2017 Bar Harbor 200 Race Predictions
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Betting Preview
Friday June 2nd, 5:30PM (EST) at Dover International Speedway
by Jay Horne of NASCARWagers.com, NASCAR Handicapping Service
All of NASCAR’s touring series will be in action this weekend at The Monster Mile starting with today’s running of the Bar Harbor 200 in the Camping World Truck Series. Monster Energy Cup Series drivers have won the last 3 events in the Truck Series. Kyle Busch specifically won the last two races at Kansas and Charlotte. However, there are not any Cup Series drivers on the docket for today’s race meaning more opportunities for the Truck Series regulars to find their ticket to victory lane. Find out our thoughts for today’s 200 miles of racing as we provide our 2017 Bar Harbor 200 race predictions!
Last year’s Dover winner Matt Crafton is the only driver in the field with a Dover win to his resume. Crafton is expected to be one of the frontrunners again this afternoon due to his experience at the Monster Mile. However, Crafton and the #88 team have not been as strong this season as we have seen in year’s past. The #88 truck has just 1 top 5 on the season back at Atlanta and has not shown the speed that we are typically accustomed to. Therefore, I am still skeptical about the veteran’s chances to win later this evening. Another veteran that may have a better opportunity that I believe will stay under the radar is Johnny Sauter. Sauter is having an excellent season with 3 straight runner-up finishes and a 3rd place showing in his last 4 events. The #21 truck is just missing a touch of speed compared to the KBM Trucks which has been most apparent on the 1.5 mile surfaces. However, I think the horsepower differential will be much less observable this week and that bodes very well for Sauter!
I think everyone will be chasing Christopher Bell to some extent and perhaps a few other unexpected drivers for today’s race. Obviously Bell has been the most consistent front-runner in the Truck Series this year and he enters this race after a solid 3rd place finish in this event one year ago. Bell looked really good in terms of long run speed in the first practice on Thursday and then backed up that time with the 2nd fastest lap in final practice. It is also worth noting that track conditions for this afternoon’s race should be very similar to the track conditions that we experienced yesterday. For Christopher Bell, that should be a good sign!
For the rest of the drivers participating this afternoon, I feel like there is high level of the “unknown.” Track times varied quite significantly for several drivers that I thought should run well. John Hunter Nemechek practiced poorly and Ben Rhodes was significantly down the leaderboard in the final session. We have also not raced at a track like Dover this year in the Truck Series which makes things a bit difficult from an expectations standpoint. GoodYear has also brought a new left side tire formula for this race which will be different than the Xfinity and Cup Series races over the weekend. Therefore, finding the correct balance for this new combination will be another tough factor from a setup perspective.
I am entering this race with a tad bit of caution for those enigmas listed above. From a practices standpoint, Noah Gragson had an excellent pair of sessions on Thursday. Gragson posted the fastest lap in both sessions on Thursday. His lap in final practice was a mock qualifying run but nevertheless the #18 truck has shown speed all weekend. I also have my eyes on another Kyle Busch Motorsports Truck in the #46 of Todd Gilliland who will be making his Camping World Truck Series debut this weekend. Gilliland, the son of David Gilliland, has an excellent resume that features numerous wins in the K&N Pro Series and an ARCA victory in his very first start at Toledo. Gilliland’s ARCA victory made headlines because he became the youngest winner in series history at just 15 years old. Now two years later, Gilliland will get another chance for a big debut when he tackles the Monster Mile.
I placed an early wager on Gilliland for an half unit at +2750 and also have the youngster in a matchup against Harrison Burton. I still love the matchup play but perhaps jumped the gun with the future bet given that it is only a half unit. It is extremely unlikely that a driver wins in his debut and Gilliland’s practice speeds were not the best. I still really like the matchup against Burton but it is a real shot in the dark in terms of the future bet. Among other drivers that may have a shot in the dark, both Austin Cindric and Chase Briscoe have been rather solid throughout practices. I personally thought Cindric had two really good sessions. However, he has to do a better job in race conditions to get quality finishes under his belt before I would consider him for a potential win. Cindric still may have some sleeper value.
2017 Bar Harbor 200 Race Predictions
*Check back closer to race time
Johnny Sauter +750 (1.5 units)
Ben Rhodes +1350 (1 unit)
Todd Gilliland +2750 (.5 unit)
H2H Matchups
Ben Rhodes -140 over John Hunter Nemechek (2 units)
Todd Gilliland -105 over Harrison Burton (3 units)
