2025 Slim Jim 200 Race Picks

Date/Time: Friday October 24th, 2025. 6:00PM (EST)
Where: Martinsville Speedway
TV: FS1

Next week, NASCAR will conclude the 2025 season at Phoenix Raceway with a final race to decide a champion in each touring series. Before we get to Phoenix, this weekend’s races at Martinsville Speedway will be the ones to decide the drivers that will be fighting for a championship next week. On Friday, the racing action kicks off in the Craftsman Truck Series with the running of the Slim Jim 200. As things currently stand, Corey Heim is the only driver that has secured a championship bid to Phoenix which means there are still 3 spots to be decided on Friday at Martinsville!

Luckily for bettors and handicappers, the Truck Series has already competed at Martinsville this season which could shed some light into how things could unfold again on Friday. Back in the spring, Daniel Hemric earned his only victory of the season in the Boys and Girls Club of Blue Ridge 200. Corey Heim actually dominated the majority of that race by leading 149 of 200 laps but was wrecked on a late race restart. Heim has obviously been the most dominant truck on a weekly basis and has already broken the series record with 10 wins this season. Heim will enter Friday’s Slim Jim 200 as another heavy betting favorite and should have a prime opportunity to earn his 11th victory of the year.

Despite the fact we already know that Heim will be the truck to beat, there still may be betting opportunities to fade the outright favorite this week. Martinsville Speedway is one of those tracks where a small mistake can cost a ton of time and track position. More importantly, races at Martinsville are often decided by late-race restarts which was the case in the spring race when Daniel Hemric emerged as the winner despite leading just 4 laps the entire race. As a result, we will try to identify a few of the drivers that should have a chance to run at the front of the field on Friday and may be worth the betting consideration to steal a win in one of possible late-race scenarios.

Handicapping Strategy

I just wanted to make a quick note related to handicapping strategy at Martinsville. While I alluded to the results from the spring race above, handicapping a track like Martinsville is not simply based on previous Martinsville results. As many are aware, Martinsville Speedway is a very small half-mile flat paperclip shaped oval. In fact, I categorize Martinsville Speedway as a small flat track from a handicapping perspective. I think there is a specific skill set that is needed to perform well on these short/flat surfaces and that is why our handicapping should consider other similar venues to Martinsville. As a result, I would consider performance results from tracks like New Hampshire, IRP, and North Wilkesboro should be included in our data pool to help determine the drivers that excel at this “style” of racing!

Martinsville – Truck Notes

Daniel Hemric (2024), Corey Heim (2023), and Grant Enfinger (2020) are former winners at Martinsville.
Corey Heim (139.4), Daniel Hemric (116.0), Chandler Smith (111.2), Ty Majeski (109.8), and Kaden Honeycutt (100.5) posted the highest average driver ratings in the spring race at Martinsville.
Chase Purdy has finished 3rd in each of the last two starts at Martinsville.
Chandler Smith has finished 6th or better in his 3 career starts at Martinsville.
Ben Rhodes has finished 7th or better in 7 of the last 8 races at Martinsville.
Rajah Caruth has finished 8th or better in 2 of the last 3 races at Martinsville.
Corey Heim has finished 11th or better in his 5 career starts at Martinsville.
Ty Majeski has finished 13th or better in his 5 career starts at Martinsville.
Layne Riggs has finished in the Top 15 in all 3 career starts at Martinsville.
There have been at least 11 cautions in 6 of the last 8 races at Martinsville.
The eventual race winner has started in the Top 5 in each of the last 4 races at Martinsville.
Chevrolet drivers have won 5 of the last 6 races at Martinsville.

Betting Targets

Based on current betting odds, Corey Heim is just slightly above even money and I think that is about right based on how dominant he has this season including the dominance shown at Martinsville back in the spring. Behind Heim, I believe Ty Majeski is worthy of betting consideration as well despite being somewhat overvalued from odds makers. Majeski has not won all season but has a really strong “short flat track” resume and is among the best drivers at this “style” of racing. For that reason, Majeski is likely the 2nd best driver in the field. However, I am willing to see how the #98 looks in practice/qualifying on Friday because I believe there is a possibility his odds get even better.

While Majeski may not have enough “value” to warrant an immediate selection, Chandler Smith and Kaden Honeycutt are among the dark horses that are getting undeniable betting value. Smith is among the best short track talents in the field and Honeycutt has shown similar flashes of that same skill set. In fact, Honeycutt was in position for the win in the closing laps of the spring race and was overcome on late race restarts. At current betting odds, I believe both drivers have legitimate betting value and can also be targeted rather aggressively in H2H formats. If you are looking for even deeper options, Ben Rhodes and Gio Ruggiero would be my targets for a true long shot. Rhodes and Ruggiero both have legitimate Top 5 upside which makes them playable in nearly all formats but sharply in prop bet formats!

2025 Draftkings Slim Jim 200 Optimal Lineup

***TBD after Qualifying***

2025 Slim Jim 200 Race Picks

*FINAL* Ty Majeski +500 (1 unit)
Chandler Smith +2000 (.5 unit)
Kaden Honeycutt +2000 (.5 unit)
Ben Rhodes +4000 (.25 unit)

H2H Match-Ups and Prop Bets

Chandler Smith -130 over Tyler Ankrum (3 units)
Corey Heim -145 over Layne Riggs (2 units)
Ben Rhodes +150 over Corey LaJoie (2 units)
Gio Ruggiero +500 finishes Top 5 (.5 unit)