Previewing the NASCAR CWTS fred’s 250

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer

18 races into the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season seven series regulars have scored a victory (Christopher Bell five times, John Hunter Nemechek and Johnny Sauter twice, Austin Cindric, Ben Rhodes, Matt Crafton, and Kaz Grala once). Bell has a 47-point lead over Rhodes heading into the 18th race of the season. This weekend marks the third race, and first round of eliminations, of the 2017 Playoffs for the Truck Series competitors.

The last time the Truck Series visited Talladega Superspeedway, Grant Enfinger performed the upset, taking the victory. Enfinger beat his GMS Racing teammate, Spencer Gallagher to the line by 0.107 seconds. Timothy Peters, Rico Abreu, and Ben Kennedy rounded out the top five that day. None of the top-five finishers are entered in this weekend’s race.

Enfinger, Parker Kligerman, and Sauter are the only former winners at Talladega in this weekend’s race.

Truck Series Championship

After the race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Bell has 2,152 points with a 47-point lead over Rhodes. Crafton is in third, 51-points behind. Sauter slipped from second to fourth, 54 points behind Bell. Chase Briscoe is in fifth with 2,084 points.

Cindric hold the cutoff for the Round of Six with 2,082 points. Grala is eight points behind Cindric. Nemechek is 14-points behind Cindric after pit road speeding penalties left him last among the Playoff drivers at LVMS.

At Talladega, the first stage ends on lap 20, the second stage on lap 40, and the final stage on lap 94.

What to Watch For in the fred’s 250.

There are several storylines going into this weekend’s race to watch for:

• Michael Affarano returns for the first time in two years in his own No. 03 Calumet City Auto Parts / Stop Bullying Chevrolet Silverado.
• DJ Kennington returns to the Truck Series in the No. 15 Losers Bar & Grill Chevrolet Silverado for Premium Motorsports.
• TJ Bell returns in the No. 45 Snap Track Toyota Tundra for Niece Motorsports.
• Chris Fontaine returns in his own No. 47 Glenden Enterprises Toyota Tundra.
• Travis Kvapil returns in the No. 50 Ever-Fi Chevrolet Silverado for Beaver Motorsports.
• Myatt Snider will be in the No. 51 Louisiana Hot Sauce Toyota Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports.
• Bobby Gerhart returns in the No. 63 Lucas Oil Chevrolet Silverado for the Mittler Brothers.
• Vinnie Miller will make his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut in the No. 66 Chevrolet Silverado for Bolen Motorsports.
• Clay Greenfield returns in his own No. 68 Titan Paint Sprayers Chevrolet Silverado.
• Spencer Boyd will be in the No. 83 Grunt Style Chevrolet Silverado for Copp Motorsports.

Where and When to Watch (All Times Eastern)

Practice 1: Friday, October 13, 12:00 p.m., on Fox Sports 1.

Practice 2: Friday, October 13, 2:00 p.m., on Fox Sports 1.

Qualifying: Saturday, October 14, 10:30 a.m., on Fox Sports 1.

Race: Saturday, October 14, 1:00 p.m., on Fox Sports 1, SiriusXM Channel 90, and the Motor Racing Network.