RIDGEWAY, Va. — The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoffs narrowed to the Championship 4 on Friday night at Martinsville Speedway, where the Slim Jim 200 served as the final elimination race of the Round of 8. While Corey Heim cruised to his 11th win of the season and solidified his championship bid and Toyota’s 14th series manufactures championship, four playoff contenders saw their title hopes end under the lights at the historic half-mile.
Rajah Caruth, Daniel Hemric, Layne Riggs, and Grant Enfinger were the four drivers eliminated from championship contention following a chaotic and high-stakes evening. Each entered the race with a mathematical shot at advancing, but a mix of misfortune and fierce competition sealed their fate.
” It all kind of started with that missed shift on that restart. I’m not really sure what happened. I’ve never missed a shift in a truck in my whole career. We do have some new transmissions and I guess I’m just not quite used to them yet, so I’m pretty upset about that. I think things could have been a lot different, but it all started at the ROVAL and getting turned around on lap one. We go to Talladega and having all the issues we had. I’m definitely dejected. I would have been dejected if we were even in fourth. I just don’t like it.” Said Riggs
Caruth, who started seventh and was 14 points above the cut line entering the race, suffered a race-ending incident after completing just 72 laps. The early exit proved costly, dropping him out of the top four in the standings.
Hemric, Enfinger, and Riggs all ran to the checked flag but failed to accumulate enough points to leapfrog their rivals. Hemric’s 31st-place finish, Enfinger’s 12th-place result, and Riggs third place effort weren’t enough to overcome the deficit, especially with strong performances from Tyler Ankrum, Kaden Honeycutt, and Ty Majeski all of whom advanced.
The Championship 4 is now set for Phoenix Raceway, where Heim, Ankrum, Honeycutt, and Majeski will battle for the 2025 Truck Series title.