NASCAR
Four Truck Series Playoff Spots Remain with Four Races to go in Regular Season
While it may only be June, the Craftsman Truck Series is almost through their regular season. After Gateway, only four races remain before the Playoffs. 12 races have yielded six drivers already in the postseason with wins. Unlike years past, the Trucks have quite a bubble battle already formed around the cut line. Who currently occupy the final four Truck Series Playoff spots? Who is on the cusp of breaking into the Playoffs? Here’s a look at how the Truckers sit in June.
Ty Majeski (+113)
Few have better exemplified the picture of consistency this season than Ty Majeski. While Ben Rhodes has a win, Majeski has been the strength of ThorSport Racing. The 98 team has remained top-three in the standings since Daytona, even spending a few weeks as the points leader. Majeski has done everything shy of win in 2023, trying to back up his Championship 4 run from a season ago.
No race more perfectly encapsulates Majeski’s 2023 than the most recent outing at Gateway. Majeski started on pole and led 55 laps two weeks ago. After being put back in traffic on pit strategy however, the 98 began to slowly make up lost ground. On a late restart Majeski went for it and wrecked, taking out himself and leader Zane Smith.
The 98 is currently second in points and over 100 markers above the cut line. Majeski is on pace to make another deep Playoff run. Team 98 is seemingly firing on all cylinders with eight top-10s through the opening 12 races. The only thing Majeski is lacking so far in 2023 is a win, which seems like it could come almost anywhere.
Matt Crafton (+21)
Another Thorsport team hammering home solid finishes, Matt Crafton eyes a record eighth Playoff appearance. While the 88 has yet to show true winning pace in 2023, nine top-15s in 12 races is nothing to overlook.
Eighth in points should be disappointing for the three-time champion, but it’s better than where he was at this point a year ago. Should Crafton remain his steady self hovering around 10th-place, another Playoff showing seems very attainable for the Menards crew.
Stewart Friesen (+14)
The Halmar-Friesen team of Stewart Friesen has spent much of 2023 digging out of a points hole. The 52 only broke into the top-10 in standings after Darlington in May, going back and forth on both sides of the cut line ever since.
When Friesen has a fast truck he’s one of the best out there; all of his top-10s this year are also top-fives, highlighted with a North Wilkesboro runner-up. A 14.8 average finish and only 13 laps led however fall short of Playoff-caliber numbers. The 52 group has been on both sides of the Playoff drama before. 2019 saw Friesen make the Championship 4, only for him to miss the postseason entirely in 2020.
Any crash or execution issue could leave the 52 on the outside looking in once again. While Friesen would make the Playoffs now, he has no room at all for any errors over the next four races. Gateway saw Friesen finish third, so some momentum is in this team’s favor moving forward. A top-five day turned into a win would firmly assert Friesen into the championship discussion. Now at-risk of being left out of the Playoff picture, the 52 team needs something to go right over the next few races.
Matt DiBenedetto (+7)
Far back of the points battle for the Playoffs last year, 2023 has been a different place entirely for Matt DiBenedetto. The Rackley WAR No. 25 team has seen three-straight top-10s, vaulting them above the cut line as the bubble position.
Cup Series experience from DiBenedetto at some of the upcoming tracks should be a positive factor for the 25 team. If this recent uptick in consistency remains, DiBenedetto could put this underdog team into their first postseason. Top-10s are precisely what DiBenedetto needs to put together a Playoff run.
Tanner Gray (-7)
Not far off from his teammate and points leader Corey Heim is Tanner Gray. Now a part of TRICON Garage’s Toyota operation, the 24-year-old has bounced around the cut line all season long. Less than 10 points out of the postseason, Gray’s Playoff chances hinge on his ability to put together strong results.
The 15 opened 2023 with a career-best runner-up finish. More recently, Gray was third at Darlington. Through 12 races, Gray has five top-10s and a 14.5 average finish. Aside from Daytona, Gray has yet to show out with race-winning speed or performance. That being said, four top-10s over the next four races should leapfrog Gray back into the top-10 in points.
Nick Sanchez (-11)
The Truck Series’ top rookie of 2023, Nick Sanchez was within eyesight of a maiden win at Texas in April. The Rev Racing 2 led all but four laps that day, getting turned from the lead on the last lap. Sanchez has not led another lap since then, but does have three top-10s. This includes the last two starts for the 2.
The 22-year-old defending ARCA champion still lacks experience when compared to others on this list. Sanchez is visiting many of these tracks for the first time, having never competed in any NASCAR division. Even if he does fall short of the Playoffs, 2023 should still be seen highly for Sanchez. Within striking distance of pointing his way into the Playoffs, Stage points and more top-10s would help Sanchez erase this narrow deficit.
Chase Purdy (-38)
In the midst of his first season with Kyle Busch Motorsports, Chase Purdy has left a bit to be desired. Purdy is batting .500 in top-10s for 2023, with six in 12 races. Aside from those highlights though, the 4 team has seen four finishes worse than 25th.
Back-to-back crashes in May at Kansas and Darlington took Purdy from right on the Playoff bubble to a deep points hole. Two top-10s in the three races since has shown some recovery for the KBM team. At this point though, Purdy may need to win to make the Playoffs.
Jake Garcia (-58)
Competing in his first full-time NASCAR season, Jake Garcia entered 2023 as a relative unknown for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing. The 18-year-old Georgia native has impressed even with his minimal experience. Garcia moved up to Trucks after spending several years racing late models around the south.
Garcia has racked up five top-10s in 2023, punctuated with a fifth-place run at Texas in April. While Garcia currently falls nearly a full race’s worth of points outside of the Playoffs, he is still running far greater than most young drivers with so little track time. A postseason berth would be quite the miracle for the 35 team at this point, but they are still punching above their weight class.
Only 32 mere points separate the five drivers around the Truck Series Playoff cut line. The postseason picture is anything but set, with four regular season races left at four very different tracks. Nashville, Mid-Ohio, Pocono, and Richmond will decide the final four tickets to the 2023 championship.
The cut line battle will be a constantly evolving storyline throughout the next month-and-a-half, until the checkers fly in Richmond. Can an underdog run to the Playoffs happen? Be sure to not miss a lap of the Truck Series. Plenty of time is left for a championship season to be made.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Jeff Curry/Getty Images for NASCAR
