Even with the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Playoff field expanded to 10 drivers this season, former series champion Johnny Sauter and 2019 Playoff qualifier Stewart Friesen find themselves in the danger zone entering back-to-back races on Friday and Saturday.
In fact, no one is absolutely safe when it comes to a Playoff berth except two-time race winner Grant Enfinger and recent Kentucky victor Sheldon Creed. No other series regular has scored a win this year.
That’s the recipe for a free-for-all at Kansas Speedway which will host consecutive Gander Truck events this weekend. Drivers will have a short respite between Friday’s 7 p.m. Kansas 200 and Saturday’s 1:30 p.m. Kansas Speedway 200. Both races will be broadcast on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Both Sauter and Friesen could use strong performances in both races. An engine failure last weekend at Texas dropped Sauter to 33rd at the finish and 12th in the series standings, 22 points behind ThorSport teammate Matt Crafton in 10th, the last Playoff-eligible position.
After a fourth-place run at Texas—his first top-five of the season—Friesen is tied with Sauter in points during a year that has seen his Halmar Friesen Racing Team struggle with a manufacturer transition from Chevrolet to Toyota.
The championship picture has nothing to do with Ross Chastain, who will run both races. Chastain won the only Truck Series race at Kansas last year, but he’s competing for the NASCAR Xfinity Series title in 2020.
Source: Reid Spencer | NASCAR Wire Service
