NASCAR Draft Kit: 2021 Truck Series Rankings

Written by

Mark Taylor

Published on January 26, 2021

Sheldon Creed – No. 2 GMS Racing Chevrolet – The young GMS Racing talent was the irresistible force that no one saw coming in 2020. In just his second full season of Camping World Truck Series competition, Creed stormed to five victories and 13 Top-10 finishes to take the crown. He would have to race hard over those final three races of last season, winning two of those, to upset the other championship contenders. For Creed's next act, he will work to defend that championship in 2021 and build on last season's performance. He and crew chief, Jeff Stankiewicz, really seemed to click over the final third of last season. The No. 2 GMS Racing team has all the momentum heading into the new season, and it's clear that Creed has the talent to take them a long way.
Austin Hill – No. 16 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota – Hill was clearly the driver to beat for the championship last season. He had a strong campaign posting two wins and 17 Top-10 finishes. However, a bit of bad luck over the final two races would take him out of championship contention. It was a bitter pill to swallow given the good season. Hattori Racing will put 26-year-old back behind the wheel of the team's Toyota in 2021. Over the last two season's Hill has averaged three wins and 15 Top-10 finishes. That level of performance easily slots him in to the championship contender category. Hill and crew chief Scott Zipadelli

Sheldon Creed – No. 2 GMS Racing Chevrolet – The young GMS Racing talent was the irresistible force that no one saw coming in 2020. In just his second full season of Camping World Truck Series competition, Creed stormed to five victories and 13 Top-10 finishes to take the crown. He would have to race hard over those final three races of last season, winning two of those, to upset the other championship contenders. For Creed's next act, he will work to defend that championship in 2021 and build on last season's performance. He and crew chief, Jeff Stankiewicz, really seemed to click over the final third of last season. The No. 2 GMS Racing team has all the momentum heading into the new season, and it's clear that Creed has the talent to take them a long way.
Austin Hill – No. 16 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota – Hill was clearly the driver to beat for the championship last season. He had a strong campaign posting two wins and 17 Top-10 finishes. However, a bit of bad luck over the final two races would take him out of championship contention. It was a bitter pill to swallow given the good season. Hattori Racing will put 26-year-old back behind the wheel of the team's Toyota in 2021. Over the last two season's Hill has averaged three wins and 15 Top-10 finishes. That level of performance easily slots him in to the championship contender category. Hill and crew chief Scott Zipadelli will look to claim more victories in this season and strive for more consistency. That's what it's going to take to win that elusive Camping World Truck Series crown.
Brett Moffitt – No. 45 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet – Moffitt saw a modest downturn in stats last season. His one-win and 16 Top-10 finish campaign was a bit below the bars set in the prior two seasons. Moffitt and GMS Racing parted ways at the end of 2020 and now he'll race for Niece Motorsports in their No. 45 entry. Moffitt has won races and finished inside the Top 3 of the standings for two different race teams the last three seasons, so the move isn't too much cause for concern. The 28-year-old veteran is in the prime of his racing career and should win races and challenge for championships with any good race team. Niece will pair Moffitt with crew chief Phil Gould. Gould led Ross Chastain to a three-win, 18 Top-10 finish and runner-up to the truck series title in 2019, so he knows what it takes to win. The duo of Moffitt and Gould should prove to be a great combination this season.
Grant Enfinger – No. 98 ThorSport Racing Toyota – Enfinger turned in a career-best season in 2020. The 36-year-old veteran posted his first multi-win season with four victories and 13 Top-10 finishes. While the wins came in droves, some of the consistency of past seasons was lost. Enfinger saw his average finish climb from 8.5 in 2019 to an inflated 10.4 in 2020. That lack of consistency likely caused him to stumble in the final races of the playoffs. The ThorSport Racing driver is tabbed to drive the No. 98 Toyota one again this season and he'll team with Jeff Hensley as crew chief of the operation. Enfinger has proven over the last four seasons that he is one of the more talented veterans in this division of NASCAR at this point. While it has yet to pay off with a championship, the team is painfully close to breaking through that barrier at any time.
Zane Smith – No. 21 GMS Racing Chevrolet – Much like his GMS Racing teammate, Sheldon Creed, Smith came out of nowhere last season to win races and vie for the title. His rookie campaign in the Camping World Truck Series was quite impressive, claiming two victories and 13 Top-10 finishes. Smith would push Creed hard over those final three races of last season, claiming two runner-up and one third-place finish. However, that would be the difference in winning the championship and finishing runner-up. Smith will return to this strong race team in 2021 and once again be paired with the veteran crew chief, Kevin Manion. Entering the new season, GMS Racing seems to have all the momentum in this division of NASCAR and their young drivers appeared to be poised to reap the rewards.
Ben Rhodes – No. 99 ThorSport Racing Toyota – Rhodes continued to inch the bar higher in 2020 with career-best marks on several fronts. He picked up his third-career victory with a big win at Darlington, and he posted nine Top-5 and 14 Top-10 finishes on the way to a seventh-place points finish. The performance was good enough to earn another season at the wheel of ThorSport Racing's No. 99 Toyota. Rhodes has been pushing to make NASCAR's championship playoff round for the last few seasons, but coming up just a bit short. Is 2021 the season where he finally breaks through to race for a championship at Phoenix? Time will tell, but it certainly is incumbent on Rhodes to join the multi-win club this season. Until he can produce multiple wins across a season, his chances of winning his first championship are slim.
Kyle Busch/Other Drivers – No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota – The most successful team in Kyle Busch Motorsports' stable returns in 2021. This is KBM's flagship team, and the truck that Busch choses to pilot in his part-time schedule. The owner/driver has made the maximum (5 starts) each of the last three seasons, and in those 15 events Busch has claimed a staggering 10 victories. That is what makes this team so dangerous. Busch split last season's 23-event schedule with Brandon Jones and Chandler Smith for the most part. The driver rotation earned four victories, 10 Top-5 and 11 Top-10 finishes. The driver lineup for this season has not been announced, so that uncertainty hangs over this team. However, you can count on the No. 51 team to win races and lead laps when Busch is behind the wheel.
John Hunter Nemechek – No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota – Nemechek transitions from the NASCAR Cup Series to the Camping World Truck Series in 2021. The young driver will take over KBM's No. 4 Toyota Tundra. Nemechek's last two full-time seasons in this division of NASCAR was 2016 and 2017. He averaged two wins and 11 Top 10's across those two campaigns, and is a pretty good gage of his abilities. However, the No. 4 KBM team is likely a better equipped outfit than the team Nemechek competed for four years ago. He has race-winning potential and an outside line at competing for the championship. Nemechek should make a pretty seamless transition into this racing series this season and immediately begin posting career-best marks.
Matt Crafton – No. 88 ThorSport Racing Toyota – Crafton is the longest tenured driver in this division of NASCAR. The three-time champion posted a one-win, 15 Top-10 effort in 2020. Those stats are pretty much in line with Crafton's last four seasons in the Camping World Truck Series, and a good base line of what to expect going forward. The only major shakeup this season is ThorSport's switch from Ford to Toyota trucks. That's one variable to keep in mind. Crafton turns 45-years-old this season, and that is a bit of a concern as we move forward. The truck series continues to grow younger each year and Crafton's skills will begin to diminish at some point. We won't likely see much of a drop off this season, but it is something to be aware of in 2022 and beyond.
Stewart Friesen – No. 52 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota – Friesen was the biggest disappointment of the top tier drivers last year. The Canadian raced a winless campaign in 2020 and saw his Top-10 totals drop from 16 to 12 from 2019 to last season. Friesen's average finish ballooned from 8.5 in 2019 to an inflated 15.7 last year. He'll look to correct these inconsistencies and issues this season. The young driver will once again drive the No. 52 Toyota and be paired with crew chief, Trip Bruce. This same duo finished fourth in the driver points in 2019, so they have big potential. Getting all the way back to that level won't likely happen all at once. This small race team has some very stiff competition, and Friesen will likely have to claw his way back inside the Top 5 of the driver rankings one step at a time going forward.
Chandler Smith – No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota – The young prospect completed a 12-race schedule last season for KBM. It was a very promising campaign with Smith grabbing five Top-5 finishes in those dozen starts. There was some inconsistency early in the schedule, but Smith settled in nicely posting most of those good finishes in the stretch run. He should carry that momentum into 2021 as Kyle Busch Motorsports moves him into full-time competition and the team's No. 18 Toyota truck. This is the same team that Christian Eckes raced last season to the tune of seven Top-5 and 11 Top-10 finishes. KBM expects more from this team and they're going to look to Smith to deliver in his first full season. The young driver will look to crew chief Danny Stockman to mentor his efforts in pursuit of Rookie of the Year this season.
