2015 UNOH 200 Race Picks
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Betting Preview
Wednesday August 19th, 8:46PM (EST) at Bristol Motor Speedway
by Jay Horne of NASCARWagers.com, NASCAR Handicapping Service
The Camping World Truck Series will take center stage later tonight for some Truck Series racing in Thunder Valley. Tonight’s race will be the first of a full weekend of racing at Bristol Motor Speedway when the green flag is waved for the UNOH 200 at approximately 8:46PM (EST). The Xfinity Series will follow suit Friday night with the Food City 300 and then on Saturday the Sprint Cup Series will partake in the infamous IRWIN Tools Night Race. For now, all eyes will be on the Truck Series as we prepare for some exciting racing at Bristol. Take a look at our 2015 UNOH 200 race picks!
Included in tonight’s field are some big time talents like Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, Cole Custer, Ty Dillon, and Daniel Suarez amongst others. Of course Kyle Busch, aka Rowdy, is the undisputed king of Bristol Motor Speedway with 16 wins throughout NASCAR’s top 3 touring series. In the Truck Series, Rowdy has 4 wins in 9 career starts with all of those wins coming in his last 6 races. Tonight Busch is once again an overwhelming favorite to bring home the trophy listed as low as -120 at most sportsbooks. However the important question is it worth playing Busch at those odds or do you take your chances with drivers like Ryan Blaney, Matt Crafton, Erik Jones and others?
I think from an odds standpoint that bettors really need to look outside of Busch unless Rowdy is perhaps going to be your only bet for the race. Busch did post the best 10 lap average earlier this morning in final practice and looked to have a clear advantage over the field for bettors looking to back the #54 truck. However we know a lot of things can change once the green flag is waved on this action packed half mile track. A few other guys that have looked to have some promising speed include the trucks of Cole Custer and Ryan Blaney. Custer ended final practice with the fastest time and was followed by Blaney in the 2nd position. Blaney actually qualified the #29 truck on the outside pole and appears to be one of the biggest threats to Kyle Busch’s attempt at a 5th win in the Truck Series at Bristol.
Of course Blaney scored a surprise win last year in the Xfinity Series at Bristol so he knows how to find victory lane at this track. Additionally, you cannot count out the talents of Erik Jones and Matt Crafton. The #88 truck of Crafton has been really stout everywhere this season and he scored his best Bristol finish last year with a 4th place showing. Jones, who is also a threat anytime he suits up, will be making his first start at Bristol tonight. The young talent is known for his short track potential but Bristol’s high banks are not typical amongst regular short track layouts. Therefore after a couple of mediocre practices to show, I am not convinced the #4 has what it takes to win tonight. Of course that remains to be determined.
Outside of your threats to win tonight, do not be surprised if names like John Hunter Nemechek and Brandon Jones have solid runs tonight. Jones was fastest in the first practice and made some noise at Iowa earlier this year when he scored a runner-up finish marking the best finish of his career. I believe Jones could be in-line for yet another solid run later this tonight despite some bad luck during his past two starts at BMS. Nemechek is another driver to keep an eye on tonight possibly from a H2H perspective. There has not been a lot of talk surrounding JHN but he is a guy that does really well on short tracks and he finished 6th in this race one year ago. Expect the #8 truck have a solid run tonight as well.
UNOH 200 Race Picks
Ryan Blaney +450 (1 unit): 2nd fastest in final practice, solid in race trim, starting 2nd.
H2H Matchups
Ryan Blaney -115 over Erik Jones (2 units)
Matt Crafton +100 over Erik Jones (1 unit)
Brandon Jones -160 over Cameron Hayley (1 unit)
