NASCAR Truck Series Power Rankings after 2019 Digital Ally 250

After Stewart Friesen ran out of fuel, Ross Chastain won his first career NASCAR Truck Series race. How did the Digital Ally 250 affect the power rankings?

Congratulations, Ross Chastain and Niece Motorsports! Chastain won the Digital Ally 250 at Kansas Speedway to earn the first NASCAR Truck Series victory of his career. Although he only led five laps in the race, he led the most important one: the last one. This victory was also Niece Motorsports’ first ever Truck Series victory.

Stewart Friesen definitely had the fastest truck at Kansas Speedway. However, on his final pit stop, there was miscommunication between him and his Halmar Friesen Racing team. After putting on right side tires, the pit crew attempted to put on left side tires as well. Friesen thought he was good to pull out of his pit stall. The misfortune came by way of the fact that his pit crew did not fill up his #52 Chevrolet with enough fuel.

Friesen didn’t suffer from only taking two tires. But after crossing the line to start lap 165 of 167, shook his #52 Chevrolet as it ran out of gas. Chastain took advantage, passing Friesen and winning the race by 0.483 seconds over Ben Rhodes. Once he won the Digital Ally 250, he was overcome with emotion.

In less than a year, Chastain won his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race and he subsequently earned a full-time Xfinity Series ride with Chip Ganassi Racing. During the offseason, the team endured sponsorship troubles, and Chastain lost that ride by way of the team shutting down operations. He rebounded by returning to primarily drive for JD Motorsports in the Xfinity Series, and he also signed with Niece Motorsports to compete part-time in the Truck Series.

Chastain has competed in every NASCAR race so far in 2019, and he has certainly propelled Niece Motorsports to a higher level of competition.

Chastain has finished inside the top 10 in every one of his seven Truck Series starts so far this season. Based on the owner point standings, he would be second in the driver point standings, and he would have likely clinched a playoff berth. Why do I keep mentioning the word “would”? Chastain declared for Xfinity Series points, not Truck Series points, so the joke’s on him now.

As for the drivers who are declared for Truck Series points, where do they stand after the Digital Ally 250? How did the seventh race of the 2019 season affect the power rankings? Before you read about the top 10, here are the 20 drivers who are in the Top 30 in the championship standings but are not in this week’s top 10.

NOTE: “LW” means last week and “NR” means not ranked.

• Tyler Dippel, #02, Young’s Motorsports, Chevrolet
• Spencer Boyd, #20, Young’s Motorsports, Chevrolet
• Gus Dean, #12, Young’s Motorsports, Chevrolet
• Tyler Ankrum, #17, DGR-Crosley, Toyota
• Jordan Anderson, #3, Jordan Anderson Racing, Chevrolet
• Brennan Poole, #30, On Point Motorsports, Toyota
• Austin Wayne Self, #22, AM Racing, Chevrolet
• Timothy Peters, #44, Niece Motorsports, Chevrolet
• Cory Roper, #04, Roper Racing, Ford
• Josh Reaume, #33, Reaume Brothers Racing, Chevrolet
• Angela Ruch, #44, Niece Motorsports, Chevrolet
• Natalie Decker, #54, DGR-Crosley, Toyota
• Korbin Forrister, #7, All Out Motorsports, Toyota
• Jennifer Jo Cobb, #10, Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing, Chevrolet
• Jesse Little, #97, JJL Motorsports, Ford
• Joe Nemechek, #8, NEMCO Motorsports, Chevrolet
• Myatt Snider, #27, ThorSport Racing, Ford
• David Gilliland, #54, DGR-Crosley, Toyota
• Ray Ciccarelli, #49, CMI Motorsports, Chevrolet
• Raphael Lessard, #46, Kyle Busch Motorsports, Toyota