2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series continues on Saturday, May 14, with the Heart Of America 200, as the eighth event of the NASCAR 2022 schedule. The race will occur at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas, where we can expect another tight battle for the crown.
It will mark the 24th running of the race and the first since May 1, 2021, when Kyle Busch won his third Heart Of America 200 and his first since 2017. However, most drivers will be happy to hear that Kyle Busch will not attend this year’s race.
Heart Of America 200 Betting Picks
Ben Rhodes
Ben Rhodes has yet to win the Heart Of America 200, but there is a good reason why he is one of the favorites on the NASCAR betting markets. The 25-year-old heads to Kansas Speedway as the current NASCAR Truck Series leader, with 284 points, which sits him 30 above second-placed John Hunter Nemechek.
Admittedly, Rhodes failed to deliver last weekend, when he finished 24th at Darlington, and he has managed just one win (Bristol) this season. However, Rhodes has finished inside the top-5 in all but two races in his last seven starts – except for at Darlington (24th) and Las Vegas (31st).
Moreover, Rhodes has solid figures at Kansas. Over his five career starts, he has averaged an 8.8 finish, which includes two top-5s, four top-10s, and a runner-up finish in 2019.
Even though his figures at Kansas Speedway aren’t the best, Rhodes was in the mix to win the race in all but one of his last four starts, and with the form he has been showing this year, the 25-year-old should be a threat to claim his first Heart Of America 200 victory.
Matt Crafton
Matt Crafton has yet to find traction this season. He is fresh off a 36th-place finish at Darlington, and he has yet to win a single race. But Crafton has managed three top-10s, which include a seventh-place finish at Martinsville and a ninth-place finish at Bristol.
We must also touch on Crafton’s figures at Kansas, which are not that shabby, making him one of the most appealing NASCAR picks for the upcoming race. Over five starts at Kansas Speedway, Crafton has averaged an 8.6 finish with an average start of 9.4.
Over five races, Crafton has put together one victory (2020), two top-5s, and four top-10s, meaning he has finished outside of the top ten only three times. Last year he placed 24th, which is far from great, but there is a reason to believe he should do better this time out.
Out of all the drivers on the track, Crafton has the sixth-best average rating (105), behind only Austin Hill, Brett Moffitt, Zane Smith, John Nemechek, and Kyle Busch. However, since Hill and Busch won’t attend, Crafton is technically the fourth-best driver heading to Kansas this weekend.
Zane Smith
Zane Smith is the man to watch for this weekend’s race, and we wouldn’t be shocked to see him win it all. Smith has had an excellent start to the season, with a streak of 1st, 36th, 5th, and 1st-place finishes. Admittedly, he has since cooled down, but Smith has still locked in a top-10 across the next three races.
He placed ninth in Martinsville, 10th in Bristol, and has claimed a solid seventh-place finish last time out at Darlington. But besides Smith’s solid form this season, we must also touch on his results in Kansas.
The 22-year-old has the current third-highest average driver rating at Kansas Speedway (115.6) – worse than just Nemechek and Busch. Over four starts, Smith has yet to win, but he has placed outside of the top-10 only once.
Last year Smith placed seventh, which isn’t spectacular, but he was in the mix to win it all throughout the race. Combine his solid figures on the track with Smith’s great form, and you have a perfect recipe for a potential winner of the 2022 Heart Of America 200.
Heart Of America 200 Betting Trends
- Matt Crafton and Kyle Busch are the only two drivers with multiple Heart Of America 200 victories (three apiece)
- Kyle Busch Motorsports I the most successful team in the race, with five victories (2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021)
- Toyota cars have won the most Heart Of America 200 races (10), followed by Chevrolet (8) and Ford.
- Even though Toyota won the most races, it has claimed just two since 2019 – just as many as Chevrolet.
- Since 2019, no team has won the race more than once, with Niece Motorsports, Hattori Racing Enterprises, ThorSport Racing, GMS Racing, and Kyle Busch Motorsports claiming one apiece.
Heart Of America 200 Betting Prediction
At the offered NASCAR odds, there are many great picks for the upcoming race, but out of all the drivers, we’re most excited about Zane Smith. He has one of the best driver ratings on the track, and even though his form in 2022 is by no means spectacular, he has shown enough for us to feel confident he can make a splash.
His early-season figures were significantly better than how they are now, but Smith has still done enough across the last three races, securing three top-10s. Some may argue that Nemechek is a smarter choice for this race, considering he has shown much more in Kansas in previous races, but at the offered betting odds, Smith is the better pick.
Prediction: Zane Smith to win
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