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The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to Knoxville, Iowa on Saturday night for some dirt track racing. With Cup and Xfinity off, this is your only chance this weekend to watch some NASCAR racing.
Because we're at a dirt track, the starting lineup will be set by pre-race heat races. So unlike most weeks, we won't have time for post-qualifying updates and all of that. So, I'm going to do my best to just highlight which drivers have shown prowess on dirt tracks, looking at last year's Knoxville race and this year's Bristol race.
Here at RotoBaller, we want to help you make informed decisions about your DFS lineups, which is why I'll be breaking down the slates for the Truck Series. Let's look at some NASCAR Truck Series DFS lineup picks for the Clean Harbors 150 on DraftKings. Be sure to also check out our NASCAR Premium Tools for Truck Series including our DFS Lineup Optimizer and powerful Research Station. This slate locks on 6/18/2022 at 9:00 p.m. ET.
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2022 Bristol Dirt and 2021 Knoxville Thoughts
Let's start by looking at the most recent dirt race on the Truck Series schedule.
Bristol is a different kind of dirt track than Knoxville—for one, it's not a real dirt track—but it was still a dirt track and required a certain kind of skill.
Ben Rhodes won at Bristol, leading 95 of the 150 laps. He started second in that one.
Carson Hocevar was second in that race, but he's nursing an injury, as he broke his tibia at Gateway. I don't expect him to be super competitive, and I wouldn't be shocked if the team replaces him at the first stage break with a relief driver.
No one else led a lap at Bristol. John Hunter Nemechek, Parker Kligerman and Christian Eckes rounded out the top five. There were no DNFs and 27 drivers finished on the lead lap.
Meanwhile, Knoxville last year was a little less predictable. Austin Hill led 11 laps and won from the 13th position, while Chandler Smith lead 71 laps and finished second. Grant Enfinger was third, Todd Gilliland was fourth (and led 61 laps) and polesitter Derek Kraus was fifth (and led 10 laps). Not a ton of overlap with the results of Bristol this year. There were 12 DNFs, and 21 drivers finished on the lead lap. Rhodes finished seventh. Nemechek finished 11th. Of the top 10 finishers, just four started in the top 10. So, a lot wilder than Bristol.
Notable at both tracks: dirt ringers didn't do too well. At Knoxville last year, Brian Brown finished eighth in a KBM truck, the only dirt guy in the top 10. At Bristol, the top dirt guy was Mike Marlar in 17th.
Practice Results
Let's examine some numbers from practice.
Rhodes was fastest in the first practice, followed by Stewart Friesen, Carson Hocevar, Ty Majeski and Matt Crafton. Brett Moffitt, making a one-off start in the 22 truc, was sixth.
In the second practice, Hocevar was atop the board, followed by Chandler Smith, Matt Crafton, Colby Howard and Ben Rhodes.
Based on practice results—which can be found in full here, if you want to peruse them yourself—Rhodes, Hocevar and Crafton should be considered favorites. But remember from above that Hocevar has a broken tibia. He had speed in practice, but he also ran about half as many laps in each session as everyone else. His availability for the full race on Saturday night is a concern.
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Truck Series Drivers To Watch This Week
Okay, onto the fantasy advice part. Let's talk about some drivers. I've already mentioned two that I like today and some reasons why, so I won't repeat that other than to say Ben Rhodes ($10,300) and Matt Crafton ($8,800) are high on my list of drivers to target this week.
I also think John Hunter Nemechek ($10,700) has shown enough in his previous dirt starts to make him a viable play for this one.
Stewart Friesen ($9,900) comes from a dirt background and has a Truck Series win at Eldora. He should also be considered one of the favorites. Obviously place differential upside will decide which of these favorites we go heaviest on, but sadly we won't know that until just before the race.
Ty Majeski ($9,400) doesn't have a dirt background, but he's had speed in practice and qualified well at Bristol dirt before finishing 21st.
Derek Kraus ($8,400) started on pole here last year. He had decent speed in practice. I'll keep an eye on him.
Buddy Kofoid ($9,200) is this week's No. 51 truck ringer. He was also in this truck at Bristol and finished 27th. There's a lot of risk here, but Kofoid could have upside. We'll have to see where he starts.
Tyler Carpenter ($7,500) is another intriguing driver. I won't play him unless he starts deep in the field because this truck isn't necessarily that fast, but Carpenter has a ton of dirt experience and I trust him to keep the truck clean and move through the field while other trucks crash out.
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