Categories: NASCAR Betting

Ollie’s Bargain Outlet 250 Race Picks

Ollie’s Bargain Outlet 250 Race Picks
NASCAR Nationwide Series
Date and Time: Saturday June 14th, 2014 2:15PM Eastern
Where: Michigan International Speedway
TV: ESPN
By:NASCAR Wagers, NASCAR Handicapping Service

The Nationwide Series will officially kickoff the racing weekend tomorrow with the running of the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet 250 at Michigan International Speedway. Earlier today, Nationwide Series teams participated in two hour long practice sessions in preparations for tomorrow’s race. At this point we do not know the starting order for tomorrow’s race as qualifying is not scheduled until 10:40am (EST) on Saturday. However, starting positions are not extremely important at Michigan as long as drivers have the horses under the hood to get them to front. So let’s dive into our Ollie’s Bargain Outlet 250 race picks and race preview.

Earlier today in practice, Sprint Cup veterans dominated the speed charts which has become a pretty common theme in the Nationwide Series. Paul Menard led the way this afternoon by posting the fastest lap in both practice sessions. Menard’s strength in practice was very impressive especially when you consider that Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Joey Logano, and Chase Elliot were also circling towards the tops of the leader board in both sessions. Menard, who is a Sprint Cup regular, would be a tempting pick at great odds but he has won just once in the Nationwide Series in 183 starts.

As far as other practice notes are concerned, Chase Elliot was the only other driver to finish in the Top 5 through both practices. Elliot finished 4th in both sessions and all JR Motorsports cars looked strong. Outside of those two guys that stuck out, normal guys like Larson, Busch, and Logano all shared time towards the top of the speed charts. Those 3 drivers were the overall top 3 favorites before practices started today. Larson earned his first Nationwide Series victory at Auto Club Speedway earlier this year which is a track that shares a lot of similar characteristics to Michigan. Meanwhile Busch and Logano are favorites anytime they fire their engines in the Nationwide Series. Busch, the undisputed king of Nationwide Series racing, has averaged a 4.7 finish through his 6 career starts including a win at Michigan in these cars. Logano has been just as strong with a victory and a 6.2 average finishing position through his 5 starts in the Nationwide Series at Michigan. Needless to say, all 3 drivers in Larson, Logano, and Busch should be in the mix tomorrow.

So what about our thoughts on who will win the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet 250? Our opening pick from early in the week was Dale Earnhardt Jr at +675. Junior has been perfect in Nationwide Series races at Michigan winning each of his two starts. Michigan International Speedway just happens to be one of Earnhardt’s best tracks in the Sprint Cup Series. If you consider how well JR Motorsports is running this season, it’s hard to leave Junior off your roster at Michigan in a Nationwide Series event at nearly 7-1 odds. Junior finished 5th on the speed charts in final practice earlier today and was really excited about his racecar. Needless to say, we still like our chances with our opening pick.

To fill our betting card, we are going to ride shotgun with Kyle Larson and the #42 machine tomorrow as well. Larson is excellent at these wide open race tracks and he finished 2nd in his only Michigan start in last year’s Nationwide Series race. Larson also earned his first career victory earlier this season at Auto Club Speedway which many consider a sister track to Michigan. The youngster has been getting better every week on the Cup side and he has the talent to put himself in position for another win tomorrow. Look for Larson to close and get better as the race progresses.