The NASCAR XFINITY Series is back in action for the time since March 20 in tonight's Cook Out 250 (8 p.m. ET, FS1) at Martinsville Speedway.
Friday night's Martinsville odds board is crowded at the top, with four drivers (Justin Allgaier, A.J. Allmendinger, Harrison Burton and Austin Cindric) listed at 5-1 or shorter.
It's important to note that last fall's race at Martinsville was the XFINITY Series' first visit to "the Paperclip" since 2006, so experience (or lack thereof) is a key factor for these drivers, especially at a track that is both difficult and unique.
After examining performance at Martinsville in all series, as well as experience, here are two drivers I'm betting to win tonight's NASCAR XFINITY Series Cook Out 250.
NASCAR XFINITY Series at Martinsville Odds
*Odds as of 8:15 a.m. ET Friday and via DraftKings Sportsbook
| Driver | Odds |
|---|---|
| Justin Allgaier | +350 |
| A.J Allmendinger | +450 |
| Harrison Burton | +500 |
| Austin Cindric | +500 |
| Ty Gibbs | +700 |
| Noah Gragson | +900 |
| Daniel Hemric | +900 |
| Justin Haley | +1600 |
| Brandon Jones | +1600 |
| Jeb Burton | +2500 |
| Michael Annett | +4000 |
| Josh Berry | +4000 |
| Field | +4000 |
| Riley Herbst | +6600 |
| Brett Moffitt | +6600 |
| Myatt Snider | +8000 |
| Ryan Sieg | +10000 |
| Brandon Brown | +15000 |
| Jeremy Clements | +15000 |
| Josh Williams | +20000 |
| Landon Cassill | +25000 |
| Gray Gaulding | +25000 |
| Timmy Hill | +25000 |
| Alex Labbe | +25000 |
NASCAR XFINITY Series at Martinsville Picks
A.J. Allmendinger (+470) To Win
Through the years, drivers have said that braking and getting through the corners at Martinsville requires techniques that are similar to those needed on road courses.
And as we know, the Dinger is an extremely skilled road course racer.
Allmendinger has 21 starts at Martinsville in the Cup Series, so yeah, he knows his way around this track.
A.J. also overperformed in many of those events, especially during his tenure with JTG-Daugherty Racing.
While driving for that organization, which certainly isn't among the series' top team in terms of equipment, Dinger scored seven top-11 finishes in 10 races.
And in the XFINITY Series' return to Martinsville in October, A.J. drove from a 36th-place starting spot to the front and led 68 laps before a flat tire took him out of contention while he was leading the race.
The favorites are front-loaded for tonight's Cook Out 250, and for the reasons above Allmendinger is the one I'm using to anchor my card.
This bet is widely available at +450, which is still good, but be sure to shop the market in case there are any better prices, like the +470 at FanDuel.
Jeb Burton (+3100) To Win
Burton is a driver further down the odds board who has a ton of experience at Martinsville in the Camping World Truck Series and the Cup Series, while also running (and running well) in the XFINITY race here last October.
In that event, Jeb finished fourth and posted the fifth-best driver rating — both solid numbers for a driver sitting at 31-1 across the market.
I do expect drivers like Allmendinger and Harrison Burton to be faster than Burton in raw speed, but 31-1 is enough of a price to take the shot that the No. 10 Chevy does have race-winning pace on its own or that the race falls right for it to be in contention late.
Similar to Allmendinger above, FanDuel has the best odds for Jeb at 31-1, but I'm comfortable playing it down to 25-1 if that's the best number available to you.
There's a decent chance that there's more to come as well, so be sure to follow me on Twitter (@PJWalsh24) for any additional bets I make for tonight's Cook Out 250 at Martinsville.
