While the NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series are set to compete at Kansas Speedway, the Truck Series has a weekend off this coming weekend following the round of 10 finale at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this past Saturday afternoon.
The eight drivers who began the round of 10 finale above the round of 8 cut line all advanced to the round of 8, with Front Row Motorsports' Chandler Smith and ThorSports Racing's Jake Garcia being the two drivers who ultimately failed to advance.
Smith actually started the round third in points, but back-to-back 30th place finishes to open up the round at Darlington Raceway and Bristol Motor Speedway put him in a bad spot. Halmar Friesen Racing's Kaden Honeycutt joined Garcia below the cut line to start the round, but he was able to jump above the cutoff and advance.
The four drivers who are set to start the round of 8 above the Championship 4 cut line following the reset are Tricon Garage's Corey Hein, Front Row Motorsports' Layne Riggs, McAnally-Hilgemann Racing's Daniel Hemric, and ThorSport Racing's Ty Majeski.
Those four drivers all ended the round of 10 in the top four in points as well, with Heim leading the way ahead of Riggs in second, Majeski in third, and Hemric in fourth.
4 drivers below the cut line to start the round of 8
Four drivers who got into the round of 8 on points, however, are now below the cut line to make it to the Championship 4 to begin the round of 8, and they will have a little bit of extra work to do if they want to stay in the playoff picture by the time the semifinal round concludes.
McAnally-Hilgemann Racing's Tyler Ankrum is the first driver below the cut line, though he's technically tied with Majeski – and the tiebreaker (best finish in round) obviously won't be known until the round of concludes.
CR7 Motorsports' Grant Enfinger is set to open up the round of 8 sitting three points below the cutoff, while Spire Motorsports' Rajah Caruth is five points back. Honeycutt is last, but only seven points behind.
Can any of those four drivers vault themselves into the Championship 4 with an upset win or a strong string of points races over the course of the next month, and if so, at whose expense?
Heim is basically (but not mathematically) locked into the Championship 4 with a 69-point gap above the cut line, thanks to his abundance of wins and playoff points. Riggs is 22 points up, while Hemric is only one point up. Majeski, as stated, is currently in the fourth and final spot above the cutoff, but only by way of a tiebreaker over Ankrum.
The round of 8 is scheduled to feature races at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval on Friday, October 3; Talladega Superspeedway on Friday, October 17; and Martinsville Speedway on Friday, October 24. The Championship 4 is scheduled to take place on Friday, October 31 at Phoenix Raceway.
All upcoming NASCAR Truck Series races are set to be show live on Fox Sports 1, so begin a free trial of FuboTV and don't miss any of the playoff action!