NASCAR Truck Series: Ross Chastain’s Iowa victory shakes up playoff picture

Just over a week and a half ago, Ross Chastain was not eligible for the NASCAR Truck Series playoffs. Now he’s basically half way to the Championship 4.

When Niece Motorsports’ Ross Chastain earned his first victory of the 2019 NASCAR Truck Series season and the first victory of his Truck Series career by winning the Digital Ally 250 at Kansas Speedway last month, his victory had no championship implications aside of the fact that it prevented a full-time Truck Series driver from locking himself into the playoffs.

Chastain, who began the 2019 season declared for Xfinity Series points, had launched the #45 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet into third place in the owner championship standings by the 16-race Truck Series regular season’s halfway point, which was after the season’s eighth race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Among trucks that were driven by only one driver in the first eight races of the 2019 season, the #45 Chevrolet sat in second place in the owner championship standings. It was at this point when the 26-year-old Alva, Florida native made the decision to declare for Truck Series points.

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While his Digital Ally 250 victory would not count toward locking him into the playoffs, all he needed to do to secure a playoff berth was work his way into the top 20 in the championship standings, which seemed more than manageable given how many points he had racked up for the #45 Chevrolet in the owner standings at that point, and win another race.

It took Chastain all of two races to get to victory lane as an officially declared Truck Series championship-eligible driver, as he dominated this afternoon’s M&M’s 200 at Iowa Speedway, the season’s 10th race. Additionally, the 60 points he earned by winning this race and the first two stages of it brought him to 98 points in his two races as a championship-eligible driver, moving him into 25th place in the championship standings. He is just 14 points shy of Reaume Brothers Racing’s Josh Reaume, who currently sits in 20th in the standings with 112 points.

Chastain should be in the top 20 in the championship standing sin no time at all after averaging 49 points per race in his first two races as a championship-eligible driver. As a result, his victory, while it is not officially reflected in the playoff picture yet since he is still outside of the top 20 in the standings, shook up the playoff picture.

Three drivers have now effectively locked themselves into the playoffs, as Hattori Racing Enterprises’ Austin Hill and ThorSport Racing’s Johnny Sauter are the only two full-time Truck Series drivers aside of Chastain who have been victorious at any point this season. They have both won one race.

This leaves just five playoff spots available, and Chastain’s victory moved the playoff cut line up to below fifth place in the championship standings (Hill and Sauter currently sit in seventh and eighth in the standings, so the driver who sits in sixth, Kyle Busch Motorsports’ Harrison Burton, is currently the highest driver not above the cut line).

Here is how the playoff picture currently looks assuming Chastain is able to work his way into the top 20 in the championship standings. All drivers who are not currently above the playoff cut line or within two races’ worth of points of it have been omitted.

NOTE: PP = playoff points

Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Manufacturer – Points (Difference)
1st – Johnny Sauter – #13, ThorSport Racing, Ford – 323 (1 win, 8 PP (-))
2nd – Ross Chastain – #45, Niece Motorsports, Chevrolet – 98 (1 win, 7 PP (-1))
3rd – Austin Hill – #16, Hattori Racing Enterprises, Toyota – 331 (1 win, 5 PP (-3))
4th – Grant Enfinger – #98, ThorSport Racing, Ford – 426 (+93)
5th – Matt Crafton – #88, ThorSport Racing, Ford – 379 (+46)
6th – Stewart Friesen – #52, Halmar Friesen Racing, Chevrolet – 377 (+44)
7th – Ben Rhodes – #99, ThorSport Racing, Ford – 372 (+39)
8th – Brett Moffitt – #24, GMS Racing, Chevrolet – 371 (+38)
————————- PLAYOFF CUT LINE ————————-
9th – Harrison Burton – #18, Kyle Busch Motorsports, Toyota – 333 (-39)
10th – Todd Gilliland – #4, Kyle Busch Motorsports, Toyota – 293 (-79)
11th – Sheldon Creed – #2, GMS Racing, Chevrolet – 290 (-82)

Perhaps most notable about this playoff picture is the fact that Chastain’s victory has now put both Kyle Busch Motorsports teammates in a position where they may very well have to win in order to advance to the playoffs. Previously, one of these two drivers was above the playoff cut line while one was below it, and this had been the case for much of the season.

That may not go well over too well with Kyle Busch, who has publicly criticized both Harrison Burton and Todd Gilliland on multiple occasions through the season’s first 10 races.

Additionally, defending Truck Series champion Brett Moffitt is now the driver who is on the bubble, and he is in a tight battle with three other drivers, Matt Crafton, Stewart Friesen and Ben Rhodes, to stay off of the bubble. These four drivers are separated by a mere eight points.

Will Ross Chastain capitalize on what is effectively a secured playoff berth and not only advance to the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway but win the 2019 NASCAR Truck Series championship in a year during which he was not even championship eligible through the first half of the regular season?