VFW Sport Clips Help A Hero 200 Preview and Picks
Nationwide Series at Darlington
Date and Time: Friday April 11th, 2014. 8:16PM Eastern
Where: Darlington Raceway Darlington, S.C.
TV: ESPN2
By:NASCAR Wagers, NASCAR Handicapping Service
Later this afternoon, the NASCAR Nationwide Series will get the racing weekend started when the green flag is dropped under the lights at Darlington Raceway in the VFW Sport Clips Help A Hero 200. ‘The Lady in Black’ promises to present high quality action throughout the night with her narrow walls, high speeds, and rough racing surface. Tonight’s field includes Sprint Cup regulars Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, and Kyle Larson. Those guys will be huge favorites tonight for one main reason, experience! Darlington is the ultimate test for drivers and the ‘Lady in Black’ is not normally nice to those she is not familiar with. Sprint Cup guys have won the last 10 straight Nationwide Series races at Darlington and that is a trend that could easily continue tonight.
The Nationwide Series has displayed an impressive crop of young talent this season between Ty Dillon and last week’s winner Chase Elliot. Both Dillon and Elliot were fast in practice, posting top 5 speeds in the final session. Dillon, Elliot, and Regan Smith may be the only Nationwide regulars with the skills to steal a win from the Sprint Cup guys tonight. However, this will be both Dillon and Elliot’s first starts at Darlington in a stock car which is something that cannot be overlooked. Regan Smith posted the best 10 lap average in the final practice and he is a commendable dark horse. Smith scored the biggest win of his career in the Sprint Cup Series at Darlington in 2011. Not only does Smith have the experience that we like but he has been fast in his prior trips to Darlington in a Nationwide car which will be worth considering at 25-1 odds.
As far as the rest of the field, we believe it starts and stops with the Sprint Cup guys if you are trying to pick a winner. Last year’s winner, Kyle Busch is the overwhelming favorite which is the case nearly every week in the Nationwide Series. Busch has visited victory lane twice at Darlington in the past but has had his share of bad luck as well making him a risky pick at such poor odds. Matt Kenseth also has two victories on his resume at Darlington via the Nationwide Series. However not only did Kenseth not show much speed during practice, but he has a poor average finish outside the top 10 in his last 10 starts.
Joey Logano topped the charts in the first practice session and already has 1 victory in just a handful of starts at Darlington. Logano finished 4th in the race a year ago and he should definitely be towards the front again tonight. One guy we will definitely be staying away from tonight is Kevin Harvick. The ‘Lady in Black’ has not been very nice to “Happy,” go figure. In fact, Harvick has been poor at Darlington in both of NASCAR’s top two series. Not only do his odds not offer any value, but he was not very impressive in practice either. However, one guy we do like tonight is Kyle Larson. Larson finished 6th in this race a year ago in his first Darlington start and we think he could be a threat. Larson’s driving style fits Darlington well and he has shown speed throughout the week.
NASCARWAGERS Picks to Win:
Joey Logano +500: Near top 5 average finish at Darlington, posted fasted time in the first practice.
Kyle Larson +800: Fast in both practices, 6th in this race a year ago in his first Darlington start.
Regan Smith +2500: Fastest 10 lap average in practice, 2011 Sprint Cup winner at Darlington.
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