After Tricon Garage's Corey Heim, the reigning NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, won at both Darlington Raceway and Rockingham Speedway, and after Front Row Motorsports' Chandler Smith was disqualified from the Rockingham race, Heim took the lead of the series point standings.
Due to his two wins, he owned the tiebreaker over teammate Kaden Honeycutt, and he owned that tiebreaker despite the fact that he had run just three of the season's first five races as a part-time driver.
The fact that Heim, who is ineligible to win this year's championship, found himself in the points lead reignited the debate about why NASCAR should or shouldn't let part-time drivers be eligible for the playoffs.
Sure, in the old "win and in" format, it made sense to require drivers to run every race, so a driver couldn't just show up, win a single race, and take a break for the remainder of the regular season, knowing his seat at the table was secure.
It also prevented part-time drivers from picking and choosing which races to run as a form of "load management".
NASCAR has a new points leader after Bristol
But aside from the fact that nobody was willingly missing races or doing any of those things anyway, the rule on part-time drivers makes even less sense after the abandonment of the "win and in" format.
Points and points alone now determine the 10-driver Truck Series playoff field, so if a part-time driver can get into the playoffs with a top 10 finish in the point standings despite missing races, more power to him.
However, NASCAR doesn't see it that way, and Heim is still ineligible for the championship, which is why the result of Friday night's race at Bristol Motor Speedway arguably saved the sport from more embarrassment.
Heim was taken out in a multi-car wreck, and even though he was scored one position ahead of Honeycutt, Honeycutt outscored him overall due to stage points. Additionally, it was Smith who retook the points lead, leaving Heim tied for third with Front Row Motorsports' Layne Riggs.
Yes, it's a shame that Heim can't compete for a championship, but if he doesn't finish in the top 10 in the regular season standings anyway, then the point is moot. He is currently 64 points above the playoff cut line, and he's 67 ahead if you don't actually include him as a part of the top 10.
Heim, who is also running a part-time schedule for 23XI Racing in the Cup Series, does not currently have any more Truck Series starts lined up for 2026, although that is subject to change, and probably will.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is set to have the next two weekends off, as action is not scheduled to resume until the SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday, May 1. Live coverage of that race is set to be provided by Fox Sports 1 starting at 8:00 p.m. ET. Begin a free trial of FuboTV and don't miss it!