Welcome to The Inside Line: Truck Series. Larkin8 here and this week we will be covering all the drivers participating in the NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway. If you have any other questions be sure to jump into the NASCAR Talk slack channel for assistance from our NASCAR coaches. You can follow me on Twitter @Larkin8
Ross Chastain $11,400
Ross should be looked at as one of the favorites to win this race. Finished 4th here in the spring after leading 53 laps and recording 28 fast laps. He is able to use his raw talent to out drive most in this series. Top play.
Grant Enfinger $11,000
Over his six Martinsville starts, Enfinger has only 1 top 5 and 2 top 10s. It is probably his worst track overall in terms of finishes. Because he is a top driver with a good truck he is definitely a top 5 threat but I honestly don’t see him getting close to being a dominator here. Will likely need lots of place differential to have value and even then his price is really high.
Brett Moffitt $10,700
Moffitt is fantastic here at Martinsville. In four starts his worst finish is 6th and he finished top 3 in the other three starts. Only thing that is missing is a victory, something that could very well come this week. Oh and he accomplished these finishes driving for 3 different teams. Elite play and definite dom threat.
Stewart Friesen $10,400
Friesen has been a bit hit or miss here at Martinsville. His best performance came this past spring when he started on pole and led 18 laps before finishing 5th. Overall I like multiple drivers more as potential doms and race winners. If he offers tons of place diff I am a fan of playing Friesen but other than that I would limit exposure to him.
Johnny Sauter $10,100
This has been Sauters best track in the Truck Series. He has 4 total wins here and has finished worst than 9th only twice in the last 13 races here. He has led 293 laps over the last six races here as well. Definitely a dom threat and one of the top picks for the win.
Ben Rhodes $9,800
Rhodes should have won here in March of 2018 but got caught out by pit strategy. He started first and won the first two stages, leading 134 laps in the process. He finished a disappointing 12th. Since then he has a 4th and 2nd place finish here. He had strong speed in practice and obviously has a good feel for the track. Feels like a situation where he could fly under the radar and be a top scorer.
Austin Hill $9,500
Hill has a best finish of 9th in his 8 career starts here. Short tracks are not his specialty by any means and I would call him a borderline fade. If he qualifies poorly and offers place differential he could be a solid stud play to pair with a couple doms but he will eat up a lot of salary doing so. Top 5 seems very unlikely and will have to work hard to score a top 10.
Todd Gilliland $9,300
Gilliland will have every shot at having a great race here but it is all up to the driver. Since fall 2011, 16 races KBM trucks have won 7 races with 4 different drivers. This team definitely knows how to get the job done here and the trucks had great speed in practice. Definitely worth some attention this weekend.
Matt Crafton $9,100
From fall 2014 to fall 2017, eight races total, Crafton scored five finishes of 3rd or better including two wins. During that stretch he also led 336 laps. He was the guy to beat . Over the last three events he has had top 5 trucks but because the elite speed was missing he got caught in poor situations and didn’t get the finishes he deserved. This week he showed up to the track with an incredibly fast truck outpacing everyone in practice by a decent amount. If that speed carries over to Saturday he is an ELITE play and the favorite to win. Top play.
Christian Eckes $8,900
Eckes will be driving the #51 that won here in the Spring with Kyle Busch driving. Eckes has struggled on the bigger tracks this year but has been able to really hold his own on the short tracks where he has far more experience. He can definitely be a good play this week in this mid tier. Finished 9th in this race last year.
Sheldon Creed $8,700
Creed has great speed this week just like most weeks. Problem is this is the style of track he can get himself into trouble on. He has really cleaned up his accident prone style and shown he is a driver who can contend for wins lately which is a good thing. Can definitely score a top 5 finish but I feel the inexperience can also come back and we see him throw away a good finish. Still a good price point and always a good gpp play.
Jeb Burton $8,500
Jeb Burton will be driving the #44 this week for Niece Motorsports. He has a pair of 3rd place finishes from 2013 while driving elite Turner Motorsports equipment. Outside of that he has been roughly a 15th place truck in mid tier rides. Considering he is in another mid tier ride this week I am limiting expectations. He does offer lots of experience here which is nice. With the right place differential he can be a good play but I would limit expectations.
John H. Nemechek $8,300
Nemechek is currently the most unlucky driver in all of NASCAR. If you believe in bad juju then maybe avoid. Outisde of that he has a win, two runner ups and a third in his last 7 Martinsville Truck races. He had a rear gear failure here last year (ya know, more of that bad luck). Bottom line is IF nothing bad happens then he will be a top 5 truck and will be a top contender for the win. This price is fantastic too.
