RICHMOND, Va. — Three spots in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series playoffs are on the line in Saturday’s regular-season finale at Richmond Raceway.
As it stands, five drivers are locked into the playoffs on wins: Corey Heim (5), Christian Eckes (3), Nick Sanchez (2), Ty Majeski and Rajah Caruth. Meanwhile, Tyler Ankrum and Grant Enfinger each scored top fives at Lucas Oil Indianapolis (Ind.) Raceway Park to secure spots on points before the two-week Olympic break.
That leaves the remaining 13 full-time drivers to battle it out for the final three playoff positions.
Taylor Gray sits eighth in points, 48 markers above the cutline. It would take extreme misfortune to knock out the No. 17 machine – but he isn’t guaranteed a spot in the playoffs unless he scores 12 points on Saturday. Eight points along with a repeat or non-points-earning winner would also guarantee him a spot.
The younger Gray brother has eight top 10s in his second full-time season.
Ben Rhodes, the defending series champion, is ninth in points at 22 markers above the cutline. He can automatically clinch with 39 points or 34 with a repeat winner – otherwise, he’ll need help similar to Gray.
Tanner Gray, the elder Gray brother, has just a five-point cushion over Daniel Dye. It’s been six races since Tanner Gray’s last top 10, which came at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, while Dye has surged – finishing runner-up at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway and showing increased speed in recent events.
Outside of Dye, the only driver within reasonable striking distance is Stewart Friesen. At 16 points below the cutline, the Big Block Modified legend has also performed better as of late – finishing 11th or higher in five of the last six events. The only exception was the last race at IRP, where he finished 33rd and six laps off the pace.
Matt Crafton and Chase Purdy are still mathematically eligible to make the playoffs on points at -43 and -44 respectively, but that would require a near-miracle for either driver. Their most likely paths to the postseason are via victory. Dean Thompson, Layne Riggs, Jake Garcia, Bayley Currey, Ty Dillon and Bret Holmes are in mathematical must-win scenarios.
It’ll take 250 laps around the 0.75-mile oval to decide the official Truck Series playoff field Saturday evening. The race is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 with practice and qualifying scheduled for earlier in the afternoon.