LEXINGTON, Ohio – When the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series heads to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Saturday, the list of former road course winners in the field will be exactly two names long.
Reigning Series champion Zane Smith and 2021 title winner Ben Rhodes will try to add to their road course victory totals in Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 150 (1:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Rhodes won the Daytona Road Course race from the pole in 2021. Smith has scored back-to-back victories at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.
Smith also finished second to Parker Kligerman in last year’s race at Mid-Ohio. Kligerman is not defending his win.
“I love road course racing,” Smith said. “Winning COTA two years in a row was cool, and racing Parker last year for the win (at Mid-Ohio) was fun. I expect another great truck this weekend, and hopefully this time we get the win.”
Another short list is the number of CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races left before the Playoff field is set—three.
Six drivers already have clinched berths with victories: Smith, Rhodes, Christian Eckes, Carson Hocevar, series leader Corey Heim and Grant Enfinger.
That leaves four spots available. Ty Majeski, 86 points above the cutoff, is well-positioned, but eighth-place Matt DiBenedetto is just 14 points to the good, with Matt Crafton 10 points above the line and Nick Sanchez holding a six-point edge over Stewart Friesen for the final Playoff-eligible position.
Source: Reid Spencer/NASCAR Wire Service
