By AMANDA VINCENT
Saturday night’s Worldwide Express 250 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway will be the final race of the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season, setting the stage for the 10-driver playoffs. Three positions remain up for grabs.
Seven playoff berths already have been clinched, six of those by drivers with at least one race win. Those drivers include Corey Heim, Zane Smith, Grant Enfinger, Ben Rhodes, Christian Eckes and Carson Hocevar. Ty Majeski has locked in on points. He is the highest driver in the driver standings without a race win.
Matt DiBenedetto, Nick Sanchez and Matt Crafton are the three drivers in the final three provisional playoff spots heading into the Richmond race. If the Richmond race is won by a driver already locked into the playoffs or a driver not eligible for the Truck Series postseason, those three drivers are at least somewhat in control of their own destinies. A new winner among playoff eligible driver other than Majeski, though, would keep one of the three out of the playoffs. Crafton is the driver on the bubble, 10th in points and nine points ahead of 11th-place Stewart Friesen.
With a repeat winner or a win by Majeski, DiBenedetto would clinch a playoff spot by earning 25 points at Richmond, Sanchez 35 points and Crafton 47 points.
While any full-time Truck Series regular could make the playoffs with a race win, a few still are in positions to possibly move into an advancing position and knock out DiBenedetto, Sanchez or Crafton on points. Those drivers include Friesen, Tanner Gray and Chase Purdy.
A new winner from among playoff-eligible drivers other than Majeski would leave only DiBenedetto and Sanchez as the only two drivers who would be able to point their win into the playoffs without the help of poor results from others. DiBenedetto would clinch with 34 points earned Saturday night and Sanchez 43.
Meanwhile, Heim is in position to claim the regular-season title, despite missing a race for illness. The points leader would take the honor with 19 points earned Saturday night, regardless of anyone else’s finish at Richmond. Other drivers still mathematically in the running for 2023 Truck Series regular-season champion include Smith, Enfinger, Rhodes and Majeski.
The Worldwide Express 250 is scheduled for an approximate 7:30 p.m. ET green flag Saturday. The race will be shown live on FS1.
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