NASCAR Truck Series Power Rankings after 2018 Fr8Auctions 250
By Mark Kristl
After the 2018 Fr8 Auctions 250 at Talladega Superspeedway, the NASCAR Truck Series round of 8 ended with Ben Rhodes and Stewart Friesen eliminated.
Remember all those storylines I mentioned in my NASCAR Truck Series update leading up to the 2018 Fr8Auctions 250 at Talladega Superspeedway? The first two caution flag periods were for the end of the first two stages. Then, the dash to the finish turned into everything that can be expected in a NASCAR race at Talladega, which hosted the Truck Series elimination race of the round of 8.
The “Big One” involved some contenders and playoff drivers. A few underdogs earned good finishes. On the last lap, there was a wreck, which ended the race under caution.
Timothy Peters won the Fr8Auctions 250 despite the fact that he only led the 94th and final lap of it. Congratulations to him on winning his last scheduled race driving the #25 GMS Racing Chevrolet. He is not in the playoffs, so his victory did not advance him to the round of 6.
The checkered flag ended the championship hopes of Ben Rhodes and Stewart Friesen. I correctly predicted that Friesen would not advance to the round of 6, but I whiffed on Rhodes. Rhodes’s teammate Matt Crafton watched the end of the race from his hauler because he was caught up in the “Big One.” Fortunately, he earned enough stage points to advance to the round of 6. For more information regarding who is set to advance to the round of 6, read this Beyond the Flag article.
Now with the round of 8 over, what do this week’s driver power rankings look like? Before you read them, here are the 20 drivers who are in the top 30 in the point standings but are not in the top 10 in the rankings.
NOTE: “LW” means each driver’s rank in the most recent edition of Truck Series power rankings and “NR” means not ranked in the most recent edition of Truck Series power rankings.
- Austin Hill, #02, Young’s Motorsports, Chevrolet
- Cody Coughlin, #2, GMS Racing, Chevrolet
- Austin Wayne Self, #22, Niece Motorsports, Chevrolet
- Dalton Sargeant, #25, GMS Racing, Chevrolet
- Jordan Anderson, #3, Jordan Anderson Racing, Chevrolet
- Wendell Chavous, #49, Premium Motorsports, Chevrolet
- Justin Fontaine, #45, Niece Motorsports, Chevrolet
- Jennifer Jo Cobb, #10, Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing, Chevrolet
- Jesse Little, #97, JJL Motorsports, Ford
- Joe Nemechek, #87, NEMCO Motorsports, Chevrolet
- Norm Benning, #6, Norm Benning Racing, Chevrolet
- Korbin Forrister, #7, All Out Motorsports, Toyota
- Josh Reaume, #33, Reaume Brothers Racing, Chevrolet
- Bo LeMastus, #54, DGR-Crosley, Toyota
- Parker Kligerman, #75, Henderson Motorsports, Chevrolet
- David Gilliland, #51, Kyle Busch Motorsports, Toyota
- Spencer Davis, #51, Kyle Busch Motorsports, Toyota
- Harrison Burton, #51, Kyle Busch Motorsports, Chevrolet
- Robby Lyons, #33, Reaume Brothers Racing, Chevrolet
- Timothy Peters, #25, GMS Racing, Chevrolet