Categories: NASCAR Betting

2015 American Ethanol 225 Race Picks

2015 American Ethanol 225 Race Picks
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Betting Preview
Friday September 18th, 8:49PM (EST) at Chicagoland Speedway
by Jay Horne of NASCARWagers.com, NASCAR Handicapping Service

The Camping World Truck Series will kick off a full weekend of racing from Chicagoland Speedway later this evening when the green flag is waved for the American Ethanol e15 225. Tonight’s race marks the first Truck Series event since August 30th that was won by Erik Jones at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. Tonight the Truck Series returns back to one of the 1.5 mile cookie-cutter tracks for 150 laps of action. Take a look as we provide our preview and 2015 American Ethanol 225 race picks as we look to kick off the weekend with a winning ticket!

Not only has it been a few weeks since we have seen the Truck Series in action, but it has been quite some time since we last saw the Truck Series on a 1.5 mile track. In fact, the last time the Truck Series was at a 1.5 mile oval was all the way back on July 9th at Kentucky Speedway in a race that was won by Matt Crafton. In fact, Crafton is probably eager to get tonight’s race going considering he has dominated the 1.5 mile tracks with wins at Atlanta, Kansas, Texas, and Kentucky. When Jones won at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park most recently on August 30th, he also took the points lead away from Crafton. Now the back to back and defending points champion needs a great run to get the lead back.

Considering the way Crafton looked in practice, the #88 truck should be the one to beat tonight. Sprint Cup Series veteran Kyle Larson was the only driver that was faster than Crafton in practice but I still like the #88 in race conditions in longer runs. Larson will obviously receive short odds as one of the favorites for tonight’s event. However, the youngster has only won once in 9 career Truck Series starts in where he has often times been the overall favorite. With Larson, Erik Jones will also be another one of your top favorites. Jones finished 8th on the leader boards in practice and has done well on similar tracks this year. Jones was actually leading qualifying once weather interrupted and halted racing activities.

Weather is actually the major story going into tonight’s race in Joliet. The majority of the forecast has thunderstorms in the area and the overall chances of getting this race in do not look promising. Therefore we could be looking at the Truck Series rescheduling this race for early Saturday before the Xfinity Series Furious 7 300 that will see the green flag wave at 6:18PM (EST). Once the racing does get underway, expect guys like Daniel Suarez and Johnny Sauter to run well as dark horses. Suarez has really impressed this season in the Truck Series posting top 10 finishes in 7 of his 8 starts and no finish worse than 6th in 4 starts at 1.5 mile tracks this season. I actually like Suarez as a potential long shot to win the race and not just from a H2H standpoint if you can get a really good number.

Additionally, expect Johnny Sauter to have a surprisingly strong night or afternoon as well. The #98 truck has been progressively improving throughout the season and has been running pretty strong as of late. In the last 4 races, Sauter has posted finishes of 6th, 4th, 9th, and 6th respectively. It appears the team has been getting back to form and if they have any of the resources that teammate Matt Crafton has made shine on the 1.5 mile tracks this season, I expect the #98 team’s recent solidarity to continue once the green flag drops whenever that may be.

2015 American Ethanol 225 Race Picks

Matt Crafton +300 (2 units): 4 wins on 1.5 mile tracks this season, 2nd fastest single lap speed in practice, fastest 10 lap average, expect Crafton and Larson to be the trucks to beat