The next race in the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the Cook Out 250, set for Friday, April 9, at 8:00 pm Eastern time. Martinsville Speedway will host the race, which you can watch on FS1 or listen to on the Motor Racing Network. Justin Allgaier won last time out in the Xfinity Series, prevailing at the EchoPark 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Let’s look back at the EchoPark 250 and go over your top NASCAR betting choices for Friday’s race.
NASCAR News: Xfinity Series Cook Out 250 Preview
Even with Cup Series driver Martin Truex Jr dropping down to race in the Xfinity Series event in Atlanta, Justin Allgaier was able to prevail. It just took one bad mistake by Truex for Allgaier to take the lead, and then Allgaier was able to hold on over the last 26 laps, keeping Truex from taking back over. Harrison Burton finished third, followed by Noah Gragson, who wrecked in Lap 40 but still bounced back to come in fourth. He did finish the day in a fight with Daniel Hemric, which stemmed from an altercation earlier on pit row.
Truex’s error came in Lap 114, when Tuex took a penalty for pit-road speeding while under caution. Truex had won the first two stages and led the race for 103 laps, but he had to restart at the rear of the field on Lap 118. Two later cautions helped him in his quest to win, but once he was in the runner-up position, he didn’t have the tires to catch Allgaier.
A.J. Allmendinger came in fifth in the race, and Daniel Cindric settled for sixth, ending a streak of five consecutive top-five results to start the 2021 campaign. Allgaier, Burton, Gragson and Allmendinger will all race for the Dash 4 Cash prize at the Cook Out 250 as a result of their results from the last race.
A.J. Allmendinger is a solid pick in two types of races: those that take place on road courses and those at Martinsville. He was right in the thick of things a year ago but ended up with a flat tire at just the wrong time at Martinsville.
Harrison Burton won the fall race at Martinsville last year, leading the majority of the laps. However, he took advantage of two factors that are not likely to play a role this week: he was already out of the playoffs last fall, so he was willing to forfeit points by taking a pit before a stage break and ended up in the lead. Also, he had the #1 pit stall, which is assigned randomly.
Austin Cindric is not viewed as a solid short-track racer, and yet he dominated the last pair of races in Phoenix. The point being that Cindric runs well, no matter what the track, except when he wrecks. He has a road background that should help him at Martinsville, even though that did not work out in 2020 for him.
Josh Berry has a background as a short-track driver, and he would really enjoy the chance to make a statement here. In 2019, he won the late model race, leading from start to finish.
Brandon Jones came in ninth at the Martinsville fall race, and with enough cautions at the right time, he could crack the top five this time. However, if there is a long green flag at the end, he just doesn’t have the car to make it.
Noah Gragson has a win at Martinsville — in a truck race. In 2020, he took part in five races on short flat tracks and averaged a finish of 5.0. Martinsville is a track where drivers often get payback — and Gragson did open that feud with Hemric in his last race.
Justin Allgaier finished in the top five at the fall Martinsville race, in a situation where he was just running for points to gain championship qualification — so finishing in the top five was all he needed to do. But could he win? That’s a different question.
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