NASCAR Truck Series playoff picture after 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 250
By Asher Fair
With one of the seven 2018 NASCAR Truck Series playoff races in the books, how does the playoff picture look? Where are each of the eight playoff drivers in relation to the round of 6 cut line?
GMS Racing’s Justin Haley kicked off the seven-race 2018 NASCAR Truck Series playoffs with an exciting victory in the opening race of the first of three rounds of the playoffs, the round of 8.
Haley won the 65-lap Chevrolet Silverado 250 around the 10-turn, 2.459-mile (3.957-kilometer) Canadian Tire Motorsport Park road course in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada in his #24 Chevrolet despite the fact that he was running in third place heading into the 10th and final turn of the track on the race’s final lap.
Contact between Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate Todd Gilliland and Noah Gragson, who were running in first and second place, respectively, with just one turn to go in the race, sent both the #4 Toyota and #18 Toyota off the track spinning, allowing Haley to capitalize. He took the lead and went on to win the race.
More from Camping World Truck Series
- NASCAR: New team confirmed for Kyle Busch for 2024
- NASCAR: Replacement confirmed for driver released before Talladega
- NASCAR team releases driver with three races left
- NASCAR Truck Series: Spencer Boyd speaks on Montucky, Bristol tradition
- NASCAR title-winning team shutting down after 2023
By doing so, Haley became the first driver to secure a spot in the round of 6 of this season’s playoffs. Meanwhile, three of the other seven playoff drivers are in relatively good positions to advance to the round of 6 based on their point totals, but they will have to compete with the other four to try to lock up berths in the next round by winning one of the final two races in the round of 8.
In the Chevrolet Silverado 250, all eight playoff drivers finished in the top 17, with six of the eight finishing in the top nine.
Hattori Racing Enterprises’ Brett Moffitt finished in third place in his #16 Toyota as the top finisher among the playoff drivers aside of Haley. ThorSport Racing’s Matt Crafton was the third and final playoff driver who finished inside the top five. He finished in fifth in his #88 Ford.
GMS Racing’s Johnny Sauter and Halmar Friesen Racing’s Stewart Friesen finished in sixth and seventh place in their #21 Chevrolet and #52 Chevrolet, respectively. Gragson somewhat recovered from his last-turn, last-lap spin to finish in ninth after winning both of the race’s first two stages.
ThorSport Racing teammates Ben Rhodes and Grant Enfinger rounded out the finishing order among the playoff drivers. They finished in 14th and 17th place in their #41 Ford and #98 Ford, respectively.
Here is how the NASCAR Truck Series playoff picture looks with two races remaining in the round of 8. The totals in the “behind” column show where each driver currently stands in relation the round of 6 cut line.
| Rank | Driver | Car, Team, Manufacturer | Points | Behind | Playoff Points (Rank) |
| 1 | Justin Haley | #24, GMS Racing, Chevrolet | 1 WIN | 1 WIN | 14 (T-4th) |
| 2 | Johnny Sauter | #21, GMS Racing, Chevrolet | 2081 | +35 | 42 (1st) |
| 3 | Brett Moffitt | #16, Hattori Racing Enterprises, Toyota | 2075 | +29 | 27 (2nd) |
| 4 | Noah Gragson | #18, Kyle Busch Motorsports, Toyota | 2070 | +24 | 24 (3rd) |
| 5 | Stewart Friesen | #52, Halmar Friesen Racing, Chevrolet | 2047 | +1 | 12 (6th) |
| 5 | Matt Crafton | #88, ThorSport Racing, Ford | 2047 | +1 | 3 (8th) |
| 7 | Ben Rhodes | #41, ThorSport Racing, Ford | 2046 | -1 | 14 (T-4th) |
| 8 | Grant Enfinger | #98, ThorSport Racing, Ford | 2035 | -12 | 11 (7th) |
dark. Next. Top 10 NASCAR drivers of all-time
The second race of the three-race round of 8 of the 2018 NASCAR Truck Series playoffs is the World of Westgate 200. That race is scheduled to take place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada on Friday, September 14, and it is set to be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET.