Ambetter Get Vaccinated 200 Predictions, Picks & Odds (Xfinity Series)

• Kyle Busch is done for the year, but the No. 54 JGR supercar marches on.
• Josh Berry is subbing for injured Michael Annett—and just might bring home the trophy.
• Front row on the starting grid won’t be as big a factor at New Hampshire this year.

Ambetter Get Vaccinated 200 Predictions & Odds

Odds for Ambetter Get Vaccinated 200 taken from PointsBet Sportsbook. Click on the odds below to head to PointsBet and place a bet.

After racing for the last time on the degraded asphalt at Atlanta Motor Speedway last Saturday, the NASCAR Xfinity Series heads north to New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

NHMS is a 1.058-mile flat track that favors the bottom line. Accordingly, NASCAR has added a layer of PJ1 traction compound to the middle lane to facilitate passing to the outside.

Saturday’s Ambetter Get Vaccinated 200 will be contested over 200 laps (211.6 miles), with stage breaks scheduled after 45 and 90 laps. Because of the pandemic, no race was held at NHMS last year. Christopher Bell is the only former winner in the field.

How to Watch Ambetter Get Vaccinated 200

Kyle Busch Is Done for the Year, But the No. 54 Juggernaut Rolls On

To the enormous relief of the rest of the NASCAR Xfinity Series field, Kyle Busch has run his last race in the division this year—and perhaps for his career.

After turning teammate Daniel Hemric during an attempt to push him on a late restart, Busch took the checkered flag last Saturday at Atlanta, winning for the fifth time in five starts this season.

Though Busch has used up all five of his permitted races in NASCAR’s Triple-A series, the car he drove—the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Supra—has not disappeared from the scene. In fact, that car has won seven times this season, twice with rookie Ty Gibbs.

On Saturday, Christopher Bell takes his turn in the car. The second-year Cup driver won the two most recent races at New Hampshire (2018 and 2019) and is the only former winner of the race in the field.

Given that Joe Gibbs Racing drivers have won the last four events at NHMS (with Kyle Busch claiming the trophy on 2016 and 2017), it’s no surprise that Bell (+130 via PointsBet Sportsbook) opened as the favorite at one of his best tracks.

Nor is it a surprise that we like him to win on Saturday. If Bell should falter, Justin Allgaier is a good pick at +450. Allgaier ran third at New Hampshire in 2019 and seventh in 2018.

Josh Berry Is Subbing for Michael Annett, and He Could Be the Winner

In a sudden move last weekend, JR Motorsports driver Michael Annett dropped out of Friday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Knoxville, Iowa, and Saturday’s Xfinity event at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Annett is suffering from a stress fracture of his right femur and will be out of action at New Hampshire on Saturday. NASCAR granted the driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet a medical waiver that keeps him eligible for the series championship.

For Saturday’s Ambetter Get Vaccinated 200, Josh Berry will sub for Annett, but Berry is no last-minute relief driver. In a part-time role with JRM this season, Berry has a win at Martinsville (a flat half-mile) and second-place finishes at Darlington and Dover.

A star in the late model ranks, Berry should be in his element at New Hampshire, which drives like a short track. At the attractive price of +1200, he’s well worth considering.

A Front-Row Starting Spot Won’t Be as Big a Factor as Usual This Week

Remarkably, the last eight races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway have been won from the front row. After six straight victors started from the pole position, Christopher Bell won both the 2018 and 2019 events from the second spot on the grid.

But with NASCAR’s formulaic metric qualifying setting the starting order in the absence of actual time trials, starting position won’t be as important in Saturday’s race.

So don’t go rushing out to bet on Jeb Burton (+3000) and Justin Haley (+1800), just because they’re starting first and second, respectively.

Christopher Bell remains the favorite despite starting 14th, and Josh Berry can’t be discounted, even though he’ll take the green flag in the 21st position.