The 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Portland, Oregon, for the 14th race of the NASCAR 2022 schedule, the Pacific Office Automation 147.
The race is scheduled for June 4, and it will mark the first iteration of the event on the Portland track, which will be held on the same weekend as the Truck Series race at Gateway and the NASCAR Cup Series race at Gateway.
As a standalone race on the Xfinity Series schedule, the 2022 Pacific Office Automation 147 will also mark the first time since the Truck Series race in 2000 that a NASCAR national series will happen in the Pacific Northwest.
The race will be contested over 75 laps on the 2-mile circuit for a total of 147 miles; each stage will be 25 miles in length.
With the basic information out of the way, let’s not take a look at the top three drivers we should keep an eye on and present us with interesting NASCAR betting opportunities for this weekend’s action.
Pacific Office Automation 147 Betting Picks
A. J. Allmendinger
With no past results on the track, it’s tough to find a driver that should do well on Portland’s racetrack. However, since we have no past results to look at, it’s only fair that we give more attention to the drivers who have been driving well throughout the season.
And one name that stands out is the current NASCAR Xfinity Series leader A. J. Allmendinger, who will find his place on many NASCAR picks lists for the 14th race of the season. The 40-year-old heads to Portland as the current Xfinity Series leader, 33 points clear of Noah Gibson and 40 ahead of the third-placed Ty Gibbs.
Admittedly, Allmendinger has only one victory this season, but he has also finished inside the top-10 in all but one race so far and has six top-5s, with a streak of five consecutive between the Atlanta and the Talladega races.
However, Allmendinger has not been as effective since, with a sixth-place finish at Dover, eighth in Darlington, ninth in Texas, and 19th in Concord, marking his worst result of the year.
One iffy showing does not indicate that Allmendinger has lost his traction and that he will start to struggle. However, there has been a noticeable decline in his final results over the last few weeks, which should make anyone wonder whether Allmendinger will bounce back and whether he is a smart pick for the Pacific Office Automation 147 at the offered NASCAR odds.
Justin Allgaier
We trusted Justin Allgaier to win last weekend’s race, but he couldn’t deliver and settled for a seventh-place finish. Still, that was not a terrible result, as Allgaier continued his streak of solid performances, which started with the Dover race.
With a seventh-place finish in North Carolina, Allgaier is now at four straight top-10, which includes three top-5s. That stretch includes a runner-up finish at the Dover, a victory at Darlington, and a fourth-place finish in Texas.
For whatever reason, Allgaier has managed to turn his season around and started showing the form we saw from him early on. He managed four straight top-10s in the opening four races of the season before struggling to achieve much in the next five and finished 34th in Atlanta, 33rd at COTA, 14th in Richmond, 29th in Martinsville, and 22nd at Talladega.
It remains to be seen for how long will Allgaier manage to keep his strong run going, but he has definitely improved and is someone we should keep an eye on for the upcoming race.
Sam Mayer
Another driver who has found his stride recently is Sam Mayer. The Chevrolet driver has had a very shaky start to the season, with his best result over the first five races being a sixth-place finish in California, while the remaining four showed 30th, 25th, 22nd, and 21st.
Since then, Mayer has collected a top-5 finish in all but one (28th in Talladega) race, including back-to-back third-place finishes in Texas and North Carolina.
Thanks to his resurgence Mayer is now sixth on the NASCAR Xfinity standings, and if he can keep his wheels spinning, it’s only a matter of time before he breaks into the top three.
Pacific Office Automation 147 Betting Trends
Since the 2022 Pacific Office Automation 147 is the first Xfinity Series race on the track and the first NASCAR series race since the 2022 Truck Series race, we have no past data to work with and no betting trends to analise.
This brings up a few questions, mainly, which drivers will manage to adapt to the new track and show up.
With no track on the Xfinity NASCAR 2022 schedule similar to the Portland International Raceway, answering that is tougher than expected, granted we do know which drivers are in good form, which should technically help them be in the mix to win the inaugural Pacific Office Automation 147.
Pacific Office Automation 147 Betting Prediction
As an inaugural race of the Xfinity Series, the Pacific Office Automation 147 promises an exciting battle for much-needed points, and even though we have no way of telling how the drivers will adapt to the new track, one thing is for certain – there can be only one winner.
Of the drivers attending the race, a few stand out due to the strong form they’ve been displaying in the recent weeks, and if their past results are any indication, they should do more than fine this weekend as well.
Justin Allgaier comes off as someone who should do well on the Portland track as he has done well on similar tracks before; however, for our NASCAR pick for this weekend, we will side with Sam Mayer to win his first race of the season.
If we ignore his results from the season’s opening races, Mayer has been one of the most impressive drivers of the 2022 season, even though he has yet to cross the finish line first.
Nevertheless, if he can keep going at this pace, it’s only a matter of time before he wins his first race and potentially add a few more before the end of the season.
As someone who has always been in the mix to win but has never done it, Mayer is a fascinating pick at the offered NASCAR odds and our main prediction to win the 2022 Pacific Office Automation 147.
Prediction: Sam Mayer to win
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