The Craftsman Truck Series playoffs are now set after Saturday night’s race at Richmond. Carson Hocevar stole the win away from Ty Majeski after a speeding penalty and questionable pit strategy put Majeski in poor position. In a field of ten drivers, the Craftsman Truck Series playoffs will kick off at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis. The ten drivers who will contend for the championship will be:
- Corey Heim
- Zane Smith
- Carson Hocevar
- Christian Eckes
- Grant Enfinger
- Ty Majeski
- Ben Rhodes
- Nick Sanchez
- Matt DiBenedetto
- Matt Crafton
When examining the playoff field, it is unique compared to past seasons. Only ThorSport has more than one driver in the ten driver field. Corey Heim is the lone Toyota representative, a stark contrast from past seasons. While some of the usual suspects are there, three surprising teams have beat out some bigger teams. There is no KBM truck in the drivers playoffs, TRD only has Heim, GMS is limited to Enfinger, and Stewart Friesen missed out. Instead, three teams are making their playoff debut. With the limited playoff field and vast disparity between the top and mid-pack teams, the Craftsman Truck Series tends to lack parity. However, this playoff field demonstrates that with three newer teams making it. This article will highlight the three newcomers to the playoffs.
McAnally-Hilgemann Racing
Christian Eckes making the playoffs is a great story for both driver and team. Eckes was cast off from ThorSport after the 2022 season. Despite falling only 7 points shy of the Championship Four, ThorSport took Hailie Deegan into their team when DGR turned into TRICON Garage. Eckes went to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing to replace Derek Kraus. Entering the 2023 season, Eckes only had one win in the Craftsman Truck Series. Now heading into the Truck Series playoffs, Eckes has won twice this season. Despite stepping down in equipment, Eckes has found more success with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing.
Meanwhile, McAnally-Hilgemann Racing embark on their first playoff trip in team history. The team’s first fulltime season was in 2020 with Derek Kraus. During Kraus’s tenure, the team clearly sat in the B-tier of the truck series. Solid enough where making the playoffs was within grasp but not a weekly race winning threat. After three years of frustration, McAnally-Hilgemann Racing split from Kraus and brought in Christian Eckes. Clearly, the move has paid off. Eckes clinched a playoff spot early in the season, winning the third race at Atlanta. While that could have been seen as a fluke, Eckes also won at Darlington. Eckes already has more Top-10s this season than Kraus did in any of his seasons with the team.
Truck Series Playoff Outlook
Despite the two wins, Christian Eckes and McAnally-Hilgemann Racing are still a step behind the other teams. It is not a massive gap, but there is one. That does not mean Eckes has not shot at the championship.
The opening round is all about survival. As fans saw last year, Lucas Oil Raceway can turn into a crapshoot. Meanwhile, it is has been a bit since the Truck Series visited the Milwaukee Mile. The first round ends with Kansas, which should bring some serenity to the series. If Eckes can survive, he should be able to advance to the second round. Although Eckes has struggled at the few short tracks on the schedule so far this season, only two trucks being eliminated benefits him with his playoff point buffer. Round two sees Talladega as the looming monster. Bristol is another short track for Eckes to overcome, but he should run well at Homestead. The team has shown speed at the intermediates this season.
Based on their 2023 season, Eckes is likely looking at a second round exit from the playoffs. However, Talladega could throw a wrench into everything (as with every playoff driver).
Rev Racing
While some may consider Rev Racing to be KBM-lite, the ARCA team is still independent from KBM. The working relationship surely has helped the team find their footing though. Nick Sanchez has pointed his way into the playoffs in the team’s debut season. If you count Sanchez as essentially KBM, then Sanchez is KBM’s lone playoff driver.
While still operating two fulltime ARCA cars, Rev Racing is finding success in the Craftsman Truck Series. Their first series win still alludes them. However, Sanchez has been running upfront in a few races where he had a chance to win. The most agonizing race of the season was Texas. Sanchez qualified on the pole and led 168 laps. Unfortunately, he was wrecked during the final restart. Despite the lack of wins, the speed is clearly under the hood. Sanchez has qualified on the pole for four races. Of the four, three have come on large speedways.
Truck Series Playoff Outlook
Similar to Christian Eckes, Nick Sanchez’s strengths have been the larger tracks while the struggles have been on shorter tracks. While Martinsville was wet-raced and rain shortened, the 30th at North Wilkesboro might be concerning when the first round has two flatter short tracks. With the lack of wins on the resume, assuming Sanchez advances through wins is not easy. Based on this season’s performance, Kansas might turn into a must win. With only two drivers eliminated, Sanchez has a good chance of advancing to the second round. However, he is more at risk than Eckes, who has a 19 point playoff buffer from the cutline.
Rackley W.A.R.
During the offseason of 2020, former Craftsman Truck Series driver Willie Allen and Rackley Roofing CEO Curtis Sutton joined forces to start Rackley W.A.R in the Craftsman Truck Series. After running in 2021 with multiple drivers (after Timothy Peters departed), the team scooped Matt DiBenedetto up for the 2022 after his fall from the Cup Series. Although the team missed the playoffs in 2022, DiBenedetto scored the team’s first win at Talladega in the fall. Despite the win, expectations were limited for the young team.
Fast forward to today, Rackley W.A.R and DiBenedetto pointed their way into the playoffs. In 2022, DiBenedetto was the last fulltime driver to stay ahead of Corey Heim (started 16 races) in points. This season, DiBenedetto already has surpassed his Top-10 output from last year. Prior to Richmond, DiBenedetto had seven straight Top-10s at a variety of tracks. For DiBenedetto, this ride was a career reclamation project after losing his Wood Brothers ride. If this success will lead to DiBenedetto finding his way back to the Cup Series is yet to be determined. However, Rackley W.A.R making the Truck Series playoffs in their third season is impressive for both driver and team. Especially when considering the team has no direct alliances with a larger team to support them.
Truck Series Playoff Outlook
Of the three teams discussed here, Matt DiBenedetto and Rackley W.A.R seems the most likely to see an early exit from the playoffs. However, DiBenedetto has run better than both of the other drivers in this article at short tracks. At North Wilkesboro, DiBenedetto finished third. Martinsville also netted DiBenedetto a Top-10. If he can translate this into the first round, then DiBenedetto’s chances of advancing increase tenfold.
For Matt DiBenedetto, his playoff chances seem to be boom or bust. With the two short tracks in the first round, DiBenedetto could point his way into round two. Talladega would be the race to watch out for the former Cup Series driver. While carnage can catch anybody, DiBenedetto usually runs well on the superspeedways. If he can pluck out another win at Talladega, DiBenedetto could upset the playoff field by making the Championship Four. Based on the playoff schedule, either Matt DiBenedetto is eliminated quickly or races for a championship at Phoenix.
Between these three teams, it is likely one of them will be eliminated in the first round. However, the fact that they made the Craftsman Truck Series playoffs over some powerhouse teams is a great accomplishment.
