After a crazy NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway that granted Tate Fogleman his first career victory, the series has just one weekend left to regroup before heading to Martinsville Speedway for the penultimate race of the season, the United Rentals 200 (Oct. 30 at 1 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) to decide who advances to the Championship 4 Round.
With the first two races of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs Round of 8 being won by non-Playoff drivers – Christian Eckes at Las Vegas and Tate Fogleman at Talladega – none of the eight postseason contenders have secured a spot in the Championship 4 Round – which is the second-time since the inception of the Playoffs in the series in 2016 none of the Championship 4 drivers are locked-in heading into the Round of 8 elimination race; joining 2019.
Martinsville Speedway had participated in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs since its inception into the series in 2016. Martinsville Speedway has occupied three different spots on the postseason schedule. From 2016-2018 Martinsville hosted the fourth race of the Playoffs, in 2019 it hosted the fifth race and last season it hosted the sixth race of the Playoffs – the same event as this year.
The 2021 season marks just the second-time Martinsville Speedway has hosted the penultimate race in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs (2020-2021). Martinsville Speedway is the second track to host the Round of 8 elimination race in Playoffs joining Phoenix Raceway (2016-2019).
The sixth race in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs has produced five different winners in as many races (2016-2020). Only once has a non-Playoff driver won the sixth race in the seven-race NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs and that was Daniel Suarez in 2016, who had elected to run for the title in the NASCAR Xfinity Series that season. The last four winners in the sixth race of the Truck Playoffs catapulted them into the Championship 4 Round.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoff Race No. 6 Winners
| Track | Race Winner | Date | Race Number |
| Martinsville | Grant Enfinger | Friday, October 30, 2020 | 22 |
| Phoenix | Stewart Friesen | Friday, November 8, 2019 | 22 |
| Phoenix | Brett Moffitt | Friday, November 9, 2018 | 22 |
| Phoenix | Johnny Sauter | Friday, November 10, 2017 | 22 |
| Phoenix | Daniel Suarez | Friday, November 11, 2016 | 22 |
The five Playoff races Martinsville Speedway has hosted have produced four different winners, led by ThorSport Racing’s Johnny Sauter with two postseason victories at the half-mile track (2016, 2018).
Martinsville Speedway Playoff Race Winners
| Track | Race Winner | Date | Race Number |
| Martinsville | Grant Enfinger | Friday, October 30, 2020 | 22 |
| Martinsville | Todd Gilliland | Saturday, October 26, 2019 | 21 |
| Martinsville | Johnny Sauter | Saturday, October 27, 2018 | 20 |
| Martinsville | Noah Gragson | Saturday, October 28, 2017 | 20 |
| Martinsville | Johnny Sauter | Saturday, October 29, 2016 | 20 |
Of the Playoff contenders this season, Halmar Friesen Racing’s Stewart Friesen is the only former series winner that has won the sixth race in the Playoffs to clinch his spot in the Championship 4 Round. He accomplished the feat in 2019 with a win at Phoenix.
The winner of the sixth race in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs has gone to win the title that same season only once – Brett Moffitt accomplished the feat in 2018. Moffitt won at Phoenix Raceway in the penultimate event and then won again in Homestead-Miami for the championship finale to secure the title.
The winner of the Martinsville Speedway race in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs has gone to win the title that same season only once as well – Johnny Sauter accomplished the feat in 2016. Sauter won at Martinsville Speedway, then the fourth race in the postseason, and then went on to win the championship later that season.
This year’s Martinsville Speedway NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoff race will be 200 laps (105.2 miles) and will be broken up into three stages. The first two stages will be 50 laps each and the final stage will be 100 laps. ThorSport Racing’s Grant Enfinger is the defending winner of this event.
Clinch Scenarios: Wide open for the Championship 4 Round
With non-Playoff drivers taking the first two races of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs Round of 8, the race for the Championship 4 Round is wide open and all eight drivers still have a shot at the coveted four spots as it all comes down to final race of the round at Martinsville Speedway.
Already Clinched
No drivers have clinched a spot in the 4-driver field of the next round.
Can Clinch Via Points
If there is a win by a driver who cannot advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being ahead of the 5th winless driver in the standings. The same point requirements listed below would hold true if a new win comes from among John Hunter Nemechek, Ben Rhodes, Matt Crafton or Sheldon Creed.
- John Hunter Nemechek: Would clinch with 20 points
- Ben Rhodes: Would clinch with 21 points
- Matt Crafton: Would clinch with 46 points
- Sheldon Creed: Would clinch with 51 points
- Stewart Friesen, Chandler Smith, Carson Hocevar and Zane Smith: Could all only clinch with help.
