Trucks at Atlanta Preview: March 18th, 2023

After a week off the Craftsman Truck Series returns to the track this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The last time the series was on track, Kyle Busch went to victory lane. He will not be racing tomorrow with the truck series so we could see a first-time winner at Atlanta. Zane Smith put his name on the 2023 winners list with the Daytona 500 win. Who's next?

Truck Series Predictions at Atlanta

Last year, Corey Heim took home the trophy for his first of two wins in the 2022 season. Tomorrow he starts 6th so he could easily do it again. Zane Smith starts on the pole after qualifying was cancelled due to rain today. He does not have a win at Atlanta, but after capturing the championship last year and already having a big win under his belt this season, it might help push him to victory lane.

Let's not forget about John Hunter Nemechek and Christian Eckes. Both drivers have led laps at this track and have a top five finish, but have not been able to close out a win yet. Christian Eckes starts 20 spots ahead of Nemechek so if he can stay out of trouble it could help give him a small advantage.

The driver I'm picking this week to win is Ben Rhodes. He has four top 5's at Atlanta Motor Speedway and last year he came up short with a 2nd place finish. Heim was only 0.173 seconds ahead of Rhodes. Tomorrow he will start 3rd when the green flag waves.

Ahead of the Green Flag

The Craftsman Truck Series Fr8 208 coverage begins at 2PM EST on FS1 tomorrow. The race is scheduled for 135 laps and 208 miles. Below is the starting lineup;

1. Zane Smith - #38

2. Ty Majeski - #98

3. Ben Rhodes - #99

4. Christian Eckes - #19

5. Carson Hocevar - #42

6. Corey Heim - #11

7. Grant Enfinger - #23

8. Matt Crafton - #88

9. Chase Purdy - #4

10. Matt DiBenedetto - #25

11. Tanner Gray - #15

12. Jake Garcia - #35

13. Tyler Ankrum - #16

14. Stewart Friesen - #52

15. Colby Howard - #9

16. Dean Thompson - #5

17. Jack Wood - #51

18. Timmy Hill - #56

19. Daniel Dye - #43

20. Nicholas Sanchez - #2

21. Lawless Alan - #45

22. Rajah Caruth - #24

23. Layne Riggs - #1

24. John H. Nemechek - #17

25. Kris Wright - #02

26. Mason Massey - #33

27. Spencer Boyd - #12

28. Josh Reaume - #22

29. Kaden Honeycutt - #04

30. Bayley Currey - #41

31. Mason Maggio - #20

32. Hailie Deegan - #13

33. Brett Holmes - #32

34. Akinori Ogata - #46

35. Ryan Vargas - #30

36. Keith McGee - #34