NASCAR Truck Series Predictions at Mid-Ohio
Zane Smith and Parker Kligerman battling for the win in the 2022 O’Reilly Auto Parts 150.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series heads into its final road course event of the 2023 season at Mid-Ohio for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 150.
Last year was the first time that NASCAR Trucks competition went to the 2.2 mile 13 turn road course. Race fans saw a thrilling finish between Zane Smith and eventual race winner Parker Kligerman.
Zane Smith will be looking to finish one position better than last year, as he enters as the favorite to win this Saturday. His average finish on road courses since 2022 has been an astounding 1.5. He won at COTA in ‘22 and ‘23, along with his 2nd place finish last year at Mid-Ohio and Sonoma. After a strong 2nd place run at Nashville, the #38 truck has his eyes set on victory lane.
Carson Hocevar was the driver who Zane Smith finished 2nd in the most recent Truck race at Nashville. Hocevar enters on a streak of five straight Top 5 finishes. He also recorded a 3rd place finish in last year’s race along with 6th in Sonoma ‘22 and 8th in COTA ‘22. His race at COTA this Spring was derailed due to an axle issue, resulting in a 34th place finish. All issues aside, the Top 5 streak will continue at Mid-Ohio.
Corey Heim is back and has been one of the better Truck drivers since his win at Martinsville. Since then, he’s finished inside the Top 10 in six straight race, with an average finish of 4th. He won pole in last year’s Mid-Ohio race, but ran into a transmission issue and finished 26th. But he finished 6th at COTA in the Spring, keep a lookout for that #11 truck.
Tyler Ankrum is another driver who has been sneaky good on road courses recently. He finished inside the Top 10 in three of his last four road course races, including a 4th place run at COTA earlier this year. His last Top 5 also came at COTA, look for the #16 to be a dark horse for the win this Saturday.
Joining the field will be IndyCar drivers Conor Daly and Marco Andretti. Daly will be driving the #41 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet SIlverado and Andretti will be driving the #7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado. Both drivers have plenty of experience on this race track, and given what happened last week with Shane Van Gisbergen at the Chicago Street Course, don’t be surprised if these drivers are running inside the Top 10.
Odds to win Outright (FanDuel)