After a two-week break, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series returns to Richmond Raceway on Saturday (August 10).

But it’s not just any other race. It’s the last race before the playoffs begin on August 25 at the Milwaukee Mile.

Seven drivers have already secured their place through wins or points, but there is still a lot to be decided. The regular season championship is still on the line, while seven drivers can mathematically secure one of the last three available playoff spots.

Meanwhile, the owners’ playoffs are quite different from the drivers’ playoffs, so let’s analyze three key things to watch for before the final game of the regular season in Richmond.

Christian Eckes wants to win the regular season title

The battle for the championship between Corey Heim and Christian Eckes is just beginning. The pair have dominated the entire 2024 season, winning eight of the 15 races held this year.

The two have outdone each other in wins and overall finishes. However, Eckes has slowly been able to close the gap on Heim as Heim has had a number of poor finishes. One of those finishes was a second-place disqualification at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which was likely the stab in the back to Heim’s regular season title hopes.

In Richmond, Eckes has a 50-point lead over Heim. With a maximum of 60 points possible in a single race, Heim will need a lot of help if he wants to have an outside chance at the 15 bonus playoff points.

Heim basically needs Eckes to crash in the first stage and then win all the stages himself and win the race. The odds are slim, but the unpredictability of NASCAR could help him do that if he wanted it.

The most likely scenario, however, is that Eckes will secure the regular season title and the additional 15 playoff points after the first leg of the 250-lap race.

With these 15 bonus points, Eckes overtakes Heim in the playoff standings and he will start the playoffs as the best player. Just another layer in the rivalry between Eckes and Heim, which has become the most important topic in 2024.

Three more playoff spots up for grabs

After the final Truck Series race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Tyler Ankrum and Grant Enfinger have secured their points. Add in the five winners we’ve seen this season, and there are now only three spots left in the 10-seat field.

The last places are currently occupied by the brothers Gray, Taylor and Tanner, as well as Ben Rhodes, who currently separates the brothers in ninth place.

The four drivers watching from the outside are Daniel Dye, Stewart Friesen, Matt Crafton and Chase Purdy. Realistically, Crafton and Purdy are mathematically out of contention, sitting 43 and 44 points behind Tanner Gray on the cut line, respectively. But if the five ahead of them collapse completely in Richmond, Crafton and Purdy could secure one of the final three spots.

Taylor Gray can secure a playoff spot after the second round, as he is 43 points ahead of his brother. Tanner, Rhodes, Dye and Friesen will have a tough battle in Richmond. They have taken turns in the playoffs for the last few races, so it’s pure speculation who will take the final spots.

Now a new winner could throw the entire points race into chaos. Realistically, though, a new winner is unlikely to come from outside the top 10 in the points standings unless there is a major upset.

A check-in of the owner’s points

This seems like a good time to take a look at the owners’ points situation, as there is some disparity due to the rotation of drivers in some full-time teams.

Two teams that you won’t find in the Drivers Championship are firmly in the Owners Playoffs. Those two teams are No. 7 Spire Motorsports and No. 45 Niece Motorsports. Those two teams utilized multiple drivers with varying levels of talent to get into the Owners battle.

Both teams have earned victories thanks to Kyle Busch (Spire) and Ross Chastain (Niece) and, barring extreme circumstances, are comfortably in the owners’ playoffs.

Taylor Gray’s No. 17 is now actually on the cut line, 26 points ahead of Rhodes’ No. 99. That actually adds a little more weight and pressure to the driver battle, as it could determine who has no chance of winning both titles.

Trucker treats

Here you will find all the Truck Series news that you may have missed during the Olympic break.

• The penalty report after the weekend in Indianapolis stated that two crew chiefs were fined $2,500 for loose lug nuts after the race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Those crew chiefs were Blake Bainbridge (crew chief of Daniel Dye’s No. 43) and Tyler Young (crew chief/owner of Thad Moffitt’s No. 46).
• CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car points leader Connor Hall will make his Truck Series debut at Richmond Raceway, driving the No. 91 for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing. The No. 91 will be shared this season between Jack Wood, Zane Smith and Vicente Salas.
• Niece Motorsports has made some personnel changes, including Wally Rogers taking over as crew chief of Bayley Currey’s No. 41 for the remainder of the season. Team general manager Cody Efaw served as Currey’s interim crew chief for three races following the firing of Mike Hillman Jr. Rogers originally retired from the crew chief position after the 2023 season, where he worked with Lawless Alan at Niece, but he was named crew chief of Conor Daly’s part-time No. 44 for the latter’s three starts. Now that Rogers is moving to Currey’s team, team competition director Tom Ackerman will take over those duties for Daly’s final two races and any other races the No. 44 may compete in.