Food City 300 Predictions, Odds & Picks

While the NASCAR Cup Series and Truck Series playoffs are already in full swing, the Xfinity Series playoffs will get underway tonight with the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway (7:30 pm ET, USA).

Last week at Kansas Speedway, Austin Hill wrapped up the regular season championship with a fifth-place finish in the Kansas Lottery 300. But while Hill took home the regular season title, he will not start the Round of 12 at the top of the points standings.

Instead, John Hunter Nemechek, who claimed his series-leading sixth win last week and now has nine stage wins this season, will open the playoffs with a ten-point advantage over Hill, with Justin Allgaier in third, 23 points behind.

NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff Standings (Entering the Round of 12)

• 1. John Hunter Nemechek – 2049 points
• 2. Austin Hill – 2039
• 3. Justin Allgaier – 2026
• 4. Cole Custer – 2017
• 5. Sam Mayer – 2015
• 6. Chandler Smith – 2009
• 7. Josh Berry – 2009
• 8. Sheldon Creed – 2008
• 9. Sammy Smith – 2008
• 10. Jeb Burton – 2006
• 11. Daniel Hemric – 2003
• 12. Parker Kligerman – 2002

Ahead of Food City 300 qualifying, which will take place this afternoon (3:10 pm ET, USA), Nemechek and Allgaier are the favorites to take the checkered flag.

Odds to Win the Food City 300

Odds are via BetUS.

• Justin Allgaier +300
• John Hunter Nemechek +300
• Trevor Bayne +600
• Josh Berry +650
• Cole Custer +900
• Sam Mayer +900
• Austin Hill +1000
• Sheldon Creed +1600
• Chandler Smith +1600
• Sammy Smith +1600
• Brandon Jones +2000
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. +2500
• Daniel Hemric +3300
• Riley Herbst +5000
• Parker Kligerman +6000
• Brett Moffitt +8000

Food City 300 Predictions and Picks

Tonight’s race will also be the first Xfinity Series race of the season for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Since calling it quits as a full-time driver in 2017, Earnhardt has driven in one Xfinity Series race each season. This year, he will be doing the Contender Boats 300 at Homestead next month in addition to tonight’s race.

He may not be the only Earnhardt in the Food City 300 field, as his nephew Jeffrey will make his 20th Xfinity Series start of the season tonight, provided he qualifies. While it would certainly be quite the story for Dale Jr. to end up in Victory Lane at the Food City 300, it is not likely to happen.

In the six races since Sam Mayer won the Road America 180 at the end of July, the winner has come from the top several favorites.

Recent Xfinity Series Winners

Nemechek was the favorite for the Kansas Lottery 300, and he produced a dominant performance to win for the first time since his Cabo Wabo 250 win at Michigan.

A Food City 300 win would secure Nemechek’s spot in the Round of 8, and he happens to be the only driver to win back-to-back races this season.

Nemechek has logged a number of good results at Bristol in the Truck Series, and he also has two top-five finishes in three Xfinity Series starts there. At Bovada, Nemechek is -125 to record a top-five finishes in the race.

For my other finishing position pick for the Food City 300, I’m going with Cole Custer to land a top five, which comes in at +150 at both BetUS and Bovada.

After finishing sixth, seventh, fifth, and four in his four races prior to the Kansas Lottery 300, Custer was on track for another strong result before running over tire debris sent him into the wall and out of the race.

Like Nemechek, Custer has been logged a number of solid results at Bristol in both the Xfinity Series and Truck Series, and he’ll be eager to put last week’s misfortune behind him.

Recent Food City 300 Winners

• 2022: Noah Gragson
• 2021: A.J. Allmendinger
• 2020: Chase Briscoe
• 2019: Tyler Reddick
• 2018: Kyle Larson
• 2017: Kyle Busch
• 2016: Austin Dillon
• 2015: Kyle Busch
• 2014: Ryan Blaney
• 2013: Kyle Busch

Which one of the Food City 300 race favorites will take the win tonight? Instead of backing one of the playoff drivers, I’m going with Bayne.

At Daytona, Bayne made his first Xfinity Series start of the season, and he was laps away from collecting his first win in the Cup, Xfinity, or Truck Series in over a decade. But his hopes for a win were dashed by an accident, and he frustratingly finished 29th.

The Joe Gibbs Racing #19 has had a lot of success this season, with Ty Gibbs, Denny Hamlin, and Ryan Truex all winning races. After coming agonizingly close to adding his name to the list at Daytona, Bayne will not come up short tonight at Bristol.

Where to Bet on the Food City 300 and the NASCAR Xfinity Series

Many of the top sports betting sites offer a variety of NASCAR betting odds. Throughout the season, you can bet on races like the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, and others.

Along with being able to bet on the winner of each Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and/or Truck Series race, sportsbooks like Bovada and BetUS offer finishing position odds (top 3, top 5, and/or top 10).

Also, odds on who will finish at the top of the championship standings are available at many reputable sportsbooks.

In addition to Bovada, where the Food City 300 odds in this article are from, here are some of the sites that we recommend if you are interested in NASCAR betting: