2021 Contender Boats 250 2/27/21 Nascar Xfinity Series Picks, Odds, and Prediction
Saturday afternoon the NASCAR Xfinity Series will do battle at the Homestead-Miami Speedway for the Contender Boats 250. Homestead is a 1.5-mile oval that has been reconfigured 2 times to the true progressively banked track of today. Homestead is similar to the Darlington Raceway and the Xfinity race on Saturday will be 167 laps to make up the distance in the Contender Boats 250. Look for drivers to take multiple lines around the turns on Saturday to find the fast groove.
Here are a few drivers to consider for the Contender Boats 250.
Tyler Reddick +200 – Reddick will come over from the Cup Series to make a start in the Contender Boats 250 on Saturday afternoon, and will have to come through the field as he starts from the 38th position. Reddick finished 4th in 2020 in the Cup Series race at Homestead and before that had 2 victories and a 4th place finish in the Xfinity Series. Drivers that come from a dirt racing background tend to have a leg up at Homestead, as there are multiple lines that can be utilized to be fast just as is on a dirt track. Reddick makes the start with the Sieg team on Saturday, and while the team is smaller have proven they have a car to contend.
Noah Gragson +340- Gragson will have to do some work on Saturday from a 23rd starting spot for the Contender Boats 250. Noah off to a tough start in 2021 with a crash in the first race of the season at Daytona, and last week at the Daytona Road Course couldn’t get the car started before going laps down at the start of the event. Homestead brings a breath of fresh air to Gragson and team, now is the time that the kinks need to be worked out. In 3 Xfinity starts at Homestead, Noah has 3 top 5 finishes leading a combined 164 laps in the double header at Homestead in 2020. Look for Noah to make way to the front on Saturday in the Contender Boats 250.
Austin Cindric +500- Cindric off to the best start in the Xfinity Series, picking up a win at Daytona in the first race of the season and following up with a 2nd place finish on the Daytona Road Course 1 week ago. Cindric will lead the field to the green flag in the Contender Boats 250 starting on the pole Saturday. In 4 starts at Homestead, Cindric has 3 top 5 finishes along with a 10th place finish in 2020. For a 1.5-mile track race, Cindric is coming at a decent value compared to some of the prices offered over the previous Xfinity races look for Austin to contend.
Daniel Hemric + 1400- Hemric will start alongside Austin Cindric on the front row from the 2nd starting position for the Contender Boats 250 on Saturday afternoon. On paper, Hemric has not faired well at the Homestead-Miami Speedway with a 31st place finish and a 34th in 2020 due to a crash. Hemric made the move to Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series for 2021 to run for the Championship, finishing 9th at the first race in Daytona and 3rd last Saturday on the Daytona Road Course. Hemric ran a full season in the Cup Series for Childress in 2019, so experience is no issue for Hemric. Great opportunity for Hemric to turn the Homestead performance around on Saturday.
Brandon Jones +2000- Jones will roll off from the 4th position on Saturday for the Xfinity Series race at Homestead. Jones heads into Saturday’s Xfinity Series race with 4 top 10 finishes including a 2nd over the last 4 races at Homestead. In the most recent race at Homestead, Jones picked the 2nd place finish and had the best quality passing percentage of 89.7%, indicating Jones had a consistently fast car. Somewhat surprising Jones is as long of price for Saturday’s race, but take the value.
AUTHOR: Jeff Jeter