If there is a new winner from Stewart Friesen or another winless driver lower in the standings but still eligible to advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being ahead of the 4th winless driver in the standings.
- John Hunter Nemechek: Would clinch with 25 points
- Ben Rhodes: Would clinch with 26 points
- Matt Crafton: Would clinch with 51 points
- Sheldon Creed: Could only clinch with help
- Stewart Friesen, Chandler Smith, Carson Hocevar and Zane Smith: Could all only clinch with help.
Can Clinch Via Win
All eight drivers would clinch on their win alone this weekend: John Hunter Nemechek, Ben Rhodes, Matt Crafton, Sheldon Creed, Stewart Friesen, Chandler Smith, Carson Hocevar, Zane Smith.
| NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Driver Playoff Outlook Following Talladega Superspeedway | ||||||
| Rank | Driver | Points | Race Wins | Stage Wins | Playoff Pts | Pts From Cutoff |
| 1 | John H. Nemechek (P) | 3,105 | 5 | 11 | 50 | 36 |
| 2 | Ben Rhodes (P) | 3,104 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 35 |
| 3 | Matt Crafton (P) | 3,079 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 |
| 4 | Sheldon Creed (P) | 3,074 | 3 | 7 | 26 | 5 |
| 5 | Stewart Friesen (P) | 3,069 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -5 |
| 6 | Chandler Smith # (P) | 3,040 | 1 | 1 | 6 | -34 |
| 7 | Carson Hocevar # (P) | 3,037 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -37 |
| 8 | Zane Smith (P) | 3,034 | 0 | 3 | 9 | -40 |
| 9 | Todd Gilliland | 2,187 | 1 | 4 | 15 | Eliminated from the Playoffs |
| 10 | Austin Hill | 2,147 | 2 | 1 | 21 |
First-time winners a trend in Camping World Truck Series
Young’s Motorsports’ Tate Fogleman was the fifth different first-time winner this season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with his surprising win two weeks ago at Talladega Superspeedway; joining Martin Truex Jr. (Bristol Dirt), Ryan Preece (Nashville), Chandler Smith (Bristol) and Christian Eckes (Las Vegas).
With Fogleman’s victory, the 2021 season becomes the third consecutive season and 14th overall (since 1995-Present) the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has produced five or more first-time winners in a single season. Every season since the inception of the series in 1995 has it produced at least one first-time winner. The 2012 season hold the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series record for the most first-time winners in the series in a single season at nine.
Martinsville Speedway has been home to 11 different first-time winners in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, the most recent was Todd Gilliland’s win in 2019.
First-Time Camping World Truck Winners at Martinsville Speedway
| Track | First-Time Winners | Date |
| Martinsville | Todd Gilliland | Saturday, October 26, 2019 |
| Martinsville | Noah Gragson | Saturday, October 28, 2017 |
| Martinsville | Joey Logano | Saturday, March 28, 2015 |
| Martinsville | Bubba Wallace | Saturday, October 26, 2013 |
| Martinsville | Denny Hamlin | Saturday, October 29, 2011 |
| Martinsville | Timothy Peters | Saturday, October 24, 2009 |
| Martinsville | Bobby Labonte | Saturday, April 9, 2005 |
| Martinsville | Ricky Craven | Saturday, October 22, 2005 |
| Martinsville | Jamie McMurray | Saturday, October 23, 2004 |
| Martinsville | Scott Riggs | Saturday, April 7, 2001 |
| Martinsville | Bobby Hamilton | Monday, April 10, 2000 |
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Round of 8 contenders at Martinsville
When the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returns to action at Martinsville Speedway expect a lot of beaten and banging on the race track as a lot will be on the line. Below is a quick look at the Round of 8 challengers at Martinsville Speedway.
| Rank | Driver | Races | Poles | Wins | Top Fives | Top 10s | DNFs | Average Finish | Driver Rating |
| 1 | John H. Nemechek | 12 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 14.3 | 86.3 |
| 2 | Ben Rhodes | 10 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 10.8 | 93.2 |
| 3 | Matt Crafton | 37 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 21 | 2 | 10.8 | 98.3 |
| 4 | Sheldon Creed | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13.8 | 83.9 |
| 5 | Stewart Friesen | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 11.3 | 86.5 |
| 7 | Carson Hocevar | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.0 | 74.3 |
| 8 | Zane Smith | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.0 | 124.9 |
