United Rentals 300 Predictions: Look for a Wild Xfinity Opener

• Austin Hill is the odds-on favorite for good reason, but is he a good bet?

• Will 2024 finally be the year Justin Allgaier tops the NASCAR Xfinity Series?

• Riley Herbst comes to Daytona riding a wave of success from late 2023.

United Rentals 300 Betting Odds

Odds taken from DraftKings Sportsbook. Click the odd below to place your bets at DraftKings Sportsbook.

Our Picks for the United Rentals 300

• Riley Herbst to win the race at +1800

• Parker Kligerman to finish in the top three at +400

• Riley Herbst to finish in the top three at +500

United Rentals 300 Predictions

Yes, Austin Hill Is Favored, But You Can’t Bet Short Odds at Daytona

If any driver deserves the favorite’s role in the NASCAR Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway, it’s Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill.

The driver of the No. 21 Chevrolet won the United Rentals 300 in 2022 and accomplished the same feat last year. In fact, three of Hill’s six Xfinity wins have come on tracks where NASCAR mandates the superspeedway competition package.

Here’s what Hill had to say about his prospects:

“I’ve been fortunate enough to win at Daytona two years in a row, which has been great, but every time you go to Daytona, you never know what will happen. You could get wrecked on lap one in a large pileup or you could do like we have the last two years with staying up front and being lucky to have it all work out at the end.”

That’s a concise explanation of why we can’t recommend Hill to win at +350 via DraftKings Sportsbook. Even though he’s the back-to-back defending winner, there’s too much that can go wrong—through no fault of Hill’s.

The risk/reward equation simply doesn’t compute.

Championship Hopeful Justin Allgaier Is the Most Recent Daytona Winner

If there’s a sentimental favorite in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Justin Allgaier certainly fills that niche.

The 37-year-old JR Motorsports driver began competing full-time in the series in 2009. In the last eight years, he has finished second twice (including last season), third three times, fourth fifth, and seventh in the final standings.

Last season provided a breakthrough for the driver dubbed “Little Gator.” After 25 unsuccessful starts at Daytona, Allgaier finally got a victory in the summer race at the Birthplace of Speed.

We don’t think it’s the start of a trend. Allgaier has scored 22 of his 23 Xfinity wins at tracks other than superspeedways. Though we like his chances for a first-series title, we wouldn’t recommend a bet on Allgaier (+1200 via DraftKings Sportsbook) on Saturday afternoon.

No Driver Had a Better Late-Season Surge Than SHR’s Riley Herbst

Late last season, the nickel finally dropped for Stewart-Haas Racing driver Riley Herbst.

In the last five races of the season, Herbst finished fourth at the Charlotte Roval, first at Las Vegas, second at Homestead-Miami, fourth at Martinsville and fourth at Phoenix—for an average result of 3.0.

The win in Sin City was the first of Herbst’s career, and he enters the season with enormous confidence—also bolstered by his teammate, Cole Custer, winning the series championship.

Herbst got early track time at Daytona, qualifying 12th for the Daytona 500 in a NASCAR Cup Series car.

Herbst was sixth in this race last year, and we can’t resist the attractive price of +1800 via DraftKings. We also like Herbst to run top-three at +500 and perennial superspeedway threat Parker Kligerman to do the same at +400.

How to Watch the United Rentals 300

• Race: United Rentals 300

• Location: Daytona International Speedway

• Time: Saturday, February 17, 5 p.m. ET

• How to Watch: FS1