Tyler Ankrum – No. 26 GMS Racing Chevrolet – Ankrum returns for another season of racing behind the wheel of the GMS No. 26 Chevrolet. The young driver posted modestly improved marks in 2020 with three Top-5 and 10 Top-10 finishes, but seemingly some ways apart from challenging for wins. After 45 starts in this division of NASCAR, the expectations will grow for Ankrum in 2021. To this point his strengths really seem to be short track and intermediate oval racing. Those have been the best venues for him up until now. Ankrum will have a new crew chief this season in Charles Denike. Denike guided both Chase Elliott and Sam Mayer to victories last season in just his first full season of crew chief in this division of NASCAR. It will be expected that he and Ankrum take some substantial steps forward this campaign.
Raphael Lessard – No. 24 GMS Racing Chevrolet – The 19-year-old prospect makes the jump from Kyle Busch Motorsports to GMS Racing in 2021. Lessard is fresh off a season of one win and seven Top-10 finishes with his prior race team. Lessard will partner with crew chief Chad Walter in his first season racing with GMS. He'll pilot the team's No. 24 Chevy Silverado and look to improve on his 2020 performance. Lessard has just 28 starts of experience racing in this division of NASCAR, so he's still learning on the job. However, the experience of Walter which is a decade of acting crew chief and well over 200 races, will help ease the growing pains a bit. There is some nice upside with this team, but a lot of pieces to the puzzle will need to fall into place for full potential to be realized.
Derek Kraus – No. 19 Mcanally-Hilgemann Racing Toyota – Kraus' first full season in the truck series last year was a pleasant surprise. The 19-year-old prospect piloted the No. 19 Toyota to three Top-5 and 13 Top-10 finishes. Kraus came on strong late in last season, grabbing four of those Top 10's in the final five races. This small race team will field the youngster in a full campaign once again in 2021. Kraus' only major concern is that he'll be starting out with a new crew chief this season. Kevin Bellicourt left MHR at the end of last year to pursue an opportunity in the Cup Series with Spire Motorsports. At the time of this writing we don't know who'll be the crew chief for this driver and team. That one unknown does somewhat temper our expectations for Kraus. However, this young driver's talent and potential are undeniable.
Todd Gilliland – No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford – Gilliland has been confirmed as returning to the Front Row Motorsports No. 38 team in 2021. The two had a successful debut in the Camping World Truck Series together last season. Gilliland earned four Top-5 and 10 Top-10 finishes en route to a 10th-place finish in the final driver standings. This team and driver are back for another run at challenging for race wins and upping their Top-10 totals. The sponsorship and team support look pretty steady for the FRM team, and Chris Lawson will return to fulfill the crew chief duties. Intermediate ovals seem to be Gilliland's bread-and-butter at this point. That's something to remember in DFS and weekly lineup leagues. As to moving up the standings, it's going to be a tall order given how competitive this division of NASCAR is currently.
Johnny Sauter – No. 13 ThorSport Racing Toyota – The 2016 Camping World Truck Series champion seemed to really hit the wall last season. Sauter labored to just eight Top-10 finishes and his first winless campaign since 2015. The Top-10 totals were his lowest for a season since 2012. The points finish (13th-place) was the lowest of his full-time truck series career. Sauter will turn 43-years-old this season, and it seems that time has caught up to the 17-season veteran. All parts of this team will return intact for 2021. However, Sauter and company will have their work cut out trying to recapture any semblance of his performance from a couple years ago. The downward trend line is obvious over the last two seasons, and the youth movement of the truck series is nothing short of relentless.
Hailie Deegan – No. 1 David Gilliland Racing Ford – One of the most anticipated debuts in the Camping World Truck Series this season is prospect Deegan. She dipped her toes into the truck series pool last year with just one start, but Deegan will get a full schedule of action in 2021 and race for Rookie of the Year. Deegan has been tearing up the ARCA Menards Series and K&N Pro Series West for the past three seasons. Now 19-years-old, she's ready to take the next steps in her NASCAR racing development. Deegan is tabbed to drive the No. 1 Ford for DGR this season. She will partner with crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. and his 300+ starts and 23-career truck series victories of experience. Deegan has obvious talent, gives great feedback on the car and is a quick study behind the wheel. We're being somewhat reserved with a ranking of 17th-place in the pre-season, but the sky truly is the limit for this driver and team.
Tanner Gray – No. 15 David Gilliland Racing Ford – His rookie season in 2020 was no disappointment at all. Gray scrambled to four Top-5 and eight Top-10 finishes during last season. It all added up to a respectable 14th-place effort in the championship points. It might have been better had the young driver been able to attain any consistency. However, that was his one major weakness. DGR welcomes Gray back for another season in 2021. He'll once again be partnered with crew chief Shane Wilson and the two will look to discover that consistency that was missing from last season. It seems that David Gilliland Racing has a lot of expectations for Gray, and they're really looking to grow him as well as this race team this season.
