NASCAR Truck Series playoff picture after 2018 Texas Roadhouse 200

With three races remaining on the 2018 NASCAR Truck Series schedule and two races remaining in the round of 6, how does the playoff picture look?

GMS Racing’s Johnny Sauter became the first of four drivers to clinch his spot in the Championship 4 of the 2018 NASCAR Truck Series playoffs, and he did so by dominating the opening race of the the round of 6, which is the second round of the three-round, seven-race playoffs.

Sauter dominated the 200-lap Texas Roadhouse 200 around the four-turn, 0.526-mile (0.847-kilometer) Martinsville Speedway oval in Ridgeway, Virginia en route to earning his sixth victory of the season and his first victory of the playoffs.

Sauter worked his way up from his eighth place starting position to win both stages one and two and lead 148 of the race’s laps. The victory is the 23rd of his Truck Series career.

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All five of the other round of 6 drivers finished in the top 14, but only one of those other five drivers finished in the top five. That one driver, Hattori Racing Enterprises’ Brett Moffitt, finished in second place, but he actually dropped one place (from second to third) in the playoff picture since Kyle Busch Motorsports’ Noah Gragson, who finished in seventh, outscored him 18-2 as far as stage points are concerned and moved up from third to second in the playoff picture.

GMS Racing’s Justin Haley was the only other round of 6 driver who finished in the top 12. He finished in sixth place, but he is still one of the two drivers who are below the Championship 4 cut line. However, instead of being four points behind it, which is how far behind it he was to open up the round of 6, he is now just two points behind it.

The two other round of 6 drivers, ThorSport Racing teammates Matt Crafton and Grant Enfinger, finished in 13th and 14th place, respectively. Enfinger maintained his position as the fourth and final driver above the Championship 4 cut line, but he is now just two points ahead of it as opposed to four points ahead of it like he was to open up the round of 6.

Because Crafton finished one position ahead of Enfinger and he outscored Enfinger 14-10 as far as stage points are concerned, he moved from 15 points behind the Championship 4 cut line to just 10 points behind the Championship 4 cut line, making things even tighter heading into the second of three round of 6 races next Friday night with three Championship 4 berths still up for grabs among five drivers.

Here is how the NASCAR Truck Series playoff picture looks with the first of three races of the round of 6 in the books. The totals in the “behind” column show where each driver currently stands in relation to the Championship 4 cut line.

Rank – Driver, Car, Team, Manufacturer: Points (Behind), Playoff Points (Rank)
1st – Johnny Sauter, #21, GMS Racing, Chevrolet: 1 WIN (1 WIN), 49 (1st)
2nd – Noah Gragson, #18, Kyle Busch Motorsports, Toyota: 3073 (+24), 25 (3rd)
3rd – Brett Moffitt, #16, Hattori Racing Enterprises, Toyota: 3064 (+15), 27 (2nd)
4th – Grant Enfinger, #98, ThorSport Racing, Ford: 3051 (+2), 18 (4th)
5th – Justin Haley, #24, GMS Racing, Chevrolet: 3049 (-2), 14 (5th)
6th – Matt Crafton, #88, ThorSport Racing, Ford: 3041 (-10), 3 (6th)

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The JAG Metals 350 is the next race on the 2018 NASCAR Truck Series playoff schedule, and it is set to be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 from Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET on Friday, November 2.

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