NASCAR Truck Series: Evaluating the playoff picture at the halfway mark

Eight of the 16 races on the 2019 NASCAR Truck Series regular season schedule have been completed. Here is how the playoff picture looks.

Half of the races on the 2019 NASCAR Truck Series regular season schedule have been completed, as there are eight down and eight to go until the beginning of the playoffs. From that point forward, it’s a two-round, six-race contest to clinch a spot in the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Two drivers have dominated the Truck Series so far this season, but both drivers are ineligible to win the Truck Series championship. Kyle Busch became the all-time winningest driver in Truck Series history and won all five of his Truck Series starts this season. Fortunately, his Truck Series season is over because he is restricted to five starts each season in the series, per NASCAR regulations.

Additionally, Ross Chastain has made huge strides driving the #45 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet. He earned the first Truck Series victory of his career by winning the Digital Ally 250 at Kansas Speedway. Alas, he will not continue racing in every Truck Series race this season like he has been, beginning with the SpeedyCash.com 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday, June 7.

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There are currently 14 drivers who have competed in all eight Truck Series races so far this season. Tyler Ankrum missed the first three races of this season because he was underage. However, NASCAR will most likely grant him a playoff waiver if needed. Therefore, assuming he is playoff eligible, 15 drivers are still eligible to compete in the eight-driver playoffs.

Two of those eight playoff berths have likely been secured. Austin Hill won the season-opening NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway. He is set to compete in the playoffs for the first time in his Truck Series career. After Busch won four consecutive races, Johnny Sauter won the JEGS 200 at Dover International Speedway. Sauter is the 2016 Truck Series champion.

Therefore, there are still 13 drivers racing for six remaining playoff berths. It is almost certain that a win by one of these 13 drivers would clinch them a playoff berth.

Here is how the Truck Series playoff picture looks halfway through the regular season.

Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Manufacturer – Points (Difference)
1st – Johnny Sauter – #13, ThorSport Racing, Ford – 273 (1 WIN)
2nd – Austin Hill – #16, Hattori Racing Enterprises, Toyota – 264 (1 WIN)
3rd – Grant Enfinger – #98, ThorSport Racing, Ford – 331 (+79)
4th – Stewart Friesen – #52, Halmar Friesen Racing, Chevrolet – 316 (+64)
5th – Brett Moffitt – #24, GMS Racing, Chevrolet – 298 (+46)
6th – Ben Rhodes – #99, ThorSport Racing, Ford – 297 (+45)
7th – Matt Crafton – #88, ThorSport Racing, Ford – 294 (+42)
8th – Todd Gilliland – #4, Kyle Busch Motorsports, Toyota – 253 (+1)
9th – Harrison Burton – #18, Kyle Busch Motorsports, Toyota – 252 (-1)
10th – Sheldon Creed – #2, GMS Racing, Chevrolet – 219 (-34)
11th – Tyler Dippel – #02, Young’s Motorsports, Chevrolet – 165 (-88)
12th – Spencer Boyd – #20, Young’s Motorsports, Chevrolet – 145 (-108)
13th – Jordan Anderson – #3, Jordan Anderson Racing, Chevrolet – 136 (-117)
14th – Gus Dean – #12, Young’s Motorsports, Chevrolet – 129 (-124)
15th – Tyler Ankrum – #17, DGR-Crosley, Toyota – 124 (-129)

The most amount of points that any driver can gain in a single Truck Series race is 60 (55 without winning), and the difference between the maximum and the minimum amount is 55 points (50 without winning).

Grant Enfinger and Stewart Friesen are both one full race’s worth of points above the playoff cut line. While neither driver has clinched a playoff berth and neither one of them is even close to being a lock to qualify for the playoffs at this point, both drivers have some margin for error.

Brett Moffitt, Ben Rhodes, and Matt Crafton all have some cushion above the playoff cut line as well, but a win by a driver below them in the championship standings would move that cut line up by one position.

Rhodes has won a race in each of the last two seasons while Crafton and Moffitt have each won a Truck Series championship. All three drivers know how to earn points, gain positions on track and position themselves to clinch playoff berths.

Kyle Busch Motorsports teammates Todd Gilliland and Harrison Burton have found themselves on the hot seat this season, and to a certain extent, for good reason. Team owner Kyle Busch earned five victories in five races this season whereas these two drivers have earned three top five finishes in a combined 16 races.

In their defense, however, both drivers are still teenagers. However, Busch believes that they need to start improving.

Sheldon Creed is a rookie, but he has several advantages. First of all, he has reigning Truck Series champion Moffitt as his teammate. Next, he won championships in several Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series divisions, he won back-to-back Speed Energy Stadium Super Trucks championships and he won the 2018 ARCA Menards Series championship.

Regardless of the racing series, Creed is a winner. He still has a lot to learn in the Truck Series, but the 21-year-old is continuing to gain experience.

Every driver below Creed in the championship standings most likely needs to win to qualify for the playoffs.

I’m surprised that the Young’s Motorsports trio of Tyler Dippel, Spencer Boyd and Gus Dean have not shown a ton of speed this season. Dippel is only 19 years old, so he still has much to learn. In 14 career Truck Series starts, Boyd has recorded only one top 5 finish, but he has finished all but one race this Truck Series season.

Lastly, Dean has recorded an average starting position of 18.6 so far this season, so he’ll need to improve his qualifying performance to race further up front. His average finishing position so far this season is 20.9.

Needless to say, Young’s Motorsports have a lot of work to do if they want to nab their first ever Truck Series victory.

Next, Jordan Anderson strengthened his team’s relationship with GMS Racing for this season. While the owner/driver has only recorded two top 10 finishes in his Truck Series career, both in superspeedway races last season, he is hopeful that he is on the verge of competing for top 10 finishes.

Lastly, coming into the 2019 season, we knew that Ankrum needed to win to qualify for the playoffs. Earlier this season, I analyzed at which three tracks the 18-year-old rookie would likely be in the best position to contend for wins, and the Truck Series is still scheduled to visit these three tracks throughout the rest of the season.

With eight races to go until the Truck Series playoffs begin, the playoff picture still isn’t overly clear. Yes, Hill and Sauter are in, but beyond them, nothing is certain at this point, which only adds to the excitement in the Truck Series.

Which driver will be next to secure a playoff berth? Will anyone surprise us with a victory or with a late charge up the championship standings? All of these questions and more will begin to be answered at the NASCAR Truck Series next race. On Friday, June 7, the Truck Series field is scheduled to compete at Texas Motor Speedway in the SpeedyCash.com 400. Fox Sports 1 is set to provide live TV coverage of the race beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET.