NASCAR Truck Series Power Rankings after 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 250
By Mark Kristl
Conclusion
NASCAR prioritized winning with this new playoff format, and the results from the Chevrolet Silverado 250 reflected that. If Noah Gragson won, he would have advanced to the round of 6, so he drove as hard as he could to win the race. However, his teammate Todd Gilliland wanted to win his first carer Truck Series race. Contact between the two drivers in the final turn on the race’s final lap resulted in neither one of them winning.
With his victory in the race, Justin Haley is set to advance to the round of 6. Winning either one or both of the remaining two round of 8 races would bolster his chances of advancing to the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway since he would gain additional playoff points by doing so.
Here is a link to the current Truck Series playoff picture.
While there are only eight playoff drivers, 32 drivers compete in each Truck Series race. Each driver races with his or her own agenda. The playoff drivers are racing for round of 6 berths.
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Drivers for contending teams, such as Todd Gilliland for Kyle Busch Motorsports, are chasing good finishes. Rookies such as Myatt Snider and Justin Fontaine are learning the race tracks. Other youngsters such as Austin Hill and Austin Wayne Self are trying to steadily improve in each race.
There are some driver/owners in the Truck Series who are working to improve their race teams. Jordan Anderson drives his own #3 Jordan Anderson Racing entry, while Josh Reaume owns and has driven the majority of the races for his #33 Reaume Brothers Racing team.
Some drivers are racing trying to build their NASCAR careers. Harrison Burton and Spencer Davis have driven in several races for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Good finishes for them could lead to further opportunities, either with a ride offer or with more sponsorship. Add in hard-working, underfunded teams such Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing and Norm Benning Racing and that makes for a variety of differing agendas in each Truck Series race.
As the owner of Kyle Busch Motorsports, Kyle Busch had a tough task upon his entrance to team headquarters following the team’s return from Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. I hope that Gragson and Gilliland had a conversation about that final lap of the Chevrolet Silverado 250.
In his post-race interview, Gilliland stated that he wanted to fight Gragson. To Gragson’s credit, he admitted that he was to blame for the incident. In order to improve, both as drivers and as a team, the two drivers need to discuss what happened.
Next. 5 reasons to move Cup Series races to Saturday. dark
Friday, September 14 is when the NASCAR Truck Series is set to get back on track with the World of Westgate 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Will another playoff driver win his way into the round of 6? Tune in to the live broadcast of that race on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET.