Steakhouse Elite 200 (Xfinity Series) Predictions, Odds & Picks

• Xfinity Series leader Austin Cindric favored to return to Victory Lane at Darlington.
• Former Darlington winner Brandon Jones seeks second straight victory at the track.
• JR Motorsports’ Noah Gragson goes for third straight $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus.

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Steakhouse Elite 200 Odds

Find the latest odds for the Steakhouse Elite 200, provided by PointsBet Sportsbook!

The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads for Darlington Raceway, one of NASCAR’s most difficult tracks, for Saturday’s Steakhouse Elite 200.

History says it pays to start up front at The Lady in Black. In the last 16 Xfinity races there, only one winner has come from outside the top 10 on the starting grid.

Saturday’s race will be contested over 147 laps (200.1 miles), with stage breaks scheduled after 45 and 90 laps.

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Series Leader Austin Cindric Is a Likely Winner on Saturday, Oddsmakers Say

Consider the record: in eight NASCAR Xfinity Series races this season, defending series champion Austin Cindric has two wins and five other top-six finishes.

That consistent excellence has rewarded the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford with a whopping 59-point series lead over second-place Daniel Hemric.

Cindric (+325 on PointsBet Sportsbook) hasn’t won an Xfinity event since he triumphed at Phoenix Raceway on March 13, but his second-place starting position at Darlington is a good portent for a victory.

Eight of the last 16 winners at The Lady in Black have come from the front row—seven from the pole and one from the second spot on the grid.

All seven of those wins from the pole, however, belong to NASCAR Cup Series stars Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, neither of whom is racing on Saturday.

But that doesn’t mean you should overlook pole-position starter AJ Allmendinger (+460), who has scored a victory and three other top fives in his last five Xfinity starts.

Toyota Driver Brandon Jones Is the Only Former Darlington Winner in the Field

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Brandon Jones is the most recent Xfinity Series winner at the Track Too Tough to Tame. He’s also the only former winner in the field for Saturday’s race.

Jones won last year’s race with a pass on the next-to-last lap, after Ross Chastain and Denny Hamlin tagged the outside wall while battling for the lead.

The driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota started eighth in the final 2020 event at Darlington. On Saturday, he starts 22nd after crashing at Talladega last week.

That’s a big hurdle to overcome, and that’s why Jones is posted at +1100 at PontsBet Sportsbook. But it would not be wise to overlook Jones and his top-notch JGR equipment.

Noah Gragson Goes for Third Straight $100,000 Xfinity Dash 4 Cash Bonus

Noah Gragson hasn’t been able to find Victory Lane this season, but the driver of the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet certainly has been following the money.

Last Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway, Gragson finished sixth, but that was good enough to claim a $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus for beating the three other eligible drivers.

That was the second straight such bonus for Gragson, who grabbed the first $100,000 with a runner-up finish a week earlier at Martinsville Speedway.

On Saturday, Gragson will have to beat series leader Austin Cindric and Kaulig Racing teammates Jeb Burton and AJ Allmendinger to earn a third straight payoff.

But Gragson (+560) would rather win races than bonuses, and he’s a threat at Darlington with a fifth-place starting position that’s right in the middle of the sweet spot.

Gragson led a race-high 46 laps and won the first stage in last year’s May event at Darlington, so don’t be surprised if he gets his first victory of the season on Saturday.

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