2017 Buckle Up Your Truck 225 Race Predictions

2017 Buckle Up Your Truck 225 Race Predictions
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Betting Preview
Thursday July 6th, 7:30PM (EST) at Kentucky Speedway
by Jay Horne of NASCARWagers.com, NASCAR Handicapping Service

All 3 of NASCAR’s top racing series will be in action this weekend at Kentucky Speedway for 3 straight nights of racing. The Camping World Truck Series will kick off the action later this evening with the running of the Buckle Up Your Truck 225. Among the main storylines for tonight’s race includes Kyle Busch who will make his 4th Truck Series start of the season. Busch scored wins in each of his last two starts at Kansas and Charlotte back in May. Per usual Rowdy will be the overwhelming favorite to capture tonight’s checkered flag. However, we have seen some intense racing in recent weeks highlighted by the emergence of guys like Chase Briscoe, Ben Rhodes, and John Hunter Nemechek who all have the ability to contend. So take a look as we preview tonight’s race and provide the drivers that have the best chance of challenging Busch for tonight’s victory as we present our 2017 Buckle Up Your Truck 225 race predictions!

I am not going to downplay Busch’s chances this evening. Kyle Busch Motorsports Trucks have looked awesome this week between Busch, Christopher Bell, and Noah Gragson. Myatt Snider, who is also in a KBM Trucks, has not appeared as fast as the others but that may be more of an experience factor rather than speed. Either way, Busch and Bell have clearly looked like the two best Trucks throughout practices this week which should not surprise anyone. Not only is Kyle dominant in the lower series but Kentucky Speedway has been his playing ground. Busch owns two wins in the Truck Series, Xfinity Series, and Cup Series for a combined 6 wins at Kentucky. Therefore, I find it hard to make any case against not taking Busch this evening despite the fact he is an enormous favorite.

Sure some of Busch’s prior wins come on the old Kentucky surface before last year’s repave and reconfiguration. However, Busch is still the far superior talent in this field that just happens to have one of the fastest trucks as well. While I think this could be a cake walk for Busch, we have to discuss the possibilities if the #46 runs into trouble. Remember in this race one year ago, Busch struggled in this race with the truck hitting the splitter. The team made some big adjustments which put the Busch back in traffic and ultimately led to a race ending wreck resulting in a 30th place finish. Therefore, let’s not hand over the trophy to Busch just yet.

Obviously I mentioned that Christopher Bell has been really fast this weekend and I would probably list him as the 2nd best favorite outside of Busch for tonight’s win. However if we look outside of the KBM trucks, I believe strong consideration has to be made for Johnny Sauter, John Hunter Nemechek, and Chase Briscoe. Nemechek has exploded with momentum in recent weeks with wins at both Gateway and Iowa. I think some people have been surprised by the #8 truck’s success in recent weeks but that team has had plenty of speed all year. They just run into bad luck several times to start the season. However, the speed has been with the #8 team and they have been solid yet again so far through practices.

Johnny Sauter has been the best driver overall this season in the Truck Series. Despite Bell and Nemechek leading the series with 2 wins each, Sauter has been incredibly consistent this season with top 5 finishes in 7 of the 9 races. On the 1.5 mile tracks this season, Sauter has placed 3rd, 2nd, 2nd, and 8th. The #21 was also fast in both sessions on Wednesday so I would expect nothing less than another quality run from Sauter again this evening.

For Chase Briscoe, the verdict is still out. I jumped on Briscoe early at +1650 because he has been excellent in recent weeks with two runner-up finishes at Texas and Gateway. However, the #29 team struggled with speed in practices and then Briscoe blew a tire in final practice. Briscoe later claimed it was “the hardest hit” of his life describing the impact with the wall shortly after the tire blew. As far as Briscoe’s chances tonight, I think they have to be considered limited because now the #29 truck will be in a backup with 0 laps of practice when the green flag waves later tonight.

I know Briscoe was one of my long shot hopes tonight. While I am not giving up on the #29 just yet, I want to discuss another potential long shot that deserves some attention. I think most people would throw Ben Rhodes and Ryan Truex into the conversation for the victory. However, both of those drivers have taken a step back in terms of speed in the most recent races. Matt Crafton would not be considered a long shot but he simply has not been strong enough to win yet this season.

Instead, I think people should start paying attention to Grant Enfinger and the #98 team. I have not seen anyone recognize this team’s success in recent weeks and they are knocking on the door of victory lane. In the last 4 races, nobody has been better than Enfinger who has placed 3rd, 3rd, 5th, and 4th in his last 4 starts. Also one of those 3rd place finishes was at Texas which just happens to be another 1.5 mile surface. Therefore, people need to start giving this team some credit because they are running extremely well and by the way the #98 was the fastest in the opening practice on Wednesday.

2017 Buckle Up Your Truck 225 Race Predictions

Take advantage of tonight’s racing action with 5 Dimes

*More picks to come closer to race time

Johnny Sauter +850 (1.25 units)
Chase Briscoe +1650 (1 unit)
Ben Rhodes +3000 (.5 unit)

Two Team Parlay

Kyle Busch -120 wins Buckle Up Your Truck 225
Team 2 – Open
Risking 1.25 units to win: TBD

H2H Matchups

Johnny Sauter -145 over Matt Crafton (3 units)
Brandon Jones -110 over Ryan Truex (2 units)