For the uninitiated, the world of professional stock car racing has a minor league system of sorts. It’s called the NASCAR Xfinity Series, where many up-and-coming drivers polish their skills in hopes of eventually making it to the big league, otherwise known as the NASCAR Cup Series.
Serving as the appetizer for this Sunday’s 2020 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 is Xfinity Series’ Rinnai 250 race on Saturday. You may not have been interested in betting on this particular NASCAR circuit before, but with sports being pretty lean at the moment this is a great way to bide the time and earn a dime (or much more). Read on for a breakdown of the favorites, sleepers, and a long shot, and register to make your picks below.
Briscoe is currently leading all Xfinity Series drivers this season with 300 points, the only one so far with that many. Briscoe nearly snagged his third win of the year last Monday when he finished second at the Cheddar’s 300 presented by Alsco at the Bristol Motor Speedway. He also had a recent win at the Toyota 200 at the Darlington Raceway last May. Sandwiched in between those races was a subpar 20th-place finish at the Alsco 300 in Charlotte. He has four top 5s and five top 10s this season, so far.
Noah Gragson
Gragson was the one who kept Briscoe from winning last Monday, as the Team JR Motorsports youngster won that race in Bristol. With that win, he managed to keep in step with Briscoe, as they now both have two wins on the season. Gragson has only one start to date at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, but he impressed in that nonetheless, placing ninth in last year’s The Rinnai 250.
Harrison Burton
It did not take Burton much time to turn heads in the Xfinity Series. Right in his third career race in the series, he took the checkered flag at the Auto Club Speedway back in February. He has not won a race since, but has not finished outside the top 9 in seven races this year, heading into this coming weekend’s event at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.
SLEEPERS
Justin Haley
Haley hopes to strengthen his position inside the playoff cut with a win at the 2020 Rinnai 250. He’s regressed a bit of late, with a string of three 10th-place or worse finishes after hitting a back-to-back top 5s at the Production Alliance Group 300 and at the LS Tractor 200. Haley finished eighth at the 2019 Rinnai 250. Haley also had a sixth-place finish to show at the Daytona International Speedway last February.
Brandon Brown
Brandon is flirting with success of late. He has zero wins on his record, but it seems that he’s on the right track to nail his first career win in the Xfinity Series since making his debut in 2016. After going eighth in Charlotte late last May, Brown finished seventh last Monday in Bristol.
LONG SHOT
Jesse Little
Little is worthy of a long shot title based on what he’s done so far this year, which is very…little. Little has not broken inside the top 10 in any of his last seven races. His best performance this season was a 14th-place finish at the Boyd Gaming 300 race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway last February. The last time he was on a track, Little settled for a 26th-place showing at the Cheddar’s 300 presented by Alsco.
