- Xfinity 250 - Martinsville Speedway - 1. (#91) Zack Saunders - 2. (#1) Cory Mott - 3. (#29) Steward Harding Walker - 4. (#69) Caleb Tipton - 5. (#94) Thomas Wolfe - 6. (#22) Nic Vasquez - 7. (#6) Stephen Menke - 8. (#3) Ben Lawson - 9. (#37) Joe T. Wright - 10. (#16) Nathaniel Campbell - 11. (#57) Michael Deitch - 12. (#00) Garth Griswold - 13. (#11) Nishil Condoor - 14. (#7) Steven Carlile - 15. (#8) Zach Johnson - 16. (#99) Justin Bell - 17. (#74) Caleb Sheets - 18. (#30) Mason Hoeffner - 19. (#96) Vince Mitchell
The VRS Truck Series Championship is upon us, and that brings us four championship drivers to break down. Come with me on a journey through the season as we discover how we got here, and discover who will take the crown for the 2024 VRS Truck Series.
2024 VRS Truck Series Championship
Phoenix Raceway – 1.00 mi – Paved Oval
Monday, November 11, 2024
Time: 8:30 PM EST
Stages: 45/90/150
Stream: Crown Jewel Racing Network
The 2024 season comes to an end this week at Phoenix Raceway. A total of 97 different drivers took place in the 2024 VRS Truck Series across 31 races. The 2024 season was split into four distinct splits, three regular season splits followed by the 2024 VRS Truck Series Playoffs. The VRS Truck Series opted out of the win-and-in format and instead decided the playoff drivers based on the top three drivers in each split plus three wild-card drivers from the entire 2024 season. This led to the 2024 playoff field looking like such:
| Nishil Condoor | Matthew Owens |
| John Connor | Garth Griswold |
| Cory Mott | Jim Mott |
| Zack Saunders | Thomas Villano |
| Pete Morales | Johnny Avila |
| Henry Kallhoff | Cody Porter |
Eight drivers were eliminated across six races, which has now led us to our final four:
| Nishil Condoor |
| John Connor |
| Cory Mott |
| Zack Saunders |
#61 – Nishil Condoor
Nishil is seen as a strong competitor outside of the VRS Truck Series, seeing multiple wins in the now defunct Gen 4 Cup Series. Nishil has participated in 25 of the total 30 races ran to this point and finished second in the regular season standings. However, Nishil has remained winless in the 2024 campaign, while notching 9 top five finishes and 18 top ten finishes. Nishil has also stayed out of the stage win column as well throughout the 2024 season, but is third in total stage points for the season.
It is clear that Nishil has an issue with winning in the VRS Truck Series. With some consistency, it is possible that he can be in position at the end of the race to win the championship – but only time will tell!
#97 – John Connor
John has had a late season surge – almost sweeping round one of the playoffs if not for a late race mistake causing him to finish third at Bristol. John has finished in the top five in all six playoff races this season and will be looking for a strong finish to the season at Phoenix. John participated in 28 of the total 30 races ran to this point and finished fifth overall in regular season. He has a total of two wins and three stage wins in the 2024 campaign and is the leading stage point scoring driver throughout the course of the playoffs.
It isn’t hard to see that John Conner has had an unbelievably consistent playoff run and will be a contender to win the 2024 championship.
#1 – Cory Mott
Cory has been a wildcard throughout the course of the 2024 VRS Truck Series season. Initially competing part-time while broadcasting, Cory qualified for the playoffs during Split #2 but would be at a distinct disadvantage by not being able to amass nearly as many playoff bonus points as other drivers. This would immediately be noticeable when the playoffs started, and he had to claw for every single point. But points would no longer matter when he started off the Round of 8 with a bang and win at Auto Club Speedway – locking himself into the Championship 4. Mott is the only driver in the 2024 Crown Jewel season to be participating in the Championship 4 for the VRS Truck Series and the Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series.
Even with all that, Mott’s statistics are the least impressive of the four drivers and is currently the longshot for the championship. It will take a perfect night and minimal mistakes for Mott to be a contender at Phoenix this week.
#99 – Zack Saunders
Coming off a controversial protest decision in the Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series that nullified his advancing win, Zack Saunders still has an opportunity to defend his 2023 Truck Series championship in Phoenix on Monday. Zack Saunders has had a videogame-like season putting up unmatched statistics: 12 top fives, 14 top tens, 7 wins, and 11 stage wins – and he is leading the league in every single one of those stat lines. However, Saunders has seen a dip in performance during the 2024 playoffs, with only 1 win, 1 top five, and 0 stage wins – simply cruising to the Championship 4 using his playoff bonus points.
It is without a doubt, that Zack Saunders is one of the favorites to win the championship this week at Phoenix. Can he avoid the bug that has been keeping him down these playoffs and claim the championship? Or will he fall to the wayside and fail to defend his 2023 championship? We will find out soon enough!
Fan Pick
JOHN CONNOR
Consistency is key, and John Connor has had nothing but consistency in the last six weeks. This race will be very competitive, and all 150 laps will matter – but the fans are on John’s side this week heading into the desert.