2016 Striping Technology 350 Race Predictions

2016 Striping Technology 350 Race Predictions
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Betting Preview
Friday November 4th, 8:49PM (EST) at Texas Motor Speedway
by Jay Horne of NASCARWagers.com, NASCAR Handicapping Service

The Camping World Truck Series will kick off a 3-day race weekend tonight with the running of the Striping Technology 350 at Texas Motor Speedway. Currently, 6 drivers are still alive in the Truck Series Chase for the Championship with Johnny Sauter already locked into the Championship Round at Homestead thanks to his win last week at Martinsville. However, tonight’s 147 lap event will present another big opportunity for Chase drivers to earn their bid for a championship opportunity at Homestead. Find out who we think should contend for tonight’s victory as we provide our 2016 Striping Technology 350 race predictions!

Outside of the Truck Series regulars that will have championship implications on the line tonight, both Daniel Suarez and Sprint Cup Series veteran Austin Dillon will be in action tonight as well. Suarez has a few wins in the Xfinity Series this season and we have seen Austin Dillon have great success in the lower series over the past several years. However, neither driver is considered a strong favorite to contend for tonight’s win which may be surprising to some casual fans.

However, Suarez has never been as strong in the Truck Series throughout his career and remains winless in 24 starts. To make matters worse, Suarez has only posted 1 top 5 finish in the Truck Series in 10 starts this season and has consistently struggled at the 1.5 mile tracks. Therefore, I do not find much value in the #51 truck despite his allure from his reputation alone. Dillon is in a similar scenario mainly because of the equipment that he will be driving tonight. Despite 7 Truck Series victories, Dillon will be piloting a #71 truck that has struggled mightily this season. It is the same #71 truck that Chase Elliott drove to a runner-up finish last week. However, the #71 truck has not been strong this year at the tracks that require strong horsepower and has only cracked the top 10 once this season on the 1.5 mile surfaces.

Instead, the likely competitors that will contend for the victory this afternoon will be headed by the likes of William Byron and Matt Crafton. Byron won the June race at Texas but he kinda of stole the victory from Crafton who dominated the event by leading 133 of the 167 laps. Crafton has been very stout at Texas over the years with two victories in his last 5 starts. Crafton has also posted finishes of 6th or better in 9 of his last 10 Texas races while leading laps in each of the last 5 races. With that being said, Byron has still been the driver to beat this season on the 1.5 mile surfaces. Of Byron’s 6 victories this season, 3 have taken place on 1.5 mile surfaces and he is expected to be a strong contender again tonight.

While I would clearly list the #88 and #9 trucks as the two leading candidates for the victory, I still believe there is a good possibility that we could see a somewhat “surprise” winner when the checkered flag finally waves. Tyler Reddick has been running well in recent weeks and scored his 1st victory of the season at the last 1.5 mile stop at Las Vegas. Reddick also had a quality run in Texas back in June to add to his stock this evening and it will be hard to count out the momentum the Brad Keselowski trucks have shown in recent races.

Two additional names that I really like are Daniel Hemric and Christopher Bell. I have been a fan of Hemric on the 1.5 mile tracks all season and he has been so close on so many different occasions. Hemric has been a runner-up finisher at the last two 1.5 mile tracks and has 3 additional 3rd place finishes on the year. After a strong 2nd place qualifying effort, I expect the #19 will have another shot at the win tonight. Finally, keep Christopher Bell on your radar as well. The #4 truck was fastest in the only practice on Thursday and I have him listed as a dark horse. The #4 truck was one of the favorites in the June race but blew an engine early in that race. Tonight that team will get the opportunity to show just how strong they are at Texas.

2016 Striping Technology 350 Race Predictions

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Matt Crafton +450 (2 units): 2 wins in last 5 Texas starts, clearly one of his best tracks, and I liked his raw times in Thursday’s practice session
Christopher Bell +650 (1.5 units): 6 straight finishes of 6th or better, fastest in practice, team is peaking at the right time

Daniel Hemric +1000 (1.25 units): runner-up in last two 1.5 mile races, been very strong all year on these layouts, starting 2nd

H2H Matchups and Props

Christopher Bell -160 over Timothy Peters (2 units)
Daniel Hemric +105 over Tyler Reddick (2 units)