JOLIET, Ill. — Despite two hard crashes in Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Chicagoland Speedway, William Byron officially left the Illinois oval with the top seed for the series’ inaugural Chase for the Championship.
Byron drives the No. 9 Liberty University Toyota Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports and watched his boss celebrate the race victory, while the eight-driver Chase Grid was finalized.
This season is the inaugural year for the elimination-style playoff format to be introduced into the Truck Series and the playoff roster features three longtime veterans of the series, alongside five drivers age 25 or younger who are the up-and-coming stars of NASCAR’s next generation.
Byron, an 18-year-old rookie from Charlotte, N.C., scored five wins during the regular season — at Kansas, Texas, Iowa, Kentucky and Pocono — giving him 15 bonus points entering next weekend’s Chase opener at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Byron kicks off the seven-race run for the title with 2,015 points.
The second and third seeds were filled by drivers with two wins apiece during the regular season. Two-time series champion Matt Crafton was victorious in back-to-back races at Dover and Charlotte in May, while second-generation teenager John Hunter Nemechek won at Atlanta and in Canada to clinch his berth.
Crafton and Nemechek start the Chase with 2,006 points each.
Gateway winner Christopher Bell holds down the fourth seed in a second KBM entry, while Johnny Sauter (Daytona) and Ben Kennedy (Bristol) took surprise victories to seal their playoff bids during the course of the 16-race regular season. The three diverse drivers sit tied with 2,003 points entering Loudon.
Having sealed their positions on the Chase Grid by way of points, Daniel Hemric (seventh seed) and Timothy Peters (eighth seed) were the final two drivers to advance into the playoffs.
Hemric ends the regular season tied with Byron for the cumulative points lead, while Peters was fourth in points after Chicagoland. They will begin the Chase with the base total of 2,000 points.
Canadian Cameron Hayley and Californian Cole Custer were the first two drivers to fall below the cutoff line and were tied for ninth in points at the end of the regular season. Both drivers contended for the win in Friday night’s race but came up short, with Hayley finishing third and Custer ninth.
The Chase for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship kicks off at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sept. 24, with the running of the UNOH 175.
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.
Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 22-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: editor@racechaseronline.com
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