Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 Odds & Predictions at ISM Raceway: The NASCAR XFINITY Series visits ISM Raceway, better known as Phoenix, this weekend for the final race of the Round of 8. Saturday’s Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 will be the second race of the year at the one-mile, low-banked track, and it will also decide which four drivers compete for the championship in next weekend’s season finale.
Back in March, Kyle Busch took the checkered flag at Phoenix, but with the playoffs in full swing, no Cup drivers are allowed to compete in Saturday’s race. Of course, this means that the “Big 3” of Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick and Cole Custer jump to the top of the list of favorites, but unlike a lot of the bigger ovals, there’s at least a decent chance for a surprise winner this weekend.
Thanks in large part to the lack of banking, passing is tough at Phoenix and track position means everything. You will see drivers make some bold moves on restarts, and you will also see crew chiefs make some daring calls on pit road. A well-timed restart or timely caution could be all it takes to allow someone to steal a win in Saturday’s Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 at ISM Raceway.
2019 Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 Odds & Predictions at ISM Raceway
The Favorites
Christopher Bell
Bell is the defending winner of the fall race at Phoenix, and even with Kyle Busch in the field here in March, he was still a serios threat for the win, leading 68 laps before being caught up in a wreck. Bell led 94 laps in his win here last fall, and he has cracked the top five in three of his four Phoenix starts overall. He already has a series-high eight wins under his belt in 2019, and there’s a great chance he notches win No. 9 Saturday.
Tyler Reddick
Reddick owns a solid 8.2 average finish in four starts at Phoenix, and more importantly, he has improved in every start at the track. Since a 14th-place finish in his track debut, he has reeled off three straight Top 10s, including a sixth-place finish last fall and a third-place finish earlier this year. With Kyle Busch not in the field this time around, Reddick is a frontrunner for the win.
Value Bets
Justin Allgaier
Although Allgaier remains winless in 2019, he’s had plenty of speed. In fact, he currently sits in great position to advance to the championship finale at Homestead next weekend. More importantly, he has been excellent at Phoenix throughout his career. In seven starts here for his current JR Motorsports team, he has an 8.4 average finish. He has four top-five finishes in those races, including a win in 2017. Last year, Allgaier led more than 60 laps in both Phoenix races. He should be a factor for the win Saturday.
Chase Briscoe
While Phoenix is a little bigger than a traditional short track, it does race a lot like a short track thanks to the lack of banking and tight corners. Briscoe happens to be one of the best short trackers in the series right now, and he notched a win at Iowa earlier this year. He also finished sixth in his Phoenix debut back in March, and he enters Saturday’s race in the middle of one of his best stretches, having led more than 20 laps in three of the four races. He has shown the speed to contend for wins, and Phoenix is the type of track where he has been at his best.
Sleeper Special
Austin Cindric
The road course ace has never won a race on an oval track, but Cindric could have a chance to change that this weekend. He has cracked the top five in back-to-back starts at Phoenix, leading laps in both races. In fact, only Kyle Busch and Christopher Bell led more laps here in March than Cindric. I think he could surprise some folks Saturday.
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2019 Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 Odds
Christopher Bell -140
Tyler Reddick +325
Cole Custer +350
Justin Allgaier +1100
Austin Cindric +1200
Brandon Jones +1500
Chase Briscoe +1500
Field +2800
Noah Gragson +3000
Riley Herbst +4400
John Hunter Nemecheck +5500
Zane Smith +5500
Michael Annett +6600
Justin Haley +8800