Trucks to end tight playoff bubble fight in Richmond
RICHMOND, Va. — Just like the early days of the Chase for the Cup, a tight playoff bubble fight will come to an end on a Saturday night at Richmond Raceway.
Seven drivers are locked into the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series playoffs, leaving three spots up for grabs.
Taylor Gray holds the eighth spot. At +48 points to the cutline, and with a 12.9 average finish, he just needs an average, incident-free day to get in.
And avoid getting disqualified, like Chandler Smith did when he was on the bubble in 2021.
Going into the regular-season finale that year, Tyler Ankrum was 44 points behind Smith. Then, Ankrum won stage two and was seventh when lightning forced the race to end 11 laps early. He ended the race 10 points shy of Smith – and a playoff spot.
Ben Rhodes will certainly want to avoid something like that as he is 22 points above the cutline. Below him is Tanner Gray, who is five points above.
History favors Rhodes as a driver has never jumped above the cutline to make the playoffs in the regular-season finale. In fact, the last two years were the closest the cutline has ever been:
- 2023: Matt Crafton was nine points above Stewart Friesen
- 2022: Crafton was nine points above Derek Kraus
Until this year. Tanner Gray is five points above the cutline, ahead of Daniel Dye.
Despite the close fight, Gray can feel somewhat good about his chances. Only five in the 15 regular-season races so far has Dye outpointed Gray by five or more points:
Atlanta (five points), Texas (10), North Wilkesboro (six), Nashville (25), Pocono (15)
If Gray and Dye end Richmond in a tie, Dye would win the tiebreaker with a best finish of second at Nashville and second-best finish of sixth. Gray’s best finish is seventh at Kansas, so even a second-place finish at Richmond wouldn’t help.
All of that is moot if Gray can stay ahead of Dye in points.
Dye isn’t Gray’s only competition, either.
Stewie vs. the world
For the first time ever, more than one driver below the cutline is within 20 points of it.
Stewart Friesen is 16 points behind Gray and 11 points behind Dye. Friesen’s chances aren’t as good Dye’s as he has yet to outpoint Gray by 16 or more points. However, Friesen has outpointed Dye by 11 or more points three times:
Las Vegas (16 points), Darlington (11), Charlotte (15)
If Gray has issues or a weaker night, while both Friesen takes a step above Dye, Friesen may have a chance to get in.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoff Cutline
8. Taylor Gray 425 (+48 points to the cutline)
9. Ben Rhodes 399 (+22)
10. Tanner Gray 382 (+5)
11. Daniel Dye 377 (-5 points to the cutline)
12. Stewart Friesen 366 (-16)
13. Matt Crafton 339 (-43)
14. Chase Purdy 338 (-44)
Categories
Discover more from The Racing Experts
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
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