Kroger 250 Race Picks
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Betting Preview
Sunday March 28th, 2:46PM (EST) at Martinsville Speedway
by NASCARWagers.com, NASCAR Handicapping Service
After nearly a 1 month hiatus, the Camping World Truck Series returns to action tomorrow afternoon in the Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway. After winning at Atlanta in the 2nd race of the season, Matt Crafton looks to score back to back wins for the first time in his career. Crafton is the defending Kroger 250 race winner and has run really well at Martinsville in recent years. However, the #88 truck will have some serious company at the front of the field tomorrow as several drivers appear poised to contend for a grandfather clock. Take a look as we preview tomorrow’s race and provide our Kroger 250 race picks!
So far through practice, several guys have shown promising signs for Saturday’s race. Cole Custer put the #00 Haas Automation Chevrolet on top of the leader board in practice. Custer made a name for himself last year when he became the youngest winner in NASCAR history with his victory at New Hampshire at just 16 years old. This week Custer will pilot the #00 Haas Automation machine in JR Motorsports’ debut in the Truck Series. Custer will run a limited schedule but he has already proven that he can shake things up with the leaders. More importantly judging by yesterday’s extended practice session, JR Motorsports appears to have brought a very fast ride for their debut in Martinsville.
Custer is just one of several young drivers looking to shine tomorrow and is listed with the “field” at most betting shops. Cole Custer, Tyler Reddick, and Cameron Hayley were just a few of the young guys that impressed in practice on Friday. For those reasons, the field bet has been bet down to under 5 to 1 at nearly every betting shop which is very rare for a “field” bet. Among the popular names, Erik Jones will make his 4th Martinsville start tomorrow in the Truck Series. At 18 years old, Jones has visited Martinsville more than any other track on his resume. Last fall, Jones had his best Martinsville finish (4th) and is looking to build on that mark tomorrow afternoon. Jones was a bit off in practice but they did post a few solid laps late in practice to give some hope for the changes that will put in the car for raceday.
Among the favorites in tomorrow’s Kroger 250, there are several drivers that could easily pick up the win. Both Johnny Sauter and Timothy Peters have a long history of success at Martinsville. Sauter was a bit better in Friday’s practice but both drivers have an unprecedented knack for finding the front at the half mile paperclip. Matt Crafton, who seems to be the hottest driver in the Truck Series these days, is the defending winner of the Kroger 250 and has finished inside the top 5 at Martinsville in 4 of his last 5 starts. Obviously any of those guys have the potential of pulling out a victory tomorrow especially when you consider how crucial track position can be at a place like Martinsville.
However at this point, I believe everyone is chasing Joey Logano who will be driving the #29 Cooper Standard Ford for Brad Keselowski. Logano had the fastest lap for the majority of Friday’s practice before he fell back to finish 5th on the speed charts. However, Logano looked excellent in race trim and the team really worked hard on their race setup. Logano ran 106 laps in practice which was more than any of the so-called “favorites” for Saturday’s race. Not only did Logano look excellent in race trim, but I think the team could be even better when the green flag drops at approximately 2:46PM (EST).
Kroger 250 Race Picks
Erik Jones +550 (now listed +1250): 4th place in fall of 2014, 6th in final practice, starting 4th
Johnny Sauter +900: 3rd in final practice, 4th on best 10 lap averages, two time Martinsville winner
Joey Logano +155 (2.5 units): 2nd in final practice, 2nd in best 10 lap average, looked really strong on longer runs
*Open 2-Team Parlay with Logano +150 wins Kroger 250
Slot 2 – Open
H2H Matchups
Tyler Reddick -165 (1 unit) over Daniel Suarez
