NASCAR Truck Series Predictions at Kansas
John Hunter Nemechek poses in victory lane with the KBM #4 team pit crew.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series heads into the heartland of Kansas Speedway for the Kansas Lottery 200 at 9 PM EST on FS1.
Last year’s race was dominated by John Hunter Nemechek, leading 88 of the 134 laps en route to his second and final Truck win of the season.
Ty Majeski, Carson Hocevar, Corey Heim, Zane Smith +450
All four of these drivers enter as the favorites to win this weekend, with all four looking to advance to the next round of the Playoffs.
Ty Majeski was handed an L2 penalty following the Truck race at the Milwaukee Mile, for an illegal valve stem cap with the right rear tire during inspection before the race. Majeski and Thorsport were both docked 75 points and 5 playoff points, which will put them both in a tough spot for the next round of the Playoffs. On 1.5 mile tracks in ‘23, Majeski has an average finish of 10th, with two Top 5’s and three Top 10’s. In the Spring race at Kansas, Majeski was running inside the Top 10 when he was caught in a crash with Rajah Caruth, dropping him to a 25th place finish. If Majeski stays out of trouble, he’ll be in the Top 5 contending for the win.
Carson Hocevar also had a crash derail his run at Kansas in the Spring with a 31st place finish. In the ten races since then, his worse finish was 12th at Mid-Ohio, racking up eight Top 5’s and Top 10’s along with an average finish of 5th. As for 1.5 mile tracks in ‘23, his average finish is 15th, although he picked up his first career Truck win at Texas after a last lap crash with Nick Sanchez. Expect the momentum to keep rolling for Hocevar and the Niece Motorsports group Friday night.
Corey Heim enters this weekend with a +70 point gap to the cutoff and is the highest driver in the Playoff standings without a win. On 1.5 mile tracks in ‘23, Heim has an average finish of 10th, including a 2nd place finish at Kansas in the Spring and at Charlotte. Following his 15th place finish at Bristol Dirt, Heim has an eleven race Top 10 streak, look for him to stretch it to twelve this Friday night.
Zane Smith enters this weekend with only a +29 point gap to the cutoff, and is in need of a Top 10 run. Kansas is the perfect place for that to happen, with his worse finish being 11th in seven career Truck starts at the track, bringing his average finish to 6th. He finished 3rd in the Spring race earlier this year, where he’ll look to continue his strong showing on Friday night.
Grant Enfinger +650 | Rajah Caruth +4000
Grant Enfinger is hitting his strides at the right time, following a win at the Milwaukee Mile. He heads into Kansas looking for a sweep, as he won the race earlier in the Spring. Enfinger has finished no worse than 17th in his ten starts at the 1.5 mile speedway, with six Top 5’s, eight Top 10’s, and average finish of 6th. With no plans after 2023, this could be a great chance to showcase his talents on Friday night.
Rajah Caruth is a teammate to Grant Enfinger, and also has no plans following the 2023 season. In his first full time season in Trucks competition, it’s been a bumpy road for Caruth. He had a solid run going in the spring race at Kansas, running inside the Top 10 after a bad block on Ty Majeski ended his run. His best 1.5 mile finish came at Charlotte with an 11th place run, still looking for that first Top 10 on the intermediates. If he carries the same speed he had in the Spring, he’ll accomplish that feat on Friday night.