North Carolina Education Lottery 200 (Truck Series) Predictions, Odds & Picks

• Kyle Busch entering a Truck Series race means an instant prohibitive favorite
• There’s another Cup star worth considering on Friday—namely Ross Chastain
• After a winning run at Texas, Stewart Friesen is grossly undervalued at Charlotte

North Carolina Education Lottery 200 Odds

Odds are taken from DraftKings Sportsbook

If you are unsure about how to bet on NASCAR, take a look at our guide.

In stock car racing circles, Memorial Day weekend is synonymous with a NASCAR tripleheader at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Friday night’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race kicks off the weekend.

The 10th NCWTS event of the season will be contested over 134 laps (201 miles), with stage breaks scheduled after 30 and 60 laps. John Hunter Nemechek is the defending winner of the race.

Kyle Busch Is Racing This Week—That Means He’s the Prohibitive Favorite

If Kyle Busch is competing in a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, he has better than a 33-percent chance of winning it.

That’s what the statistics say. In 163 starts in the series, Busch has recorded 61 victories, for an amazing winning percentage of 37.4.

Friday night’s North Carolina Education Lottery will mark Busch’s fourth start of the season. Remarkably, he has yet to win this year. Busch finished second at Las Vegas and third at both Circuit of the Americas and Martinsville.

Just as remarkably, we’re not picking Busch to win this week. Not only is he no bargain at +125 (DraftKings Sportsbook), but we also think there are stronger candidates for the win this week.

Ross Chastain Has a Fast Truck—He Just Needs to Finish Better This Week

Niece Motorsports driver Ross Chastain is a three-time winner in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, but his results in three starts this season have been underwhelming.

The full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver finished 23rd at Atlanta, 26th at Darlington and 12th last weekend at Texas. But those numbers belie the speed Chastain has shown in each of his starts.

A tire failure knocked Chastain out of the Atlanta race. At Darlington, he led 46 laps and finished second in the first two stages before fading in the late going.

We think Chastain will finally execute a problem-free race this weekend and win for the first time in a truck this season.

He already has two wins in his full-time NASCAR Cup Series ride with Trackhouse Racing. At +800 via DraftKings, he’s an excellent value in Friday’s truck race.

After Winning at Texas, Stewart Friesen Is Grossly Undervalued at Charlotte

Why in the world is Stewart Friesen posted at +2000 (DraftKings) entering Friday night’s race at Charlotte Motor Speedway?

Let’s get real. The Canadian dirt track ace is fresh from a victory at Texas Motor Speedway, which, like Charlotte, is a 1.5-mile intermediate track.

Accordingly, we don’t think the long odds do Friesen justice. His Halmar-Friesen Racing team has been solid throughout the season, with no finish worse than 16th in nine races.

So if you’re into betting underlays, Friesen is your best shot.

And if you’re looking for a strong top-five play, look no further than Ty Majeski. The ThorSport Racing driver comes to Charlotte after three straight top-five finishes.

We think Majeski can add a fourth to that list. At +250 to finish fifth or better, he’s an excellent bet.

How to Watch North Carolina Education Lottery 200