2013 STP 300 Odds, Free Picks and Predictions: Joey Logano the Favorite: With the Cup Series taking a weekend off to prepare for the Brickyard 400 in a couple of weeks, the Nationwide Series will take center stage with a Sunday afternoon race at Chicagoland Speedway. As the only show in town so to speak for NASCAR fans, the race is a golden opportunity for some of the up-and-coming drivers in the series to make a name for themselves. Not to mention the fact that with only one Cup Series regular scheduled to be in the field, the Nationwide regulars will have one of their best chances of the year to get to victory lane.
Last year, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. dominated a majority of the race only to watch a victory slip away in the closing laps. Stenhouse led 135 of the 201 laps, but Sadler was out front as the laps dwindled. Stenhouse actually closed to within a few car lengths of Sadler, but a late caution bunched up the field, and Sadler got a great restart and held of Stenhouse during a green-white-checkered finish. The victory was even more impressive considering Sadler had been fighting a stomach virus all weekend.
2013 STP 300 Odds, Free Picks and Predictions
The Favorites
He is the only Cup Series regular scheduled to make the trip to Chicagoland this weekend, and Joey Logano’s 19 career Nationwide wins are 10 more than any other driver in the field. One of those wins came at Chicagoland, and in four starts at the track, he has three top-10s and a 7.8 average finish. He also led the most laps at the track last fall. Logano has compiled a 5.9 average finish in seven Nationwide starts in 2013, which is nearly four spots better than any of the competition he will face this weekend.
As a rookie last season, Austin Dillon finished sixth and third in his first two career starts at Chicagoland Speedway. While those numbers alone make him a driver to watch this weekend as he returns to the track with a year of experience under his belt, the fact that his two career Nationwide wins have come at 1.5-mile tracks makes him a frontrunner. Dillon led the second-most laps of any driver in the most recent race at Chicagoland, and the weaker-than-usual field could be his chance to break into the win column in 2013.
Although he has yet to reach victory lane in the Nationwide Series in 2013, Brian Vickers’ seven top-five finishes are the most of any series regular. He also leads all series regulars with five finishes of third or better. Meanwhile, Vickers has reeled off three straight finishes of four or at Chicagoland, and he should bring plenty of confidence into Sunday’s race after snapping a 75-race winless drought in the Cup Series last weekend at New Hampshire.
The Dark Horses
He is the defending winner of this weekend’s race, and Elliott Sadler is in the middle of a nice hot stretch at Chicagoland. He has compiled a 6.0 average finish in his last four starts at the track, and he has finished eighth or better in his last three starts. Sadler always seems to be hanging near the front at Chicagoland so he should have a legit chance to win the STP 300 for the second year in a row.
While Trevor Bayne has finished as high as third at Chicagoland in the past, it is the team he is driving for this weekend that should get the attention of bettors. Bayne will be driving the Roush Fenway Racing No. 6 this Sunday, and the car finished second and first in two starts at the track last year with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. driving. He will have a winning setup already at his disposal, and Bayne has the talent to do the rest.
Although he never seems to dominate races, there is no denying Regan Smith’s ability to get the job done on the track. After all, the guy does enter Sunday’s race as the point leader, and his two wins are the most of any series regular. Smith hasn’t piled up those impressive statistics by accident, and he could definitely take advantage of the watered-down field to notch another win.
Sleeper Special
In six starts at Chicagoland in the Nationwide Series, Justin Allgaier has compiled an 8.2 average finish and has never finished outside the top 15. More importantly, he used a little fuel mileage strategy to win a race at the track in 2011, and in last year’s STP 300, he finished a strong third. There is something about Chicagoland that brings out the best in Allgaier, and he has already shown he can pull off an upset at the track.
This weekend at Chicagoland, Matt Crafton will be running a Nationwide Series event for just the second time this year, but if his first start was a sign of things to come, an upset could be in the cards. After all, Crafton finished third at Kentucky Speedway while driving the Richard Childress Racing No. 33, and he will back in the car Sunday at a Chicagoland track that shares the same 1.5-mile layout as Kentucky.
Odds to win the Nationwide STP 300
301 Joey Logano +325
302 Sam Hornish Jr +500
303 Austin Dillon +500
304 Elliott Sadler +900
305 Brian Vickers +800
306 Trevor Bayne +1000
307 Regan Smith +800
308 Matt Crafton +1500
309 Justin Allgaier +2000
310 Brian Scott +1200
311 Reed Larson +2500
312 Joey Coulter +3000
313 Parker Kligerman +3000
314 Nelson Piquet Jr +3000
315 Field +1500
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