Tennessee Lottery 250 Odds: Defending Xfinity champ favored for win

After a week off, the NASCAR Xfinity Series is back in action at the Nashville Superspeedway this week. The tri-oval returns to the Xfinity calendar for a third year after a nine-year hiatus. Only a couple of notable Cup Series drivers are partaking in the NASCAR race this week, and one of them leads the Tennessee Lottery 250 odds.

Defending Xfinity champion at the top

Ty Gibbs (+325) is getting up to speed in the Cup Series after his 2022 Xfinity Series title. He’s nowhere near the top of the NASCAR leaderboard, but he’s put together a few solid performances this season.

His best results in 2023 are in Xfinity races. Third in Austin, fifth in Charlotte, and fourth in Sonoma last time out. This week, he returns to the grid for a race he finished fourth in last year. He had one of his better Cup Series performances in Dover this year, a track comparable to Nashville. Look for him to get his first win of either series this weekend.

Justin Allgaier (+325) is right there with Gibbs. He won this race handily last year, leading 134 of 188 laps. Dover proved good for him as well, with a third-place finish this season. He’s closed the gap to the championship leaders over the last two races and sits third overall, 25 points back from John Hunter Nemechek in first. A repeat win would close that gap even more, and Allgaier’s been racing well lately. He’s one of two Xfinity series drivers to finish at least seventh over the last five races.

Nemechek (+475) comes in close behind both Gibbs and Allgaier in NASCAR odds for victory. After notching multiple wins in the first two months of the season, he’s been winless since a dominant win in Martinsville. Nemechek relied on consistency this season to lead the Xfinity Series. He’s finished outside the top 10 just three times in 14 races. This will be his first Xfinity race in Nashville on Saturday. He was solid there in the Craftsman Truck Series, though, with 10th- and ninth-place finishes in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

Allgaier’s teammate Josh Berry (+650) is next in Tennessee Lottery 250 odds for victory. Last season he struggled, finishing four laps down in 29th after starting ninth. This week, he’s coming off his worst performance this NASCAR season. Thirty-third in Sonoma was a far cry from his typical results in 2023. He’s notched five top-five finishes this season, including second in Dover. He has yet to win in 2023 but this weekend could be a great bounce-back opportunity.

Championship contenders next up

Cole Custer (+800) has been one of the hottest drivers in the Xfinity Series lately. He’s finished seventh or higher in the last eight races. The NASCAR points he’s racked up from this streak pushed him to fourth in the standings. This will be his first time racing in Nashville, and he managed seventh in Dover. A second win in 2023 for him wouldn’t be too much of a surprise.

Rookie Sammy Smith and Austin Hill are tied at +1000. Smith has had an inconsistent season since his surprise win in Phoenix. Just two top-five finishes since then have him eighth in the championship. One of his best performances over the last couple of months was in Dover, where he finished sixth. A win in Nashville would be a departure from the previous few months but not out of the question.

After winning three of the first five races, Hill cooled off to three finishes outside the top 10. He’s bounced back lately, though, with five straight top-eight results, including fourth in Dover. He’s just four points behind Nemechek for the Xfinity Series lead, the closest he’s been in months. A win here would push him to the top of the championship once again.

Long shots to consider in Nashville

AJ Allmendinger (+1600) is another Cup Series driver racing in the Tennessee Lottery 250 this week. He’s coming off one of his best performances in the Cup Series this season with sixth place in Sonoma. Dover was a solid track for him, and he managed 18th. He took 16th in the Xfinity Series race last season but led the most laps besides Allgaier (48). He could be on for his second Xfinity win of the season.

Riley Herbst (+3300) hasn’t matched his early-season form lately. He finished at least 10th through the first six races. He has yet to make the top 10 in any race since. But last season, he took third behind Allgaier and Trevor Bayne and ahead of Gibbs. This could be the track he needs to return to where he was early in 2023.

Tennessee Lottery 250 predictions

With a newer track like the Nashville Superspeedway, there’s not too much precedent in the current field for solid performances. So the Tennessee Lottery 250 odds rely mostly on last year’s race and the top of this season’s championship standings.

Gibbs is back, but of the favorites, a repeat win for Allgaier looks most likely. He’s been incredibly consistent lately, and another win would put him in the fight for the 2023 title. If you want a better payout, go with either Custer or Allmendinger. Since early April, Custer’s been the most consistent Xfinity Series driver, and Allmendinger’s had a good string of Xfinity results in 2023.

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