Best NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Bets for the Mission 176 at Watkins Glen

I don't envy bookmakers. Their jobs are brutally tough.

It's more true true than ever for Friday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race.

Not only is it at a road course, which the series rarely runs, but four Cup Series regulars are in the field alongisde Connor Zilisch, the Xfinity phenom who takes a blowtorch to everything in his path.

Having to map out how the Cup guys compare to Zilisch and series dominator Corey Heim is a nightmare endeavor in which you're bound to make mistakes.

That applies to my sims, as well. My model's very likely too low on Zilisch as it dings him for being in a Niece Motorsports truck. Talented drivers like Carson Hocevar and Ross Chastain have struggled to dominate in this equipment, and the model is dinging Zilisch pretty significantly as a result.

Zilisch is a stone-cold psychopath who may be able to drag a tractor to victory lane; we just can't know that until we see it, given this is the worst equipment he has been in.

In other words: proceed with caution. It's more possible than usual that my sims suck this week. But I do think the gap between me and the market is big enough on some drivers where we can at least consider betting them.

Let's start with those sims and then lay out the drivers I'm willing to bet in FanDuel Sportsbook's NASCAR Truck Series betting odds.

NASCAR Truck Series Predictions for Watkins Glen

NASCAR Truck Series Betting Picks for Watkins Glen

• Christopher Bell (+600): Bell is filling in for an injured Stewart Friesen, meaning he's in a Halmar-Friesen truck that has proven it can win this year. Bell is also an extremely skilled road racer who won the Cup race at COTA this year. That's what pushes him so high in the sims, and I do agree that +600 is longer than it should be.
• Kyle Busch (+600): I understand the gravity of Heim and Zilisch, but I don't think I can recall ever seeing Busch at +600 to win a Truck race. He has won 37.4% of his career Truck races, and he's at 33.3% with Spire Motorsports. Like Bell, he's also a great road racer, so I'm willing to take the bait at +600.
• Ty Majeski (+5500): Given Majeski's short-track background, you'd think he'd struggle at road courses. But he was runner-up this year at Lime Rock, third the previous two years at COTA, at third at Sonoma in 2022. He'd need a lot of chaos to win, given the big dogs up front, but he's more likely to capitalize on that than the other non-Heim series regulars.

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Which drivers stand out to you for today's race? Check out FanDuel Sportsbook's latest NASCAR Truck Series betting odds to see the full menu of options.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author’s advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.