Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman and Ross Chastain return to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series this weekend, and the three drivers are unsurprisingly among the favorites to win this weekend’s XPEL 225. Action will get underway on Saturday, March 25 at 1:30 p.m. ET — and our expert is here to make his XPEL 225 predictions to help you find the best NASCAR Truck Series bets for this weekend’s event at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA).
The legal gambling age is 21+ in most states. Gambling Problem? Call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.
Best NASCAR Truck Series Bets & Prediction | XPEL 225 | COTA
Will Kyle Busch Get the Job Done?
Kyle Busch had this race won last year. With two laps to go, Busch held the lead over Alex Bowman and Stewart Friesen. But then those two charged hard into the corner and wiped out Busch, allowing Zane Smith to go from fourth to first in a single corner, shuffling Busch back to fifth in the process. Busch still rallied for a third-place finish, but that certainly wasn’t what he wanted after leading 31 of the event’s 46 laps.
Kyle Busch Motorsports is off to a strong start in 2023. Busch won his first race for the team at Las Vegas after leading 84 of 134 laps. Nick Sanchez, who drives a KBM-aligned truck for Rev Racing, led eight before suffering a mechanical failure. Sanchez then led 11 laps and scored a second-place finish at Atlanta. The manufacturer changeover hasn’t held KBM back at all, so another strong showing should be in the cards for Busch on Saturday.
Unsurprisingly, the books have stacked the odds on Busch. He sits at only 3-2 to win Saturday’s XPEL 225 at DraftKings. That’s far shorter than the numbers Bowman (6-1), Smith (6-1) and Ross Chastain (10-1) have received. Although Busch has run only two Truck Series races at road courses, he has gone 1-for-2 with a near-win at COTA and a dominant win at Sonoma. Both of those performances came last year. Backing anyone to win at +150 is usually square, but I want action on the favorite this weekend.
Best NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Bet: Kyle Busch 3-2 for 0.33 Unit at DraftKings
Don’t Sleep On These Longshots
I have consistently placed action on Parker Kligerman and Kaz Grala this year. Kligerman rewarded us with a top-5 finish in last weekend’s Xfinity Series race, but Grala is yet to come through for us. Both drivers are immensely talented and have shown plenty of talent on road courses, so they’ll both make my betting card again this weekend. Let’s wager enough on them to score a top-5 for us to net a half-unit profit.
Parker Kligerman is the safer play, but his odds to score a top-5 finish (+225) reflect that reality. He was running up front for most of last year’s race at COTA before late-race chaos ended his strong run. He then turned things around with a seventh-place finish at Sonoma and a win at Mid-Ohio. Kligerman has scored a top-5 finish in two of his last five road course starts in the Truck Series and should compete with the favorites on Saturday.
Kaz Grala is a true longshot. Like Kligerman, Grala has often impressed at road courses. He scored an impressive seventh-place finish at the Daytona Road Course in his Cup Series debut, which he made in relief of Austin Dillon. Grala has three Xfinity Series top-5s at road courses in 11 starts. He also has two Truck Series top-5s at road courses in eight starts. However, Grala has made most of his starts in low-quality equipment. The No. 1 Toyota he’ll drive for TRICON garage this weekend should have the requisite speed to compete with the favorites.
Best NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Bet: Parker Kligerman Top-5 +225 for 0.25 Unit at Caesars
Best NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Bet: Kaz Grala Top-5 +400 for 0.13 Unit at Caesars
The legal gambling age is 21+ in most states. Gambling Problem? Call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.
