NASCAR Truck Series: 2018 playoff format

The 2018 NASCAR Truck Series playoffs are right around the corner. What do the eight drivers in the playoff field need to do to advance deeper into the playoffs?

GMS Racing’s Johnny Sauter wrapped up the 2018 NASCAR Truck Series regular season with his fifth victory of the season in the season’s 16th race, the UNOH 200, at Bristol Motor Speedway. In doing so, he secured the regular season championship.

Sauter and seven other drivers are set to compete in this season’s Truck Series playoffs. Five of these drivers, including Sauter, qualified for the playoffs by winning at least one race throughout the regular season.

The other three drivers who are in this season’s playoff field qualified for the playoffs as a result of their regular season point totals.

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But getting into the playoffs is only the first battle. There are still three rounds of playoffs, which include a total of seven races, before the 2018 Truck Series champion will be crowned. Those seven races are spread out over the course of nearly three months.

What do the eight playoff drivers need to do to position themselves to advance from the first round of the playoffs, the round of 8, to the second round, the round of 6, and then from the round of 6 to the third and final round, the Championship 4, in this season’s playoffs?

Here are the three rounds of the playoffs, the races in each round of the playoffs and what drivers need to do in order to advance from one round to the next throughout the playoffs.

Round of 8

After these three races in the round of 8 are contested, two of the eight drivers in the playoff field will be eliminated and the remaining six drivers will advance to the round of 6.

The six drivers who advance to the round of 6 will have their point totals reset to 3,000 before the playoff point totals that they will have earned throughout the course of the season and throughout the round of 8 get added to their respective point totals.

A win in the round of 8 automatically qualifies a driver for the round of 6.

Round of 6

After these three races in the round of 6 are contested, two of the remaining six drivers in the playoff field will be eliminated and the remaining four drivers will advance to the Championship 4.

The four drivers who advance to the Championship 4 will have their point totals reset to 4,000, but the playoff point totals that they will have earned throughout the course of the season and throughout the round of 8 and the round of 6 will NOT be added to their respective point totals.

A win in the round of 6 automatically qualifies a driver for the Championship 4.

Championship 4

The highest finishing driver of the four drivers who compete in the Championship 4 will be crowned the 2018 NASCAR Truck Series champion. The four drivers who compete in the Championship 4 will not be eligible to collect stage points in it.

Be sure not to tune in to each and every one of the seven races in the 2018 NASCAR Truck Series playoffs, beginning with the Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Fox Sports 1 next Sunday, August 26 at 2:30 p.m. ET.