2014 Drive for the Cure 300 Odds, Picks and Predictions: Favorites, Sleepers and Drivers to Avoid: The Nationwide Series returns to Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend, and with the Cup Series also in town, several big names are slated to pull double duty. In fact, all four Cup drivers in the field are former winners at Charlotte, including defending race winner Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson, who won at the track earlier this year. With that in mind, here is a closer look at the top contenders in a loaded field for Friday night’s Drive for the Cure 300.
The Favorites
Not only is Kyle Busch the defending winner of this weekend’s race, but he has made Charlotte his personal playground in the Nationwide Series. He is a seven-time winner at the track for his career, and he has finished sixth or better in each of his last 14 starts. More impressively, Busch has 12 finishes of third or better over the same stretch, including three straight.
After finishing second at Charlotte earlier this year, Brad Keselowski will be back behind the wheel this weekend to try to close the deal. In his last 11 starts at the track, he has 10 top-10 finishes, including eight finishes of sixth or better. More importantly, Keselowski has five top-three finishes during the stretch, including a pair of wins.
He is a three-time winner at Charlotte at the Nationwide level, and Matt Kenseth has remained a force at the track even in limited starts. He has a 5.0 average finish in his last four starts at Charlotte, picking up a win and finishing eighth or better in all four starts during the stretch. Kenseth finished fifth at Charlotte last fall and sixth earlier this year, and he should have no problem contending yet again Friday night.
His 6.0 average finish is the best of any driver in the field this weekend, Kyle Larson will shooting for a season sweep at Charlotte Friday night. His victory at the track in May was his second top-five finish in three total starts at the track, and Larson’s ability to run the high line is a perfect fit for the layout of Charlotte. He has a real shot at back-to-back wins at the track this weekend.
The Contenders
His lone start at Charlotte to date came back in 2012 when Ryan Blaney notched a 14th-place finish in his track debut. In the two years since that start, he has gained a whole lot more experience and a ride with a Team Penske. Blaney is now a better driver with better equipment, and he has 10 top-10s in 11 starts in 2014 to prove it. He enters Friday’s race on a tear with four straight top-four finishes, and he is proving to be a contender whenever he is in the field.
Although one of his worst finishes of the year came at Charlotte in May, writing off Chase Elliott this weekend would be foolish. After all, he enters this weekend’s race as the point leader, and he leads all series regulars in wins and top-five finishes. More importantly, two of his three wins have come at tracks with the same 1.5-mile layout as Charlotte. A suspension issue may have ruined his Charlotte debut, but he could rebound in a big way this weekend.
Sleeper Special
It has been a disappointing year for Trevor Bayne, but he always seems to have a decent run whenever the series visits Charlotte. He has four straight finishes of eighth or better at the track, finishing as high as third during the stretch and posting a 6.3 average finish. Friday night’s race could be Bayne’s best chance to steal a win in 2014.
Big Name to Avoid
He currently sits second in the standings, but Regan Smith has never been particularly strong at Charlotte. He has a mediocre 16.6 average finish at the track in seven career starts, and since joining JR Motorsports in 2013, his average finish has only improved to 12.0. Smith doesn’t have a top-five finish at Charlotte with JR Motorsports, and he has just one at the track overall. Don’t expect Smith to contend for victory this weekend.
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