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The 2021 Toyota Tundra 225 will be NASCAR fans' first look at Circuit of the Americas, a 3.426-mile road course in Austin, Texas, with 20 turns that opened in 2012. The track earned immediate acclaim and began hosting Formula One's United States Grand Prix later that year, and now it will host all three major NASCAR series this weekend. The weekend series begins with trucks on Saturday with the green flag scheduled to drop at 1 p.m. ET.

John Hunter Nemechek is the 5-2 favorite in the latest 2021 Toyota Tundra 225 odds from William Hill Sportsbook with several NASCAR stars choosing the Xfinity race for additional track time. Sheldon Creed (7-2), Ben Rhodes (15-2), Paul Menard (12-1), Matt Crafton (12-1) and Austin Hill (12-1) are all near the top of the NASCAR at COTA odds board as well. Before making any 2021 NASCAR Truck Series at Circuit of the Americas predictions, be sure to see the latest 2021 Toyota Tundra 225 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 month in Kansas. Anybody who has followed it has seen huge returns.

Now, his model simulated the 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at COTA race 10,000 times. Head to SportsLine to see the complete projected leaderboard for the 2021 Toyota Tundra 225.

Top 2021 Toyota Tundra 225 picks

One surprise: the model is high on Grant Enfinger, even though he's a massive 30-1 long shot in the latest NASCAR Truck Series at COTA odds. He's a target for anyone looking for a huge payday. The 36-year-old is in his fifth full-time season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and he had a breakthrough year in 2020, winning four times.

So far this season, Enfinger hasn't been able to get back to victory lane but he has four top-10 finishes already, including a top-five finish last week at Darlington. Enfinger didn't run the Daytona road race this season, but he captured his first top-10 on a road course in his first start at Daytona last season and that certainly bodes well with everybody getting their first look at the Circuit of the Americas.

And a massive shocker: Ben Rhodes, one of the Vegas favorites at 15-2, stumbles big time and barely finishes inside the top five. There are far better values in this loaded field. Rhodes is in his sixth full-time season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and he's been a staple in the postseason during that span, but he only has five wins in 127 career starts.

While two of those wins have come this season, including a win on the Daytona Road Course, Rhodes ran 14th in his first run on the Daytona Road Course and he finished 30th in his first start at Bowmanville, the other road course in the truck series. This will be the first time that he'll see Circuit of the Americas and it's a unique venue, so the price might not be right at 15-2.

How to make 2021 NASCAR Truck Series at COTA predictions

The model is also targeting two other drivers with NASCAR Truck Series at Circuit of the Americas odds of 18-1 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 Toyota Tundra 225 2021? And which long shots stun the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series? Check out the latest 2021 NASCAR Truck Series at Circuit of the Americas odds below and then visit SportsLine now to see the full projected 2021 Toyota Tundra 225 leaderboard, all from the model that has crushed its NASCAR picks.

2021 Toyota Tundra 225 odds (via William Hill)

John Hunter Nemechek 5-2
Sheldon Creed 7-2
Ben Rhodes 15-2
Paul Menard 12-1
Matt Crafton 12-1
Austin Hill 12-1
Zane Smith 14-1
Kaz Grala 18-1
Todd Gilliland 20-1
Sam Mayer 20-1
Field 20-1
Parker Kligerman 25-1
Stewart Friesen 25-1
Chandler Smith 25-1
Johnny Sauter 30-1
Grant Enfinger 30-1
Christian Eckes 40-1
Tyler Ankrum 40-1
Parker Chase 40-1
Carson Hocevar 60-1
Derek Kraus 75-1
Ryan Truex 100-1
Tanner Gray 100-1
Timothy Peters 150-1