United Rentals 250: NASCAR Xfinity Playoff Drivers Face a Crapshoot

• Austin Hill is the favorite, but Talladega isn’t his best superspeedway.

• Rookie Jesse Love already has exhibited consummate skill on drafting tracks.

• Talladega is where the Xfinity Playoffs start to favor AJ Allmendinger.

United Rentals 250 Betting Odds

The following odds are taken from bet365 Sportsbook. Use our promo code WSN365 at bet365 to claim your bonus of choice: $1,000 Safety Net Bet OR $150 in Bonus Bets.

Our Picks for United Rentals 250

• AJ Allmendinger to win the race at +1300 via bet365

• Shane van Gisbergen to finish in the top three at +1600 and top five at +800 via bet365

• Parker Kligerman to finish ion the top three at +400 via bet365

United Rentals 250 Predictions

Austin Hill Is Favored, But Talladega Is Not His Best Superspeedway

We can’t argue with Austin Hill’s status as the favorite in Sunday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff race.

Seven of Hill’s nine career Xfinity Series victories have come on so-called “drafting tracks”—three at Daytona and four at Atlanta.

In fact, we picked the driver of the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet to win last month at Atlanta, and he came through.

But Talladega is markedly different from Daytona and Atlanta, even though all three tracks use NASCAR’s superspeedway competition package. Talladega is longer, smoother and not as sensitive to handling.  

Hill has never won at Talladega, and we don’t think he’ll get a breakthrough victory on Saturday. Nor do we like the slim +300 odds offered by BetMGM. So we’ll pass and look elsewhere.

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Rookie Jesse Love Has Talent and Wisdom Beyond His Years

Austin Hill may not have won an Xfinity race at Talladega, but rookie teammate Jesse Love has.

Love led 28 laps and won the first stage of the spring race at the 2.66-mile colossus before taking the checkered flag.

Earlier in the season, Love also appeared to be on his way to victory at another drafting track—Atlanta Motor Speedway—before running out of fuel.

We think Love will be competitive—and so will Hill, for that matter—but we’re not going to bet on a rookie to sweep the season series at Talladega at +700 via BetMGM.

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The Playoffs May Start to Break AJ Allmendinger’s Way at Talladega

AJ Allmendinger was just as soon forget about last Saturday’s race at Kansas Speedway, where he started 14th and finished 17th in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff opener.

That lackluster outing left the driver of the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 10th in the Playoff standings, 13 points below the cutoff for the next round with two races left before the field is trimmed from 12 to eight.

But Talladega is another matter. Though the Dinger used to dread racing at the huge superspeedway, he has since acclimated, as his victory in the 2022 Playoff race indicates.

We like Allmendinger to win on Saturday at +1300 via betMGM. After that comes the Charlotte Roval, where AJ has won four of the last five Xfinity races.

Given that the learning curve on ovals has accelerated for Australia Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen, we willing to bet on the Kiwi to finish third or better at +1600 and fifth of better at +800, both via BetMGM.

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How to Watch United Rentals 250

• Race: United Rentals 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race

• Location: Talladega Superspeedway

• Time: Saturday, October 5, 4 p.m. ET

• How to Watch: The CW