Darlington Raceway hadn't hosted a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race since 2011 prior to a return last season because of the coronavirus pandemic but now the iconic 71-year-old egg-shaped oval is back on the truck series schedule. The green flag will drop at 7:30 p.m. ET on the 2021 LiftKits4Less.com 200 on Friday night. The regular truck drivers will likely be relieved to see that Kyle Busch is skipping Friday's race. Busch hasn't finished worse than second in four truck starts this year and earned his second truck series win in Kansas a week ago.
Without Busch in the field, points leader John Hunter Nemechek is the 2-1 favorite in the 2021 LiftKits4Less.com 200 odds from William Hill Sportsbook. Others near the top of the NASCAR Truck Series at Darlington odds board include Austin Hill (4-1), Sheldon Creed (6-1) and Zane Smith (7-1). Before making any 2021 NASCAR Truck Series at Darlington predictions, be sure to see the latest 2021 LiftKits4Less.com 200 picks from SportsLine's proven projection model.
Developed by daily Fantasy pro and SportsLine predictive data engineer Mike McClure, this proprietary NASCAR prediction computer model simulates every race 10,000 times, taking into account factors such as track history and recent results.
The model began the 2020 season paying out big by picking Denny Hamlin to win his second consecutive Daytona 500 at 10-1. The model also called Kevin Harvick's win at Atlanta and nailed a whopping nine top-10 finishers in that race. McClure then used the model to lock in a 10-1 bet on Hamlin for his win at Miami.
At The Brickyard, the model called Harvick's fourth victory of the season. Then during the 2020 NASCAR Playoffs, the model nailed its picks in back-to-back races, calling Denny Hamlin to win at 17-2 at Talladega and Chase Elliott to win at 7-2 at the Charlotte Roval. Then earlier this season, it called Kyle Busch's truck series win in Atlanta and his truck series win last week in Kansas. Anybody who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, his model simulated the 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Darlington race 10,000 times. Head to SportsLine to see the complete projected leaderboard for the 2021 LiftKits4Less.com 200.
Top 2021 LiftKits4Less.com 200 picks
One surprise: the model is high on Corey Heim, even though he's a massive 25-1 long shot in the latest NASCAR Truck Series at Darlington odds. He's a target for anyone looking for a huge payday. The 18-year-old is still a student at Kennesaw Mountain High School but he'll be making his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut in the No. 51 truck owned by Kyle Busch Motorsports on Friday night.
Heim has two wins in four starts in the 2021 ARCA Menards Series. He found victory lane at Daytona and Talladega and also had a second-place finish in Phoenix and a third-place finish last week in Kansas. We know the equipment is top-notch with Busch driving the No. 51 in all four of his truck starts this season, so Heim will have a chance for a huge debut on Friday in Darlington.
And a massive shocker: Sheldon Creed, one of the Vegas favorites at 6-1, stumbles big time and barely finishes inside the top five. There are far better values in this loaded field. The defending NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion opened his season with three top-six finishes in his first four starts but things haven't exactly gone as planned since.
Creed has finished outside the top 10 in each of his last three truck starts and he's coming off a disappointing 32nd-place finish despite leading 41 laps in Kansas last week. The 23-year-old also finished 18th last season in the truck race at Darlington after starting in second and leading 82 laps.
How to make 2021 NASCAR Truck Series at Darlington predictions
The model is also targeting three other drivers with NASCAR Truck Series at Darlington odds of 14-1 or longer to make a serious run at winning it all. Anyone who backs these drivers could hit it big. You can see all the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series picks over at SportsLine.
So who wins the LiftKits4Less.com 200 2021? And which long shots stun the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series? Check out the latest 2021 NASCAR Truck Series at Darlington odds below and then visit SportsLine now to see the full projected 2021 LiftKits4Less.com 200 leaderboard, all from the model that nailed Hamlin's win last season.
2021 LiftKits4Less.com 200 odds (via William Hill)
John Hunter Nemechek 2-1
Austin Hill 4-1
Sheldon Creed 6-1
Zane Smith 7-1
Ben Rhodes 17-2
Grant Enfinger 10-1
Matt Crafton 14-1
Chandler Smith 20-1
Johnny Sauter 22-1
Stewart Friesen 22-1
Corey Heim 25-1
Todd Gilliland 25-1
Ryan Reed 40-1
Tyler Ankrum 50-1
Derek Kraus 60-1
David Gilliland 60-1
Tanner Gray 75-1
Parker Kligerman 75-1
Carson Hocevar 150-1
Erik Darnell 150-1
Ryan Truex 150-1
Field 150-1
Chase Purdy 200-1
Timothy Peters 250-1
