Preview: NASCAR Craftsman Trucks regular-season finale at Richmond
Seven drivers are locked into the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series playoffs but three spots are up for grabs this Saturday at Richmond Raceway.
The top 10 in points are as follows entering Richmond:
- Corey Heim (569 points; 15 playoff points + 15 pending; current #1 seed)
- Zane Smith (-42 to Heim; 14 playoff points + 10 pending; current #2 seed)
- Grant Enfinger (-59; 11 playoff points + 8 pending; current #3 seed-tied)
- Ben Rhodes (-59; 6 playoff points + 7 pending; current #6 seed)
- Ty Majeski (-59; 2 playoff points + 6 pending; current #7 seed)
- Christian Eckes (-89; 14 playoff points + 5 pending; current #3 seed-tied)
- Carson Hocevar (-125; 12 playoff points + 4 pending; current #5 seed)
- Matt DiBenedetto (-138; 3 pending playoff points; current #9 seed)
- Nick Sanchez (-148; 2 playoff points + 2 pending; current #8 seed)
- Matt Crafton (-160; 1 playoff point + 1 pending; current #10 seed)
Majeski could pick up as many as nine more playoff points, if he swept the stages and won at Richmond and jumped to third in points. If he did, he could start the playoffs in the #4 seed.
Matt DiBenedetto (+31 points), Nick Sanchez (+21) and Matt Crafton (+9) are concerned with playoffs but are looking to Richmond to just lock in.
Matt DiBenedetto can secure a playoff spot no matter what happens with at least an eighth-place finish.
DiBenedetto has eight top-10 finishes, including six-straight, in the last 10 races. Five of those six were eighth or better, meaning DiBenedetto is poised to be a shoo-in for the playoffs.
With four poles and a race earlier this year where he led 168 of 172 laps, Nick Sanchez has shown the most raw speed of any bubble driver.
The Rookie of the Year candidate should be safe, barring an issue like what happened in May at North Wilkesboro.
In the other paved short track race at Martinsville in April, Sanchez finished 11th. If he can replicate that, he’ll be safe for his first playoff appearance.
If Crafton gets into the playoffs, it will be from keeping his nose clean all regular season long.
The three-time series champion has led only one lap on non-outlier tracks. He also has only two finishes better than 11th on those tracks. However, he has only three finishes worse than 15th.
Stewart Friesen is on the bubble in 11th, -9 points to Crafton. Friesen is there because of seven finishes outside of the top-15, including five of 22nd or worse.
Behind Friesen is Tanner Gray and Chase Purdy who are a distant 12th (-47) and 13th (-54), respectively. They will need a win to get in but they’ve combined for 5 top-5 finishes and nine laps led.
The drivers 14th through 23rd in points – and 27th in points – will also need a win to get in:
Tyler Ankrum, Jake Garcia, Taylor Gray, Daniel Dye, Rajah Caruth, Hailie Deegan, Colby Howard, Dean Thompson, Bret Holmes, Lawless Alan, Spencer Boyd
These 11 drivers have combined to lead 26 of the 1955 laps run in 2023.
Among the 11, only Ankrum, Garcia, Gray and Thompson have three or more top-10 finishes this season. They and Howard are the only ones with a top-5 finish and none of them have more than one top-5.
Garcia, Gray, Thompson and Caruth have had flashes of speed. An upset is unlikely at Richmond but they’re most likely to pull it off.
Garcia qualified on the front row at Pocono where Gray finished third. Plus, Garcia’s background revolves around short track racing.
Thompson also contended for wins at Texas and Charlotte, while Caruth battled for wins at Kansas and Darlington.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular season ends with the July 29 Worldwide Express 250 at Richmond Raceway (7:30 p.m. ET; Broadcast: FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
OWNER POINTS BATTLE
Sanchez will be racing Crafton for the owner playoffs battle. Sanchez’s team holds the final spot by 12 points over Crafton’s team and 21 points over Stewart Friesen’s team.
DiBenedetto’s team is 22 points ahead of Crafton’s team and 31 ahead of Friesen’s team.
The team in the owner playoffs but not the driver playoffs is the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports team that sits seventh, +62 points to the cutline.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com