Kyle Busch Motorsports driver Chandler Smith took the Playoff win at Richmond Raceway last weekend in dominant fashion, leading 176 of the scheduled 250 laps, and with the victory catapulted himself into the second round of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs.
Now the Georgia native sits atop the postseason standings by two points over Front Row Motorsports’ Zane Smith as the series takes two weeks to prepare for the final race of the Playoffs’ Round of 10 at Kansas Speedway on September 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
KBM’s Smith joins GMS Racing’s Grant Enfinger as the only the drivers locked into the Playoffs Round of 8 heading into Kansas. Front Row Motorsports’ Zane Smith leads the drivers without a win this round in the postseason standings with 2,109 points, up 46 on the Round of 8 cutline. Smith is followed by John Hunter Nemechek (+43), Ty Majeski (+36), Stewart Friesen (+31), 2021 series champ Ben Rhodes (+21), and veteran Matt Crafton, who sits in the eighth and final transfer spot on points and is up just three points on Niece Motorsport’s Carson Hocevar in ninth and six points on ThorSport Racing’s Christian Eckes in 10th.
After his big win at Richmond, Chandler Smith is now tied with Zane Smith for the most wins on the season with three each. In 18 starts this season, the Kyle Busch Motorsports star has put up career season-highs in wins (three: Las Vegas, Pocono, Richmond), top fives (eight) and top 10s (12).
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
- Next Race: Kansas Lottery 200
- The Place: Kansas Speedway
- The Date: Friday, September 9
- The Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
- The Purse: $648,530
- TV: FS1, 7 p.m. ET
- Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
- Distance: 201 miles (134 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 30),
- Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 60), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 134)
Clinch Scenarios: Kansas Speedway
Only two drivers have clinched spots in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Round of 8 – GMS Racing’s Grant Enfinger (Indianapolis winner) and Kyle Busch Motorsports’ Chandler Smith (Richmond winner) – which means a lot can happen among the six other positions that are still open with one race to go. Below are the clinch scenarios heading into the Round of 8 finale at Kansas Speedway on September 9, 2022.
Already Clinched
The following two drivers have clinched a spot in the eight-driver field of the next round: Chandler Smith, Grant Enfinger.
Can Clinch Via Points
If there is a repeat winner or a win by a driver who cannot advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being ahead of the 7th winless driver in the standings. The same point requirements listed below would hold true if a new win comes from among Zane Smith, John Hunter Nemechek, Ty Majeski, Stewart Friesen, Ben Rhodes or Matt Crafton.
- Zane Smith: Would clinch with 10 points
- John Hunter Nemechek: Would clinch with 13 points
- Ty Majeski: Would clinch with 20 points
- Stewart Friesen: Would clinch with 25 points
- Ben Rhodes: Would clinch with 34 points (needs 35 points if Crafton wins)
- Matt Crafton: Would clinch with 53 points
- Carson Hocevar: Would clinch with 55 points (needs help if Crafton wins)
- Christian Eckes: Could only clinch with help
If there is a new winner from Carson Hocevar or Christian Eckes, the following drivers could clinch by being ahead of the 6th winless driver in the standings.
- Zane Smith: Would clinch with 13 points
- John Hunter Nemechek: Would clinch with 16 points
- Ty Majeski: Would clinch with 23 points
- Stewart Friesen: Would clinch with 28 points
- Ben Rhodes: Would clinch with 38 points
- Matt Crafton: Could only clinch with help
- Carson Hocevar: Could only clinch with help
- Christian Eckes: Could only clinch with help
Can Clinch Via Win
The following drivers would clinch on their win alone: Zane Smith, John Hunter Nemechek, Ty Majeski, Stewart Friesen, Ben Rhodes, Matt Crafton, Carson Hocevar and Christian Eckes.
Need To Rebound: Hocevar, Eckes are on the outside looking in
Niece Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar (-3) and ThorSport Racing’s Christian Eckes (-6) are the two drivers currently below the NASCAR Camping World truck Series Playoffs Round of 8 cutline with just one race left to secure a spot to advance.
Hocevar’s Playoffs started with a 21st-place finish at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park followed by a 10th-place finish at Richmond. Now the Michigan native finds himself three points back from Crafton in eighth in the final transfer position. This is Hocevar’s second Playoff appearance, and he hopes to better what he did in 2021, where he was eliminated in the Round of 8.
Eckes kicked off his Playoffs with a 16th-place finish at Indianapolis and finished eighth at Richmond Raceway leaving him just six point back from his ThorSport Racing teammate Matt Crafton in eighth. Eckes is looking to build on his only other Playoff appearance in 2020, where he was eliminated in the Round of 10.
