The NASCAR Truck Series is at Homestead this week as they kick off the weekend for all 3 Series in action with only a few races left on the season. Homestead is a 1.5 mile track that has high tire wear and usually produces great racing so we should be in for a good race this week. Unfortunately practice and qualifying for the Truck Series was not televised so we will have to go off of lap averages and last years race here.
Potential Dominators
Corey Heim
Nick Sanchez
Ty Majeski
Christian Eckes
Heim had speed in practice as he has had all season and went out and qualified on the pole. He should get the lead early and will be hard to get around so he should lead a good amount of laps to start the race. Sanchez had blazing fast lap times in practice as he was several tenths faster than everyone on lap averages throughout the practice run. I expect him to be good this week and I think he will be a legitimate contender throughout the race. Majeski had speed in practice with the 3rd best 10 lap average in the session. He is typically really good on high tire wear tracks and I expect him to run well here this weekend. He also needs a great points day as he is just above the cutoff for the playoffs. Eckes I would not be surprised to be a little conservative with the point buffer he has above the cut line but he is hard to count out any week and is a usuable option again at Homestead
Place Differential
Stewart Friesen
Layne Riggs
Tyler Ankrum
William Sawalich
Tanner Gray
Friesen was one of the faster trucks on the speed charts in practice as he was 2nd in 10 lap averages. He is usually solid on 1.5 mile tracks and starting 12th he has a little room to move forward and be a solid value play this week. Riggs has been on fire recently with a few wins and a lot of speed in his truck. He did not make a long run in practice so we aren't too sure what kind of speed he will have but he is a usable option starting in 13th. Ankrum had top 10 speed in practice and is another one of the playoff drivers that need a good run. He starts in 15th so he should have some place differential potential as I think he will likely run in the top 10 for most of the race. Sawalich is a bit of a wildcard in this race as he was just ok in practice but he has proven he has a lot of talent. He just turned 18 so he can run the big tracks now and this will be his first truck start on a 1.5 mile track. He starts in 20th so he has room to move forward and be a solid pick this week. Gray had some kind of issue and did not qualify so he starts in the back. I expect him to have fixed whatever their issue was and be the top place differential option for the race. He had close to top 10 speed in practice and will be one of the top options for the race.
Cheap Options
Matt Crafton
Jake Garcia
Connor Jones
Matt Mills
Crafton and Garcia were not good in practice but there are limited cheap option in this race and they start back in 22nd and 26th. You would have to assume they are good enough drivers and in good equipment where they can move forward and be good values for under $7000 salary on Draftkings. Crafton finished 8th here last year and Garcia finished 16th so they have some upside to move forward. Connor Jones and Matt Mills are solid flier options for this slate as well. Jones has a few good finishes on 1.5 mile tracks this season and Mills finished 11th at Darlington which is the other high tire wear track on the circuit. They start 23rd and 24th and I think they will have top 20 potential with upside for more in the race.
High Risk Tournament Play
We have seen Honeycutt have a lot of speed on 1.5 mile tracks this season but he hasn;t put a full race together yet. He starts up in 6th so he is going to need dominator points and a top 5 to be optimal, but he should have a shot of doing so this week. He is also in the truck that the winner at Homestead was in last season in Carson Hocevar so that team should have the setup he needs to be a contender.
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