NASCAR Truck Series: Final 2019 playoff picture
By Asher Fair
The round of 6 of the 2019 NASCAR Truck Series playoffs is in the books, setting the stage for the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The second of three rounds in the seven-race 2019 NASCAR Truck Series playoffs is in the books, and the Championship 4 field is set.
Halmar Friesen Racing’s Stewart Friesen closed out the round of 6 with a victory at ISM Raceway in the Lucas Oil 150 to secure his spot in the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the first time in his career. After failing to win any of his first 62 races, he has now won two of the last eight, as he also won at Eldora Speedway back in August.
Friesen’s victory in this 150-lap race around the four-turn, 1.022-mile (1.645-kilometer) ISM Raceway oval in Avondale, Arizona was the only victory by a round of 6 driver in the round of six.
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Young’s Motorsports’ Spencer Boyd and Kyle Busch Motorsports’ Todd Gilliland secured the first victories of their respective careers in the round of 6 races at Talladega Superspeedway and Martinsville Speedway.
Set to join Friesen in the Championship 4 are the two drivers who have been considered the championship favorites throughout the entire second half of the season, GMS Racing’s Brett Moffitt and Niece Motorsports’ Ross Chastain, as well as ThorSport Racing’s Matt Crafton, who is still searching for his first victory since the Eldora Dirt Derby at Eldora Speedway in July of 2017.
Crafton is on a 57-race win drought with just one win in the last 85 races. Meanwhile, Friesen is the most recent race winner, Moffitt is on a four-race win drought and Chastain is on an eight-race win drought.
Crafton, Chastain and Moffitt all locked up their Championship 4 berths with top 10 finishes in the Lucas Oil 150, with Crafton finishing in sixth place ahead of Chastain in ninth and Moffitt in 10th.
The two round of 6 drivers who failed to advance to the Championship 4 were Hattori Racing Enterprises’ Austin Hill and DGR-Crosley’s Tyler Ankrum, the two remaining Toyota drivers in the championship hunt. They finished the round of 6 finale in 13th and 26th place, respectively.
Here is the full NASCAR Truck Series playoff picture that set the stage heading into the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Manufacturer: Points (Behind), Playoff Points (Rank)
1st – Stewart Friesen – #52, Halmar Friesen Racing, Chevrolet: 1 WIN (IN), 20 (2nd)
2nd – Brett Moffitt – #24, GMS Racing, Chevrolet: 3142 (+38), 35 (1st)
3rd – Ross Chastain – #45, Niece Motorsports, Chevrolet: 3117 (+13), 16 (4th)
4th – Matt Crafton – #88, ThorSport Racing, Ford: 3110 (+6), 11 (5th)
————————————— OUT —————————————
5th – Austin Hill – #16, Hattori Racing Enterprises, Toyota: 3104 (-6), 17 (3rd)
6th – Tyler Ankrum – #17, DGR-Crosley, Toyota: 3067 (-43), 5 (6th)
Friesen, Moffitt, Chastain and Crafton will have their point totals reset to 4,000 ahead of the Championship 4, and the highest finishing driver in the Championship 4 race will be crowned 2019 Truck Series champion. Moffitt is the reigning champion while Crafton is a two-time champion. Friesen and Chastain have never won a Truck Series championship.
The 2019 NASCAR Truck Series Championship 4 race is set to be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 from Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET on Friday, November 15. Be sure not to miss this race, the Ford EcoBoost 200.