Alsco Uniforms 300 (Xfinity Series) Predictions & Picks

• Austin Cindric carries a three-race top-five streak into Saturday’s Vegas event.
• Noah Gragson hopes to recover from third straight heartbreak at Homestead.
• Can Myatt Snider back up his win at Homestead? Oddsmakers don’t think so.

Alsco Uniforms Odds

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After three events in Florida, the NASCAR Xfinity Series heads for Las Vegas for the first leg of an abbreviated West Coast Swing, which ends the following weekend at Phoenix Raceway. This is the second straight race for NASCAR’s Triple-A series on a 1.5-mile intermediate speedway.

Saturday’s Alsco 300 is scheduled for 200 laps (300 miles), with stage breaks after 45 and 90 laps. Chase Briscoe won both Las Vegas races in 2020, but he has graduated to the NASCAR Cup Series with Stewart- Haas Racing and won’t defend his win in this event.

How to Watch Alsco Uniforms 300

Austin Cindric Has Achieved Pre-Eminent Status in NASCAR’s Xfinity Series

It’s hard to bet against Austin Cindric. The 22-year-old from Mooresville, N.C., and son of Team Penske president Tim Cindric is the reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion. In the first three races of 2021, Cindric has won on the Daytona International Speedway oval, finished second on the Daytona Road Course, and scored a fifth-place result at Homestead-Miami Speedway after leading a race-high 63 laps.

As a consequence, it’s beyond logical that Cindric (+190) is the heavy favorite to add another trophy to his collection in Saturday’s Alsco Uniforms 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Cindric was runner-up to Chase Briscoe in this race last year, and Briscoe is racing on Sundays in the NASCAR Cup Series this season.

In fact, the only former winner in the field this weekend is Cup driver Tyler Reddick, who is pulling double duty. Though he’s listed at +1000 for Saturday’s race, Reddick may prove to be Cindric’s stiffest competition. In his first Xfinity start since 2019 last week at Homestead, Reddick took second before his car was disqualified post-race for a ride-height infraction.

Is There a Change of Fortune in Noah Gragson’s Future? He Deserves One

Last Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Noah Gragson was just over two laps away from a convincing victory at the 1.5-mile track. That’s when David Starr, running ahead of Gragson as the last driver on the lead lap, blew a right-front tire and rocketed into the outside wall—right into Gragson’s racing line.

In one fleeting instant, Gragson fell from a comfortable lead to a 33rd-place finish—his car destroyed. In his previous two starts at Homestead last year, he led the lion’s share of the laps without getting a victory. Though the Las Vegas native hasn’t won at his home track, Gragson has been consistently strong there, with finishes of sixth or better in each of his four starts at the 1.5-mile speedway.

That’s why he’s the second favorite to Cindric at +550. Gragson has been consistently fast at intermediate tracks, but neither of his two career victories have come on one of NASCAR’s bread-and-butter mile-and-a-half speedways. The nagging question is: if Gragson has a chance to close the deal on Saturday, can he do it?

Oddsmakers Say No to Myatt Snider’s Prospects for a Second Victory

Those who post the odds in Vegas must think Myatt Snider’s maiden Xfinity Series victory last Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway was a total fluke. Why else would they rate Snider at +3500 for Saturday’s Alsco Uniforms 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway?

The field bet for the race shows shorter odds (+3300), and the field bet in NASCAR racing NEVER wins. Problem is, Snider’s win wasn’t a fluke. He ran a solid race, took the lead after Gragson’s late mishap, and held off Tyler Reddick on the second attempt at overtime to win.

If the oddsmakers are pessimistic about the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing entry, Snider definitely is not. “We had top-seven, top-eight speed last time in the spring race,” said Snider, who is second in the series standings. “So with the improvements I’ve seen made over the offseason, I think we can easily be a top-five car and hopefully put ourselves in contention to win again this week.”