The NASCAR Truck Series takes a trip to Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California, for DoorDash 250, the 12th race on the NASCAR 2022 schedule. The 12-turn course will welcome some of the best Truck Series drivers who will compete on the track for the first time since 1998, meaning we have no recent race results to work with.
That also introduces some challenges when making our NASCAR betting picks for the 2022 DoorDash 250; however, based on what we’ve seen from the drivers this season, it’s easy to spot three drivers that should do well on Saturday.
DoorDash 250 Betting Picks
John Hunter Nemechek
John Hunter Nemechek has just one victory in the 2022 season, but he remains one of the top contenders for the Truck Series title and is one of the favorites to win the 2022 DoorDash 250. At least that’s what the latest NASCAR odds would suggest.
Hunter Nemechek’s only victory of 2022 came in Darlington, and he has since failed to emulate that success. Still, he had placed sixth in Kansas and Texas and was third in North Carlina. Unfortunately, he had to settle for a 35th-place finish in the last race, but that figure is a bit misleading.
Hunter Nemechek finished third in Stage 1 in the race but then crashed and could not finish the track. Although we can’t say that Hunter Nemechek was guaranteed to win had he not crashed, he would definitely be in a great spot to claim another top-5.
For the next race, we must remember that Hunter Nemechek is excellent on road courses. He has nine starts on Truck Series road races with one win, five top-5s, and six top-10s. Moreover, he has led 37 laps and has an 8.4 average finish.
Admittedly, Hunter Nemechek has led just 37 laps but had you watched those races, you would know that he is always in front, so this figure also doesn’t properly show what we’re looking for. Hunter Nemechek is hard to look past at the offered NASCAR odds as an excellent pick.
Alex Bowman
Alex Bowman will race in the 2022 DoorDash 250 race, marking his second Truck Series start of the season. He wild rive the no.7 car which he drove at COTA, where he placed 25th, but only due to his contact with Kyle Busch and Steward Friesen.
So even though a 25th-place finish doesn’t look too good, there was more to his performance at COTA than his final placement would suggest.
We must also note that Bowman is a very solid driver on road courses like the one that will be used for the 2022 DoorDash 250. Across 16 starts, Bowman has collected three top-5s and nine top-10s while leading five laps and averaging a 10.9 finish.
Bowman also nearly won at COTA in the Cup Series before he got passed by Ross Chastain, which is another reason we shouldn’t ignore him ahead of this race.
Matt DiBenedetto
No betting preview is complete without an outsider pick, and for the 2022 DoorDash 250, we’re looking at Matt DiBenedetto. Admittedly, DiBenedetto hasn’t had the best start to his maiden season in the Truck Series, with just one top-10 finish across his first six races.
However, he has improved of late. DiBenedetto finished 11th or better in four of his last five starts, including seventh in Kansas, 10th in Texas, 17th in North Carolina, and sixth at World Wide Technology Raceway last weekend.
We must also note that DiBenedetto finished seventh in both stages at COTA and could have easily finished inside the top-10 had he not suffered a mechanical issue. Like Nemechek and Bowman, DiBenedetto is also a solid road track driver.
He has five top-10s on road courses in the Cup Series and has finished 11th or better in his last four. At Sonoma, DiBenedetto placed fourth in 2019, and even though it’s been a while since then, those results are hard to ignore.
There is no guarantee that DiBenedetto will do as well on road courses in the Truck Series. But at the offered betting odds, DiBenedetto is an excellent longshot pick for the 2022 DoorDash 250.
DoorDash 250 Betting Trends
To date, there were just four Truck Series races on this track, but not one since 1998.
Not a single driver won the race more than once, with Ron Hornaday Jr., Geoff Bodine, Joe Ruttman, and Boris Said winning one apiece.
Boris Said holds the record for the fastest average speed with 72.939 mph
Ford won the last three races, while Chevrolet won the inaugural event in 1995
The 2022 DoorDash will be 75 laps and 149.25 miles (240 km) in length, and it will be the shortest track since 1995 (100 miles/ 162 km)
DoorDash 250 Betting pick and prediction
Since no driver in the field raced on Sonoma Raceway in the Truck Series before, it’s tough to find a driver who should do well. But after looking through all the available NASCAR picks, we had to settle for Hunter Nemechek.
He has been solid throughout the entire season, and even though he has just one win, Hunter Nehechek always seems to be in the mix to win the next race. Last weekend, he had a disappointing finish, but as noted, he would have easily locked in another top-5 had he not crashed, so we wouldn’t overreact to the final placement.
If we look past that result, Nemechek has not placed outside of the top six across his last seven races. That stretch includes five top-4s.
Besides that, Nemechek usually does well on road courses, which is another big reason why everyone should keep an eye on him for the 2022 Door Dash. At the offered odds, he is an easy choice in our book.
Prediction: John Hunter Nemechek to win
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