance on the 1.5 mile speedways this season. Harvick has not exactly dominated practices this year in Nationwide Series competition but has still been extremely strong each time the green flag drops. Elliot has been very solid inside the top 10 in recent weeks but has not contended for a victory in quite a well. Both Elliot and Harvick also trailed Busch quite a bit in terms of 10 lap consecutive averages. Therefore, Busch currently tops our roster for tomorrow’s Kansas Lottery 300. Take a look at the remainder of betting lineup below and be sure to check back after qualifying tomorrow for our added H2H matchups.
Kansas Lottery 300 Race Picks
Matt Kenseth +975 (1.5 units): Despite the fact Kenseth’s best finish this season is 3rd, he appeared as strong in race trim, great odds, starting 13th
Kyle Busch +325 (4 units): clear car to beat in race trim, 2007 Kansas winner, has won 2 of last 3 starts in Nationwide Series competition, starting 6th
Cover Bet
Ryan Blaney +800 (1 unit): fastest in practice 1, top 5 finishes in 5 of last 6 Nationwide Series starts, starting 2nd
H2H Matchups
*Check back closer to race time