Focused Health 250 Predictions: Connor Zilisch Gets Enormous Respect

• Is Connor Zilisch really as good as the oddsmakers think he is?

• Austin Hill hopes to prove he’s no one-trick pony with road course win.

• William Byron is an excellent choice at COTA, and he’s not even the favorite.

Focused Health 250 Betting Odds

Odds taken from bet365 Sportsbook. Use our promo code WSN365 at bet365 and claim $150 in bonus bets with a $5 wager.

Our Picks for the Focused Health 250

• William Byron to win the race at +300 at bet365

• Sam Mayer to finish in the top three at +450 at bet365

• Austin Hill to finish in the top three at +500 at bet365

Focused Health 250 Predictions

Is Connor Zilisch Really Worthy of All the Respect He’s Getting?

Even at age 18, Connor Zilisch is a monster talent. No argument there.

After all, he won his first NASCAR Xfinity Series start last year on the road course at Watkins Glen International, where he also won the ARCA Menards Series race.

Adaptable to a wide variety of race cars, Zilisch drove for the winning LMP2 (prototype) team at both the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring.

That said, is Zilisch’s record in a stock car really sufficient to make him a heavy favorite in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at the Circuit of the Americas?

Forgive us if we withhold judgment until Zilisch (+175 at bet365 Sportsbook) gets a few more NASCAR races under his belt. We’ll pass at those short odds.

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Austin Hill Insists He’s Close to a NASCAR Xfinity Win on a Road Course

Austin Hill is hands-down the premier superspeedway racer in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

That’s why we picked him to win at Atlanta last Saturday, which he did. In fact, Hill now has won five of the last six races at the 1.54-mile drafting track.

But Hill believes he’ll have fast cars at the full complement of venues this year, including road courses.

“I’ve been so close to winning one of the road courses,” said Hill, who gave team owner Richard Childress his 99^th Xfinity Series victory last Saturday.

“I hope going into COTA that we can be the one on top, and we can be sitting here talking to all of you (reporters) and have that 100^th win. “It would be extremely special.”

Hill isn’t indulging in wishful thinking. In 21 starts on road courses, he has nine top fives and 12 top 10s.

Though we don’t think he’ll win the race, we think Hill is a good bet to finish in the top three at +500 via bet365.

We also like underrated road course racer Sam Mayer to do the same at +450 via bet365.

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William Byron Looks to Add Another COTA Victory to His Resume

Honestly, it isn’t difficult to pick a winner for Saturday’s Focused Health 250 at the Circuit of the Americas.

William Byron won the NASCAR Cup Series race at COTA last year against a much tougher field.

Doing double duty this weekend, Byron is driving the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet that carried Kyle Larson to victory in last year’s Xfinity Series race.

That’s enough for us to pick Byron this week. He’s become an adept road course racer, and he’s available at better odds (+300 via bet365) than rookie Connor Zilisch.

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How to Watch the Focused Health 250

• Race: Focused Health 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race

• Location: Circuit of the Americas (Austin, Texas)

• Time: Saturday, March 1, 2:30 p.m. ET

• How to Watch: The CW