For the second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series season, Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell entered the round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway as the top driver above the Championship 4 cut line not yet locked into the Championship 4.
And for the second consecutive season, he dropped out of the playoff picture at Martinsville, as a new winner emerged from below the cut line, giving the round of 8 three different winners, and Bell was passed for the remaining spot on points, thus eliminating him from title contention.
But the driver of the No. 20 Toyota wasn't the only NASCAR playoff contender to experience the bitter disappointment of starting the round of 8 finale above the cut line but failing to advance to the Championship 4.
Rajah Caruth NASCAR championship bid ends at Martinsville
Entering the Truck Series round of 8 finale at the four-turn, 0.526-mile (0.847-kilometer) "Paperclip" oval in Ridgeway, Virginia, only Tricon Garage's Corey Heim was locked into the Championship 4. He won the round of 8 opener at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, and non-playoff driver and teammate Giovanni Ruggiero won the following race at Talladega Superspeedway.
As a result, it was Spire Motorsports' Rajah Caruth who entered Martinsville in the top position above the cut line on points. He was second in points, trailing only the locked-in Heim, and 14 points above the cut line. He was also six points ahead of McAnally-Hilgemann Racing's Tyler Ankrum and nine points ahead of Halmar Friesen Racing's Kaden Honeycutt, the two other title conteders above the cutoff.
ThorSports Racing's Ty Majeski, the reigning series champion, was the top driver below the cut line who trailed Caruth by 14 points.
To miss the Championship 4, Caruth needed to either fall behind at least three drivers on points, or fall behind at least two drivers on points while another championship eligible driver (not named Heim) emerged as the Martinsville winner.
Heim won the race at Martinsville, so there was no new winner, but Caruth was knocked out in an early crash. He scored just five points in Friday night's race, while Majeski scored 48 with a seventh place finish, Honeycutt scored 42 with a runner-up finish, and Ankrum scored 40 with a ninth place finish to advance to the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway.
Caruth also technically fell behind Front Row Motorsports' Layne Riggs, who scored 48 points with a third place finish, but Riggs did not advance, despite the fact that he is actually second in total points through 24 races.
Caruth ended the round of 8 ahead of only CR7 Motorsports' Grant Enfinger and McAnally-Hilgemann Racing's Daniel Hemric on points.
The Craftsman 150 is the NASCAR Truck Series Championship 4 race, and it is set to be shown live on Fox Sports 1 from Phoenix Raceway beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET this Friday, October 31. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action from the desert!