2016 Drivin for Lineman 200 Race Predictions

2016 Drivin for Lineman 200 Race Predictions
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Betting Preview
Saturday June 25th, 8:48PM (EST) at Gateway Motorsports Park
by Jay Horne of NASCARWagers.com, NASCAR Handicapping Service

Last week, the Camping World Truck Series provided one of the most exciting races of the season at Iowa Speedway. After a late race restart that was highlighted by a 3 man battle for the lead, William Byron emerged to score his 3rd victory of the season in just his 9th career start. Tonight we expect more exciting action as the Camping World Truck Series returns for Saturday night racing at Gateway Motorsports Park with the running of the 2016 Drivin for Lineman 200. Follow our full race preview as we provide our 2016 Drivin for Lineman 200 race predictions!

The competition level has been phenomenal in the Camping World Truck Series this year with 5 different winners through the first 8 races. Tonight the competition level will get even stronger with Erik Jones making his first start of the season in the #51 truck. As most know, Jones has been one of the hottest young drivers in any of NASCAR’s top touring series over the last several years. He has already recorded 2 Xfinity Series victories this season. Over the previous 2 seasons, he recorded 6 Camping World Truck Series victories along with the 2015 Camping World Truck Series Championship. Jones is often the overall favorite anytime he is entered into these events and that should be the case again this evening.

Even though Jones has the most impressive resume on tonight’s entry list, he has not been very successful at Gateway in his previous 2 starts. Jones ran into issues in both of those races that resulted in 23rd place finishes. Earlier this morning, Jones’ stated that his truck was “terrible” despite decent lap times in final practice. Therefore, I think there are a few other drivers that have an equal or better chance of winning tonight with even better odds. Two drivers that I believe have a really good chance to get the job done are John Hunter Nemechek and Cole Custer. The #00 team has been making some noticeable gains in recent weeks and I think they may be peaking at the right time. Custer scored his only 2015 victory at Gateway last year and he has a great opportunity to repeat that feat later this evening.

John Hunter Nemechek is another driver that I expect to run really well. Nemechek won the pole last week at Iowa and showed a lot of speed in that #8 truck. Unfortunately for Nemechek, troubles on pit road were the major story at Iowa which caused a 12th place finish. However, the #8 team brought back the same truck they took to Iowa and have been fast since unloading. Nemechek laid down the 3rd fastest lap in final practice this morning. Obviously the track will go through some big chances with the race being in the night time but the #8 was still really fast. I expect that Nemechek will be one of the main contenders for the victory this evening.

Obviously there will be other competitors that could challenge tonight. Despite a pair of mediocre practice sessions, I don’t think anyone could count out Matt Crafton or William Byron. Ben Rhodes was fastest in both practices and he posted a solid 4th place finish last week at Iowa. The #41 team has shown a lot of speed in the last few weeks and I think they will run well again tonight. If you looking for a few guys that could provide some value in H2H matchups, consider the likes of Spencer Gallagher and Christopher Bell. Gallagher’s best career finish (2nd) come in this race one year ago. The #23 truck has shown speed this weekend and I think he could have another really solid run. Finally, Christopher Bell was another guy that caught my eye from a consistency standpoint in practice. The #4 truck did not show much fall off and I think he could be a truck that gets stronger as the night progresses.

2016 Drivin for Lineman 200 Race Predictions

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John Hunter Nemechek +1200(1.25 units): 3rd fastest in final practice, 2nd best 10 lap average
Cole Custer +1250 (1.25 units): early forums pick, defending 2015 Gateway winner, 3rd in practice 1, 6th in final practice, should be good in race trim
Ben Rhodes +1050 (.5 unit): fastest in both practices, starting from pole, 4th place last week at Iowa

H2H Matchups

John Hunter Nemechek -110 over Tyler Reddick (2 units)
Spencer Gallagher +100 over Ben Kennedy (2 units)
Matt Crafton +140 over William Byron (1 unit)
Daniel Hemric -110 over Christopher Bell (1 unit)