NASCAR Truck Series: Tyler Ankrum's Kentucky victory shakes up playoff picture

Tyler Ankrum’s maiden NASCAR Truck Series victory at Kentucky Speedway shook up the playoff picture with just three races remaining in the 2019 regular season.

Heading into Thursday night’s NASCAR Truck Series race at Kentucky Speedway, the Buckle Up In Your Truck 225, Kyle Busch Motorsports’ Harrison Burton was the first driver below the playoff cut line in ninth place in the playoff picture. He sat 13 points behind ThorSport Racing’s Ben Rhodes for the eighth and final playoff spot.

Burton’s goal for this 150-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Kentucky Speedway oval in Sparta, Kentucky, the 13th race of the 16-race 2019 regular season, was to get ahead of Rhodes in points.

He accomplished that goal by finishing in third place while Rhodes ended up finishing in 19th after a late issue hindered his chances of recording a top three finish.

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In total, Burton gained 17 points over Rhodes in this race to shoot to four points ahead of him.

But he is still in ninth place in the playoff cut line, and he is now 44 points below it as opposed to only 13.

Why?

DGR-Crosley’s Tyler Ankrum, the 18-year-old rookie who entered this race 217 points below the playoff cut line in 15th place in the playoff picture with just 205 points after missing the season’s first three races because he had not yet turned 18, ended up winning this race.

Because he is in the top 20 in the championship standings, his victory locked him into the playoffs, and it shook up the playoff picture in the process.

As a result, the playoff cut line moved up by one position. Rhodes entered this race in fifth place in the championship standings with the playoff cut line between fifth in sixth since Hattori Racing Enterprises’ Austin Hill, ThorSport Racing’s Johnny Sauter and Niece Motorsports’ Ross Chastain all entered the race outside of the top six but having won at least one race this season.

Now Burton is in fifth place in the championship standings, but due to Ankrum’s victory, the playoff cut line is now between fourth and fifth. ThorSport Racing’s Matt Crafton sits in fourth in the standings and thus eighth in the playoff picture, 44 points ahead of Burton.

Here is how the playoff picture currently looks. Only drivers who are currently above the playoff cut line or within two races’ worth of points below the cut line have been included in this chart.

NOTE: PP = playoff points

Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Manufacturer – Points (Difference)
1st – Brett Moffitt – #24, GMS Racing, Chevrolet – 501 (2 wins, 11 PP (-))
2nd – Johnny Sauter – #13, ThorSport Racing, Ford – 373 (1 win, 8 PP (-3))
3rd – Austin Hill – #16, Hattori Racing Enterprises, Toyota – 412 (1 win, 5 PP (-6))
4th – Tyler Ankrum – #17, DGR-Crosley, Toyota – 259 (1 win, 5 PP (-6))
5th – Ross Chastain – #45, Niece Motorsports, Chevrolet – 168 (2 win, 5 PP (-6))
6th – Grant Enfinger – #98, ThorSport Racing, Ford – 542 (+94)
7th – Stewart Friesen – #52, Halmar Friesen Racing, Chevrolet – 508 (+60)
8th – Matt Crafton – #88, ThorSport Racing, Ford – 492 (+44)
————————— PLAYOFF CUT LINE —————————
9th – Harrison Burton – #18, Kyle Busch Motorsports, Toyota – 448 (-44)
10th – Ben Rhodes – #99, ThorSport Racing, Ford – 444 (-48)
11th – Todd Gilliland – #4, Kyle Busch Motorsports, Toyota – 392 (-100)
12th – Sheldon Creed – #2, GMS Racing, Chevrolet – 387 (-105)

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How will this playoff picture change throughout the final three races of the 2019 NASCAR Truck Series regular season prior? Which three drivers will end up qualifying for the seven-race playoffs along with the five drivers who have already done so?

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NASCAR Truck Series: Tyler Ankrum’s Kentucky victory shakes up playoff picture

By Asher Fair | Jul 11, 2019

Tyler Ankrum’s maiden NASCAR Truck Series victory at Kentucky Speedway shook up the playoff picture with just three races remaining in the 2019 regular season.