Drivers to watch under the lights during Friday’s NASCAR Kansas Lottery 200 trucks race

Ty Majeski, who won his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race of the season on Aug. 11 at Indianapolis, and Grant Enfinger, who won on Aug. 27 at Milwaukee, are locked into the Round of 8 in the playoffs.

The Round of 10 concludes Friday night with the Kansas Lottery 200 at Kansas Speedway. The winner of the race is assured of a spot in the Round of 8 and six others will advance on points. Two drivers will be eliminated from championship contention.

Here are the five best bets to join Majeski and Enfinger (who won the May race at Kansas) as automatic qualifiers when the Round of 8 begins next week at Bristol.

Corey Heim, No. 11 Toyota

Heim, 21, ranks first in the standings among the non-playoff winners, so barring a disastrous result, he should advance to the next round even without a win.

Heim has won at Martinsville and Mid-Ohio for David Gilliland Racing this season and was second at Kansas in the spring. He won twice for Kyle Busch Racing last season after moving up from the ARCA series, where he won nine times, including races at Kansas in 2020 and 2022.

Christian Eckes, No. 19 Chevrolet

Eckes, the 2020 series champion, ranks second in the standings on the strength of two early wins — at Atlanta and Darlington. Eckes 22, won the pole for the spring race at Kansas but was collected in a crash on the 78th lap and finished 30th. He was second at Kansas in the 2020 spring race and fifth in 2022. He also won the 2019 ARCA race en route to the series championship.

Carson Hocevar, No 42 Chevrolet

Hocevar, 20, ranks fourth, thanks to his first three career wins for Niece Motorsports — at Texas, Nashville and Richmond. Hocevar came close to his first career win last fall at Kansas, when he led 28 late laps but ran out of fuel and settled for second after John Hunter Nemechek’s last-lap pass. He was 31st at Kansas last spring after being involved in a 78th-lap crash.

Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford

Smith, the reigning NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, sits fifth in the standings. But he knows his way around Kansas Speedway, having won the spring race of 2022 and finishing fourth and third in his last two starts here. Smith, 24, owns nine career wins, including two this season for ThorSport Racing, at Daytona and Austin.

Matt Crafton, No. 88 Ford

Crafton, a teammate with Majeski at ThorSport Racing, is a three-time series champion (2013, ’14, ’19) with 15 career wins, including victories in Kansas in 2013, 2015 and 2020. Crafton, 46, has made a record 528 starts in the trucks series but hasn’t won since 2020 at Kansas. He finished ninth last spring and 15th in the fall race.