We are now officially into the month of June, which means we are that much closer to the start of the playoffs, which begin at the end of July. Right now, the race for the top spot in the Truck Series driver standings is a close on, but the fact of the matter is while that closing out the regular season as the #1 is great, it means nothing without some success in the playoffs. The top 10 looks pretty set at the moment, but those who are sitting below the playoff line know that they still have time to make a move up the standings. They need to get moving soon, though, starting this weekend in Illinois with the running of the Toyota 200. It is the usual suspects who are in as the favorites for this race, so let’s take a closer look at them along with their NASCAR Truck Series Odds.
NASCAR Truck Series Betting Preview for Toyota 200 Race
John Hunter Nemechek (+260)
Like we said earlier, the battle for the top spot is a close one in the Truck Series. It is Nemechek who hold the #1 ranking at the moment, but he is just 7 points clear of the driver in 2nd place. In his first full season in the Truck Series, which came last year, Nemechek finished a very solid 3rd overall. The expectation was that he would be in the hunt again this season, but it did not look that way after the first 3 races. He snapped out of that funk pretty quickly and has not finished worse than 6th in the last 7 races, with a single win in that run. He did not have a great run at Gateway last year, finishing 22nd, but I expect better this time around.
Zane Smith (+330)
With 3 wins already on the season, more than any other driver, it is perhaps a little surprising to see Smith sitting down in 3rd in the driver standings. He is, though, projected to close out the regular season in the #1 spot, so expect to see more wins coming. The big question here, though, is whether he can get the win at Gateway, he did finish 5th in his first Truck Series run on the Illinois track, but he has failed to reach those heights again in his last 2 runs. Still, his form this season cannot be ignored.
Chandler Smith (+600)
In his first full season in the Truck Series, Smith closed out 2021 with a win, which helped him finish 8th overall in the driver standings. While we still have a long way to go in the season, Smith is currently on pace to improve upon his finish from last year. He is currently sitting 4th overall and is well within striking distance of the drivers ahead of him. He has 1 win on the season and has landed in the top 10 in 7 of the 10 races, and while he has not been great at Gateway, he still needs to be considered a threat here.
Ben Rhodes (+900)
Rhodes started last season with back-to-back wins, and while he failed to pick up another victory after that, he was consistent enough to make it all the way to the finish and win the Truck Series Championship. He has just 1 win on the season in 2022, but he has been incredibly consistent once again, landing in the top 10 in 7 of 10 races. He was 3rd at Gateway last year, so I think he is a really good bet at these odds.
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