The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series raced on dirt at Eldora Speedway from 2013 to 2019 and now it will be tackling a new dirt challenge at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night. The green flag drops on the 2021 Pinty's Dirt Race at 8 p.m. ET and several NASCAR Cup Series stars will be in the NASCAR at Bristol field to get a preview for the following day's Cup Series race on the Bristol dirt. With rain in the area in recent days, learning the track conditions will be critical and experience on dirt will provide a huge advantage.
That's why two-time defending Chili Bowl National champion Kyle Larson is listed as the 5-4 favorite in the 2021 Pinty's Dirt Race odds from William Hill Sportsbook. However, other drivers with considerable dirt racing experience like Chase Briscoe (11-2), Stewart Friesen (6-1) and Bubba Wallace (16-1) are all near the top of the NASCAR at Bristol odds board as well. Before making any 2021 NASCAR Truck Series at Bristol predictions, be sure to see the latest 2021 Pinty's Dirt Race 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 last week it called Kyle Busch's truck series win in Atlanta. Anybody who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, his model simulated the 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Bristol race 10,000 times. Head to SportsLine to see the complete projected leaderboard for the 2021 Pinty's Dirt Race.
Top 2021 Pinty's Dirt Race predictions
The model is high on Matt Crafton, even though he's a 28-1 long shot in the latest NASCAR Truck Series at Bristol odds. He's a target for anyone looking for a huge payday. The 22-year veteran of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is a three-time champion with 15 race wins and he got his starts on mini-sprints when he was younger.
Crafton has been a top-10 machine throughout his career, recording 291 top 10s in 480 career truck series starts and that's translated directly to dirt tracks as well. In seven starts at Eldora Speedway, Crafton was inside the top 10 every time and he won the 2017 Eldora Dirt Derby. The 45-year-old is a strong bet to work his way toward the front on Saturday and a Truck Series win on dirt in Bristol would be another feather in the cap of an already legendary truck career.
And a massive shocker: John Hunter Nemechek, one of the Vegas favorites at 12-1, stumbles big time and fails to crack the top five. There are far better values in this loaded field. The 23-year-old sits atop the 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings after collecting four top-10 finishes in four starts to begin the season.
However, after racing quarter midgets as a teenager, Nemechek primarily drove late model stock cars during his development and a field loaded with dirt-track specialists and NASCAR Cup Series drivers takes away his edge. He never managed to make it to victory lane in five starts in a truck on dirt at Eldora Speedway from 2014-2018, so the model is fading him here as the fourth favorite in the 2021 Pinty's Dirt Race odds.
How to make 2021 NASCAR Truck Series at Bristol picks
The model is also targeting four other drivers with NASCAR Truck Series at Bristol odds of 22-1 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 Pinty's Dirt Race 2021? And which long shots stun the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series? Check out the latest 2021 NASCAR Truck Series at Bristol odds below and then visit SportsLine now to see the full projected 2021 Pinty's Dirt Race leaderboard, all from the model that nailed Hamlin's win last season.
2021 Pinty's Dirt Race odds (via William Hill)
Kyle Larson 5-4
Chase Briscoe 11-2
Stewart Friesen 6-1
John Hunter Nemechek 12-1
Sheldon Creed 15-1
Bubba Wallace 16-1
Grant Enfinger 20-1
Mike Marlar 22-1
Kevin Harvick 22-1
Martin Truex Jr. 22-1
Matt Crafton 28-1
Zane Smith 30-1
Ryan Newman 30-1
Austin Hill 40-1
Carson Hocevar 40-1
Ben Rhodes 40-1
Brett Moffitt 50-1
Todd Gilliland 60-1
Tyler Ankrum 60-1
Daniel Suarez 75-1
Chandler Smith 75-1
Derek Kraus 100-1
Johnny Sauter 100-1
Field 100-1
Parker Kligerman 125-1
Tanner Gray 150-1
Chase Purdy 150-1
Ryan Truex 200-1
JR Heffner 200-1
Timothy Peters 200-1
Myatt Snider 200-1
Raphael Lessard 200-1
Hailie Deegan 200-1
