2017 Las Vegas 350 Race Predictions
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Betting Preview
Saturday September 30th, 8:15PM (EST) at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
by Jay Horne of NASCARWagers.com, NASCAR Handicapping Service
The Camping World Truck Series will take center stage later tonight with the running of the Las Vegas 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Last week, Christopher Bell kicked of the Truck Series’ Chase with a win at New Hampshire. Bell now has more wins than any other driver on the season with 5 wins in total. The victory also stamped Bell’s ticket into the Round of 6 that starts late next month at Martinsville. Tonight we ask the question “can Bell win again?” Find out our thoughts and more as we provide our 2017 Las Vegas 350 race predictions!
In many ways, I feel like the media has been sort of passive in Bell’s accomplishments this year. William Byron was a media sensation last year when he stormed through as a rookie in route to 7 wins which was the most by any rookie in Truck Series history. In just Bell’s 2nd year, he has been equally impressive with 5 wins and 11 top 5 finishes. In reality, Bell has a strong possibility of equaling or eclipsing Byron’s mark of 7 because he will likely be the overall favorite in each race for the remainder of the season. Tonight the stage is set for another winning opportunity. Bell has been best on the 1.5 mile tracks this season winning 3 times on the cookie cutter layouts. Johnny Sauter (1) and Kyle Busch (2) are the only two other drivers that have won on the 1.5 mile tracks this season.
Bell has not overly impressive in practices this morning but I find it hard to believe that the team will not be strong once the green flag waves later tonight. From a raw speed standpoint, the #4 team has been better than everyone and that speed has been most notable at the 1.5 mile tracks. The only other driver, among the Truck Series drivers, that has shown similar speed is Johnny Sauter. Sauter’s team has notoriously been strong on long green flag runs this year and I thought that team was pretty solid in final practice once again this morning. Therefore despite the disparity among practice speeds this morning, I would still consider Bell and Sauter the favorites going into tonight’s race.
If you do decide to look at practice speeds, you may want to be aware that teams were practicing at different times and on different tire strategies. Therefore, you cannot tell much by single lap times on the speed charts. However, I had a pretty good look at raw lap speeds and I think there are some guys that could challenge the frontrunners this evening. One dark horse that I believe deserves immediate attention is Ryan Truex. Quietly, Truex has put together 3 straight top 5 finishes including a runner-up finish last week at Loudon. This team is getting very close to winning and they have once again brought a solid piece to Las Vegas. The odds are pretty generous for Truex currently over 10-1 and I think that is pretty solid for a team that promises to have at minimum a top 5 truck.
Any time you go to the 1.5 mile tracks, I believe you have to consider Matt Crafton as a potential contender. Crafton has 9 victories all-time on the 1.5 mile tracks and also posted the best consecutive 10 lap average in Happy Hour. For those wanting to back the #88, this may be one of your best opportunities considering Crafton looked really good from an practice observational standpoint. I personally do not like the fact that Crafton has not challenged for many wins this season so I want more proof before I back the #88. However, that truck looked good nevertheless. Another truck that also looked pretty solid was Chase Briscoe. I am intrigued by Briscoe’s generous odds because he has had a few very solid outings at the 1.5 mile track this season including 2 runner-up finishes. If you consider the fact that nobody looked overly impressive, Briscoe’s odds make him a considerable value play.
2017 Las Vegas 350 Race Predictions
Ryan Truex +1000 (1 unit)
Chase Briscoe +1500 (1 unit)
H2H Matchups and Props
Ryan Truex -140 over John Hunter Nemechek (3 units)
