• Wednesday, September 25th, 2024
• NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer

Truck Series Playoff field will be cut to eight at Kansas Speedway

Three drivers occupy comfortable positions, and two are in peril as the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series visits Kansas Speedway for Friday’s Kubota Tractor 200 (8:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Based on their respective performances in the first two events of the series Playoffs, Christian Eckes, Corey Heim and Nick Sanchez already have clinched berths in the Round of 8.

On the other hand, both defending series champion Ben Rhodes and Playoff newbie Daniel Dye face elimination if they can’t erase 12- and seven-point deficits, respectively, to the current cut line for the next round.

Heim, Eckes and eighth-place Grant Enfinger are the three most recent Kansas winners. Heim dominated the 2024 spring race, winning the first stage, finishing second in Stage 2 and beating Zane Smith to the finish line by 1.088 seconds.

The remarkable aspect of the Playoffs so far doesn’t involve a Playoff driver. Rookie Layne Riggs, driving the No. 38 Ford for Front Row Motorsports, won his first two NCTS races in the Playoff events at the Milwaukee Mile and Bristol Motor Speedway.

The 22-year-old from Bahama, N.C., goes for a sweep of the round on Friday.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling of what this team and I have accomplished these past two races,” said Riggs, son of former NASCAR driver Scott Riggs. “It stings a little that we’re not in the Playoffs, but that pushes us even more.

“I’m a rookie driver with a rookie crew chief (Dylan Cappello). It wasn’t going to be easy, but things are starting to click, and I’m proud of the progression we’ve made as a group.”

• Kubota Tractor 200
• Pole Winner: Ty Majeski
• Age: 30
• Team : No 98 - Soda Sense/Curb Records Ford
• Owner: Mike Curb
• Crew Chief: Joe Shear Jr
• Ty Majeski won the Pole Award for the Kubota Tractor 200 with a lap of 30853 seconds, 175023 mph
• This is his 10th pole in 85 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races
• This is his fifth pole and 16th top-10 start in 2024
• This is his first pole in eight races at Kansas Speedway
• Connor Mosack (second) posted his third top-10 start of 2024 and his second in two races at Kansas Speedway
• Christian Eckes (third) posted his seventh top-10 start at Kansas Speedway It is his 17th in 19 races this season
• Layne Riggs (13th) was the fastest qualifying rookie

• Drivers Entered: 34
• Laps Scheduled: 150
• Laps Actual: 134 - Race Shortened
• Margin of Victory: 07.638 Seconds
• Time of Race: 1 Hours 35 Minutes 50 Seconds
• Average Speed: 125.843
• Cautions: 3 for 20 laps
• Lead Changes: 10
• Green Flag Passes: 1,382 (12.1 passes per green flag lap)

• Kubota Tractor 200
• Race Winner: Corey Heim
• Age: 22
• Team : No 11 - Safelite Toyota
• Owner: Johnny Gray
• Crew Chief: Scott Zipadelli
• Corey Heim won the Kubota Tractor 200, his 11th victory in 60 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races
• This is his sixth victory and 15th top-10 finish in 2024
• This is his second victory and fifth top-10 finish in six races at Kansas Speedway
• Layne Riggs (second) posted his first top-10 finish in two races at Kansas Speedway It is his eighth top-10 finish in 2024
• Christian Eckes (third) posted his eighth top-10 finish in ten races at Kansas Speedway
• Layne Riggs (second) was the highest finishing rookie
• Christian Eckes leads the point standings by 8 points over Corey Heim