Zane Smith takes top NCWTS playoff seed from Chandler Smith at Martinsville
MARTINSVILLE, VA. – Zane Smith retook the No. 1 seed for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series playoffs after Thursday (April 7)’s Blue Emu 200 at Martinsville Speedway.
Zane Smith finished 9th after picking up a playoff point and 10 points for winning stage one, earning seven points for a fourth-place finish in stage two and overcoming a penalty in stage three.
Smith’s top-10 finish moved him from fourth to third in the regular-season points, which puts him in position to earn one more point for the playoffs.
Ben Rhodes earned a fifth-place finish after picking up 18 stage points for finishing third in stage one and earning a playoff point for winning stage two. The only hiccup came on Lap 134 when Rhodes had a run-in with teammate Christian Eckes, where Stewart Friesen subsequently spun in turn four.
Rhodes’s top-5 finish moved him from second in the regular season points to the lead, over Chandler Smith – and into position to earn 15 points for the playoffs, compared to 10 for being 2nd in the regular season points as he was after COTA.
Chandler Smith finished sixth but failed to earn stage points. Smith entered Martinsville with 20 playoff points – 5 for his Las Vegas win and 15 to be earned for the regular-season points lead – and the No. 1 seed. However, he left in the No. 3 seed with 15 playoff points – 5 for the Las Vegas win and 10 to be earned for now being second in points.
NOTE: Playoff points for a driver’s regular season points position are only accrued at the end of the regular season
E.g., Zane Smith wouldn’t earn eight playoff points for being third in points now – he would earn those points if he was third at the end of the regular season.
The playoff points and seeding in the table below are determined by what it would look like if the regular season ended today.
| Playoff Seed | Driver | Playoff Points Total | Base Points | Regular Season Points Position | Race Wins (5/Win) | Stage Wins (1/Stage) |
| 1 | Zane Smith | 2021 | 2000 | 8 for 3rd | 10/Daytona and COTA | 3 (COTA stages 1, 2; Martinsville – stage 1) |
| 2 | Ben Rhodes | 2018 | 2000 | 15 for 1st | 0 | 3 (Las Vegas stages 1, 2; Martinsville – stage 2) |
| 3 | Chandler Smith | 2015 | 2000 | 10 for 2nd | 5/Las Vegas | |
| 4 | John Hunter Nemechek | 2009 | 2000 | 6 for 5th | 0 | 3 (Daytona – stages 1 and 2, Atlanta – stage 1 |
| 5 | Stewart Friesen | 2008 | 2000 | 7 for 4th | 0 | 1 (Atlanta stage 1) |
| 6 | Christian Eckes | 2005 | 2000 | 5 for 6th | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Tanner Gray | 2004 | 2000 | 4 for 7th | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Ty Majeski | 2003 | 2000 | 3 for 8th | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Matt Crafton | 2002 | 2000 | 2 for 9th | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Tyler Ankrum | 2001 | 2000 | 1 for 10th | 0 | 0 |
Matt Crafton moved ahead of Derek Kraus for the No. 10 seed after making up a two-point deficit in the regular season points at Martinsville.
Despite Crafton earning any stage points, while Kraus earned four stage points, Kraus finished 14th while Crafton finished seventh and moved to one point ahead of Kraus.
PLAYOFF PICTURE (bold denotes virtually locked into the playoffs)
1. Ben Rhodes 205 points
2. Chandler Smith -4 points to Rhodes (1 win)
3. Zane Smith -21 (2 wins)
4. Stewart Friesen -25; +49 points to 11th-place Derek Kraus
T-5. John Hunter Nemechek -44, +30
T-5. Christian Eckes -44, +30
7. Tanner Gray -47, +27
8. Ty Majeski -52, +22
T-9. Matt Crafton -73, +1
T-9. Tyler Ankrum -73 to Rhodes, +1 to Kraus
————-PLAYOFF CUTLINE————-
11. Derek Kraus -1 to Crafton, Ankrum
12. Carson Hocevar -2
13. Grant Enfinger -7
14. Matt DiBenedetto -25
15. Austin Wayne Self -32
16. Timmy Hill -40
17. Kris Wright -49
18. Tate Fogleman -52
19. Lawless Alan -55
T-19. Chase Purdy -55
The next race for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is Saturday, April 16 for the Pinty’s Dirt Truck Race at dirt Bristol Motor Speedway (8 p.m. ET; TV: FS1; Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
In the inaugural NCWTS Bristol dirt race, Martin Truex Jr. swept both stages and won the race – shutting all series regulars out of playoff points.
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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