NASCAR Truck Series: Who will advance to the round of 6?

The NASCAR Truck Series round of 8 features eight drivers battling over the course of three races. Which six of those eight drivers will advance to the round of 6?

The NASCAR Truck Series playoffs are set to get underway this evening. The eight drivers who qualified for the playoffs are Tyler Ankrum, Ross Chastain, Matt Crafton, Grant Enfinger, Stewart Friesen, Austin Hill, Brett Moffitt and Johnny Sauter.

Those eight drivers will compete over the next three races in attempt to advance to the round of 6. The three round of 8 races will take place at Bristol Motor Speedway, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

For more information regarding the playoff picture at the beginning of the round of 8, click here. But which six playoff drivers will advance to the round of 6?

More from Camping World Truck Series

The UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway will consist of 200 laps around the four-turn, 0.533-mile (0.858-kilometer) oval in Bristol, Tennessee. It will feature hard racing throughout the field, and the playoff drivers will need to ensure that they finish the race and don’t wreck out prematurely.

Of the playoff drivers, the ThorSport Racing trio have run very well at Bristol Motor Speedway. Sauter won the Truck Series race there last season. In 16 career starts there, Crafton has recorded 10 top 10 finishes. Enfinger has recorded an average finish of 7.00 in two starts there. Those three drivers will be aggressive as they chase the victory.

While Chastain only has an average finish of 11.33 in three career starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, this has been his career-best season, so don’t count him out, either. Finally, while Ankrum has never competed at Bristol Motor Speedway in the Truck Series before, he has raced there in late models and in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.

The only time the Truck Series drivers make left and right turns is in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada. None of the eight playoff drivers are former winners at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, so the Chevrolet Silverado 250 could be described as the wild card race of the round of 8.

Both Sauter and Crafton recorded five top 10 finishes at the track in six career starts. Two other drivers who have run well on the 10-turn, 2.459-mile (3.957-kilometer) road course are Chastain and Friesen. Chastain gained 11 positions in his lone Truck Series start there to finish in seventh place, and if he qualifies well, he could be in contention for the win.

Despite qualifying in 16th place, Friesen finished in seventh in his lone start there. The Chevrolet Silverado 250 could be a chance for both drivers to gain valuable stage points and set themselves up well to advance to the round of 6.

The round of 8 will end at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with the World of Westgate 200. Because it is the last race of the round of 8, the playoff drivers who aren’t already locked into the round of 6 will be willing to gamble to advance.

Both Enfinger and Sauter have won there before. Enfinger won there last year while Sauter won there in 2009. The four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) oval in Las Vegas, Nevada has suited Chastain well as well. In four career Truck Series starts at the track, he has recorded two top 10 finishes. More noteworthy is the fact that he earned his first career Xfinity Series victory there last season.

So after all three round of 8 races, who will advance to the round of 6 and whose championship hopes will end?

Chastain and Moffitt have won the most races of the Truck Series regulars this season. They’ll continue to earn stage points and race up front. They will both qualify for the round of 6. Enfinger led the Truck Series point standings for a large portion of this season and finished as the regular season champion even without a victory..His consistency will help him advance to the round of 6.

Friesen very well may win one of the round of 8 races. He, too, has run up front for much of this season, and his Eldora Dirt Derby victory may have eased some of the pressure that had been on him in late-race situations. He will have to battle for it, but he will also qualify for the round of 6.

The race tracks in the round of 8 suit Sauter. Although he has not dominated this season, he is a seasoned veteran. When the stakes get higher, he will rise to the occasion, and he will find a way to narrowly advance to the round of 6.

Ankrum has run with a lot of confidence lately. He may be young, but his inexperience may benefit him. After all, he may be willing to take risks whereas other drivers will balk in key moments.

So who will be eliminated after the round of 8? Crafton and Hill. In his bullpen session after the Corrigan Oil 200 at Michigan International Speedway, Crafton said that he wanted to push Ankrum to the lead and he would settle for second place to qualify for the playoffs.

While this was only one race, that mindset may hurt Crafton in the long run. If he needs to win to make the round of 6, will he be willing to race harder than usual to advance? This season, he hasn’t shown that level of aggression. He will go home.

Hill bookended the regular season with victories, but he also struggled a lot of the time. Entering the regular season finale, he had recorded four consecutive finishes of 30th place or lower. He cannot afford those types of finishes in the playoffs. Because of that, he will not advance to the round of 6.

Who is the greatest NASCAR driver of all-time?. dark. Next

Who will qualify for the round of 6, and whose championship hopes will end? We’ll find out beginning Thursday, August 15 at Bristol Motor Speedway. There, the NASCAR Truck Series drivers will compete in the UNOH 200. The race is schedule to begin at 8:30 p.m. ET with TV coverage provided by Fox Sports 1.

Home/Camping World Truck Series