Harrison Burton $8,100
Burton is in one of those elite KBM trucks and will have a legit shot at the win. It will be up to the driver to run a complete, mistake free race. I love this price point for a top 10 truck with top 5 potential.
Tyler Ankrum $7,900
Ankrum is a really solid overall driver but has really struggled in two starts here. Based on his history a top 15 would be a great day. I expect this team to play it safe and try to score as many points as possible as he is still a contender for the championship. Decent mid tier play if he offers some place diff.
Spencer Boyd $7,700
Top 20 would be a nice run for Boyd. Very, very low expectations and at this price is basically a fade.
Jordan Anderson $7,500
Not the type of track Anderson excels on. Top 20 finish would be a surprise. Need place diff and a lot of help to pay off.
Austin Wayne Self $7,400
Self has had some really bad luck the last 3 races here so his average finish looks horrific. This could be the type of thing that sees ownership go elsewhere. Overall he is probably a 17th place truck who can possible sneak into the top 15. Might be a good option with some place diff.
Sam Mayer $7,200
SO excited by this price tag. Mayer is a top 3 play on this slate. He just got done winning the K&N East Championship and is elite on these short tracks. He is driving the #21 which is a 3rd GMS truck and it has killer speed. He had the 3rd best average overall lap time behind Crafton and Moffitt in practice. He is young so there is always the chance for mistakes but he has shown a lot of composure in everything I have seen this year. Top 5 upside.
Tyler Dippel $7,100
Dippel has struggled here in his first two starts but I have a lot of faith in him as a driver. Top 15 upside. If he offers some place diff he is a great play. At this price he is definitely worth some attention.
Ray Ciccarelli $6,900
Ran a bunch of laps in practice to learn the track but was one of the slowest out there. He is a punt play that is unfortunately over priced. He basically needs to qualify at the very back and make up 8+ spots to have value.
Josh Reaume $6,800
Reaume has been one of the top punt plays of the year when he actually gets to drive his truck. This field is deep enough that a top 20 will be hard to achieve though so I would expect him to run around 25th and maybe do a little better with some help from others having issues.
Jennifer Jo Cobb $6,700
Cobb of course will be one of the slowest on track and be numerous laps down. With very few DNF’s here there aren’t many spots for her to make up. Tough to pay off at this price.
Gus Dean $6,600
Had mechanical issues in his only Martinsville start. He wasn’t very fast in practice and much like teammate Boyd would be very lucky to finish top 20.
Norm Benning $6,400
THE SLOWEST OF THE SLOW. Will likely start last and will need lots of place diff that he likely won’t get to pay off.
Tanner Gray $6,200
Tanner Gray is a former NHRA Pro Stock champion who transitioned to stock car racing earlier this year. He will be driving the #15 for DGR. He has spent the year driving for DGR in the K&N Series winning 1 race and finishing 2nd five times. He is a solid prospect but still has a lot to learn. This track can be tough for first timers so limit expectations to a top 15. Great price though if he can pull that off.
Codie Rohrbaugh $6,000
Based on practice speeds Codie has a top 20 truck. Outside of that we have very little to go off of. He has been really inconsistent but if he qualifies 20th or worse he is definitely a strong punt play who can score well.
Timmy Hill $5,700
Hill will be driving his own truck this week. He finished 17th at Bristol with it. This team does a solid job on a limited budget and when they show up are usually a fringe top 20 truck. I like Hill as a good punt option especially if he qualifies 22nd or worse.
Natalie Decker $5,500
We all know she is getting involved in a crash at some point. Play at your own risk. She was 22nd-25th in practice in a truck capable of running 15th. If she stays out of trouble she can score a good finish. BIG IF. She will likely offer great place diff though so there is some upside here.
Danny Bohn $5,400
Driving the #30 trick normally driven by Brennan Poole. This is a top 20 driver/truck combo and is worth some consideration as a punt play.
Dawson Cram $5,300
Driving the #33 for Josh Reaume. Truck will likely finish around 25th. Better punt options out there.
Cody McMahon $5,200
Driving the #0 for Jennifer Jo Cobb likely to the garage by about lap 10. Didn’t even practice the truck, actually practiced Cobb’s truck for a few laps instead. Should be only start and park in the race.
This will conclude this edition of The Inside Line: Truck Series. Please follow me on twitter @Larkin8 and make sure to join me in our NASCAR talk slack channel for more coverage.