LONG POND, PA. – The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series returns to action after an off-week and now only two races remain to set the 10-driver Playoff field, so Saturday afternoon’s CRC Brakleen 150 (Noon ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) could go a long way to formalizing the championship field.
No current fulltime series driver has won this Pocono race, however six drivers in Saturday’s field have won in an ARCA Menards Series race at the track – including championship leader Corey Heim, his closest regular season championship challenger Zane Smith, as well as Christian Eckes, Ty Majeski, Grant Enfinger and Taylor Gray.
The regular season title is still very much up for grabs in this final two race swing before the Playoffs. The two-race winner Heim holds a 26-point edge on reigning series champion and fellow-two race winner Smith in what is essentially a two-driver duel for the extra 15-point Playoff bonus awarded the Regular Season Champion.
The other drivers with secure Playoff positions include 2023 race winners Eckes, Enfinger, Carson Hocevar and 2021 champion Ben Rhodes. Majeski, Matt DiBenedetto, rookie Nick Sanchez and three-time series champion Matt Crafton hold the remaining Playoff positions as of now.
Stewart Friesen is only 1-point behind Crafton and 2-points behind Sanchez however, and Gray is 24-points behind Crafton for that 10th place transfer.
NASCAR Cup Series regulars Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell and Ross Chastain will compete in Saturday’s race. Busch is the only driver to win multiple Truck Series races at Pocono (in 2015 and 2018) and his 148 laps led at Pocono is most in series history. This weekend, the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion is hoping to earn a milestone 100th victory for his Kyle Busch Motorsports truck team.
Practice will take place Friday beginning at 1:35 p.m. ET, immediately followed by qualifying. Both sessions will air on FS1.
Source: Holly Cain/NASCAR Wire Service
