Team EJP 175
Location: Loudon, N.H.
Course: New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Format: 1.06-mile oval
Laps: 175
NASCAR Trucks Race Preview
Kaden Honeycutt earned his second win of the season last week at Richmond after Friday's rain pushed the penultimate regular-season race to Saturday afternoon. The victory strengthened his position in the standings with only this week's trip to New Hampshire remaining before The Chase begins at Bristol. Behind Honeycutt and Layne Riggs at the top of the standings, several drivers are still fighting to keep their championship hopes alive. Six drivers are currently locked into The Chase, leaving four spots to be decided in the regular-season finale. Tyler Ankrum moved back above the cut line after finishing 11th at Richmond, while Stewart Friesen dropped out following a late crash. Jake Garcia also remains in contention, sitting just one point behind Friesen. With only 36 points separating ninth through 12th in the standings, every lap this week at New Hampshire Motor Speedway could be critical to a driver's championship hopes.
Key Stats at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
- Number of races: 21
- Winners from pole: 9
- Winners from top-5 starters: 17
- Winners from top-10 starters: 20
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 1
- Fastest race: 118.707 mph
Previous 10 New Hampshire Motor Speedway Winners
2025 - Corey Heim
2017 - Christopher Bell
2016 - William Byron
2015 - Austin Dillon
2014 - Cole Custer
2011 - Kyle Busch
2010 - Kyle Busch
2009 - Kyle Busch
2008 - Ron Hornaday, Jr.
2007 - Ron Hornaday, Jr.
Last season marked the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series' first visit to New Hampshire Motor Speedway since 2017, and Corey Heim dominated from the pole, leading 124 of 175 laps. The flat, 1.0-mile oval has historically placed a premium on track position, although the groove tends to widen as more rubber is laid down. The last 11 series races at New Hampshire have been won by a driver starting on the front row, and only one of the 21 races held there has been won by someone starting outside the top 10. Those numbers are not surprising given the track's flat layout and the difficulty of passing. The progressive banking can help widen the racing line, but drivers still need strong braking and throttle control to make a move. The long straights, heavy braking zones, and slow corners also make it difficult to manage tires and equipment, but drivers who do it well can deliver a dominant performance, just as Heim did last season.
RotoWire NASCAR Trucks Series DFS Tools
DraftKings Value Picks for the Team EJP 175
Based on Standard $50k Salary Cap
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Layne Riggs - $13,000
Kaden Honeycutt - $12,500
Christopher Bell - $11,500
Ty Majeski - $10,000
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
John Hunter Nemechek - $9,500
Christian Eckes - $9,000
Gio Ruggiero - $8,800
Grant Enfinger - $8,300
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Tyler Ankrum - $8,100
Landen Lewis - $7,900
Daniel Hemric - $7,600
Ben Rhodes - $7,500
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Stewart Friesen - $7,200
Tanner Gray - $6,900
Justin Haley - 6,600
Brenden Queen - $6,100
Optimal DraftKings Lineup for the Team EJP 175
Layne Riggs - $13,000
John Hunter Nemechek - $9,500
Tyler Ankrum - $8,100
Ben Rhodes - $7,500
Justin Haley - $6,600
Kris Wright - $5,300
With just one race remaining in the regular season, Layne Riggs heads to New Hampshire looking to close out the regular season as the most dominant driver of the year while putting last week's 15th-place finish firmly in the rearview mirror. While Richmond was not the race Riggs or Front Row Motorsports hoped for, the team still sits 61 points ahead of Kaden Honeycutt. At New Hampshire, Riggs looked good in the series return last season. He finished third in that race. Another top-five finish, if not a win, this weekend would bolster Riggs' status as the championship favorite with The Chase set to get underway.
John Hunter Nemechek has been one of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series most successful drivers, and he returns to the cockpit this week for the first time since February. This will be the former champion's third series start of the season, and he finished fifth and eighth his two prior starts. This will also be the fifth series race he has run at New Hampshire, a venue he has finished ninth or better at in three of four prior tries.
Tyler Ankrum enters this week's regular season finale with a 20-point cushion over Stewart Friesen in the battle for the final position in The Chase. The McAnally-Hilgemann Racing driver delivered an 11th-place finish a week ago at Richmond to get to this position, which was the second consecutive race he finished 11th or better. Ankrum has spent much of the season among the contenders and needs one more solid race day to finish the job. He finished 11th in this race last season, which should be good enough to seal the deal for him this week if he can replicate it.
Ben Rhodes is comfortable in the championship standings but looking for some momentum to carry into the championship showdown. He has five top-10 finishes this season with two top-15 results from the last four races. He has three prior New Hampshire starts with a best finish of seventh in 2017. A crash in last year's race dented his result in the series return, but his average New Hampshire finish in his two starts prior to that was 11.0.
Last week's race was a tough one for Justin Haley, and it was also his second finish outside of the top 25 from the last three races. He and his Kaulig Racing team has been working to improve their Ram truck all season after early signs of progress have begun to slow later in the season. In their search for improvement, the timing is right for Haley to return to the top-15 on a regular basis with final 10 races of the year now on the horizon. Haley's last race at this track in this series was 2017 when he finished 13th, which is where he should be aiming to finish again this week if Kaulig can sort out their chassis issues.
Prior driver selections leave just enough room for Kris Wright as the final selection this week. The Niece Motorsports driver was stuck at the back of the field at Richmond, and a pit road penalty made the race even more difficult for him in his 100th NASCAR start. This will be his first time tackling New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the series, but he has been capable of scoring top-20 finishes at certain ovals this season. A top-25 should be within reach with no mistakes this week, and a top-20 would be a good day for him and the team.
Best Bets for the Team EJP 175
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of 5:30 PM ET Friday.
Race Winner - Layne Riggs +300
Top-Three Finish - Kaden Honeycutt +110
Top-Five Finish - Grant Enfinger +400
It has been a dominant season for Layne Riggs, and with The Chase next on the docket, the only thing left for him to do is close out the regular season with another victory. Riggs has won more races than any other driver this season and is also among the leaders in top-five and top-10 finishes. Last year at New Hampshire he battled in the top five throughout the race and finished third to Corey Heim and Ty Majeski. While this week will be no cakewalk, Riggs enters the weekend as a favorite to win with relatively attractive odds for doing it.
Riggs may face stiff competition from Kaden Honeycutt, though. Honeycutt is second in the standings and is coming off of his second win of the season a week ago at Richmond. Expecting him to win back-to-back races is a tall order, so choosing him for a top-three finish is the better route. Honeycutt came from the 15th starting position last year to finish this race seventh, and he is driving better this year than last. Honeycutt leads the series in top-five finishes this season with 10 and finished third or better in two of the last three races.
Veteran Grant Enfinger is one of the more attractive wagers for a top-five finish this week. He is in The Chase and has three top-five finishes this season, including a fifth-place result last week at Richmond. Enfinger also finished sixth in this race last season despite starting 16th. If he can replicate last week's strong qualifying effort at Richmond and secure good track position early, Enfinger could be poised to earn a second consecutive top-five finish this week at New Hampshire.
Mapping out your wagers for the Truck Series race? Check out the latest Sportsbook Promo Codes to get special offers and make the most of your bets.