Ryan Truex – No. 40 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet – The veteran driver returns to full-time Camping World Truck Series racing in 2021. Truex raced just nine events last season with Niece Motorsports and collected four Top-15 finishes in those efforts. The team will look to grow their performance in the coming year and the 28-year-old veteran is at the center of their plans. Truex will partner with crew chief Paul Clapprood and look to build on the part-time performance Truex had last season. Niece Motorsports expects to grow this team and move them up the standings. Truex's 51-career starts in this NASCAR division will help to that end. However, this driver and team have a lot to figure out if they're going to outperform some of the talented youngsters in this racing series.
Chase Purdy – No. 23 GMS Racing Chevrolet – Purdy's seven-start 2020 campaign yielded just one Top-10 finish, but the team have deemed him worthy to take on a full schedule in 2021. This No. 23 GMS Racing team is just one season removed from propelling Brett Moffitt to one victory and 16 Top-10 finishes, but they'll take a few steps back this season to help break in this young driver. Purdy will be teamed with crew chief Jeff Hensley and the two will pursue Rookie of the Year honors for this driver. The 58-year-old Hensley has quite a resume with well over 800-starts between the Xfinity and Truck Series and 29-total victories. That experience will help Purdy to settle in and find his groove in 2021. But keep in mind this will be his first full season of action and there will be a lot of lessons learned along the way.
Austin Wayne Self – No. 22 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet – The team is presumed to be returning for 2021 with young driver Self back behind the wheel of the team's Chevrolet. Last season was somewhat of a disappointment as the Texan only grabbed two Top-10 finishes in the 23-race schedule. The good news is that those two strong performances came in the last three races of the season. That should signal that some things were sorted out and performance improved going into the off-season. Ryan Salomon closed out last year as crew chief and led Self to that late-season success. It's presumed he would return at the crew chief position. The No. 22 team has their work cut out if they want to improve their 16th-place final driver standings position and subpar 20.8 average finish from last season.
Timmy Hill/Tyler Hill – No. 56 Hill Motorsports Chevrolet – The No. 56 Hill Motorsports team is expected to be back in action in 2021. They'll deliver a good dose of the Hill brothers behind the wheel of the team's Chevy truck. The duo mainly handled last season's driving duties, with the slight exception of two starts for Gus Dean. The driver conglomerate grabbed two Top 10's and five Top 15's in a very solid campaign for a small race team. As with many teams this size, sponsorship and money dictate a lot of what happens on the race track. If funding is solid, the Hill brothers should have little trouble duplicating their respectable efforts again in 2021. They finish on the lead lap most weeks and are competitive in this very tough division of NASCAR.
Carson Hocevar – No. 42 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet – The young driver turns 18-years-old just before the 2021 season starts, and the timing is perfect. Hocevar will get his first full season of action in the Camping World Truck Series. He's made nine-combined starts over the last two seasons with seven of those coming last year alone with Niece Motorsports. Hocevar grabbed four Top-15 finishes in those efforts and was a pleasant surprise despite his lack of experience. He'll now get a full slate of 23 races to show what he can do, and compete for Rookie of the Year honors this season. Hocevar faces an uphill battle in terms of the ROTY, but his driving talent would appear to give him at least a slugger's chance at the award.
Jordan Anderson – No. 3 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet – The veteran driver from South Carolina should be back behind the wheel of the family's No. 3 Chevy Silverado this season. Anderson now has 124 starts in this division of NASCAR and at 29-years-old he's becoming one of the series' veteran drivers. Last season had its ups-and-downs, but wasn't too bad when you consider some of the highlights. Anderson bagged a career-best finish (third-place) in the season-opener at Daytona last year. He also collected a career-best two Top-10 finishes for the campaign. Clearly, superspeedway racing is Anderson's expertise and where his best results typically come in the schedule. Intermediate and larger ovals were too bad either. Those are facts to keep in hand when considering deep driver help in DFS and weekly lineup fantasy leagues.
Spencer Boyd – No. 20 Young's Motorsports Chevrolet – Boyd has been confirmed for another full season of action in the Young's Chevy Silverado. The veteran pilot raced the full schedule last season and wound up 20th in the driver points with two Top-15 and six Top-20 finishes. Boyd will look to improve upon those numbers and lower his 24.2 average finish from last season. He has the capability to turn things around in this race team. In 2019 he posted a surprising win and two Top-10 finishes while averaging an 18.8 finish with this same race team across 18 starts. The move to full-time racing appears to have been a bit of a setback. Boyd is a seasoned NASCAR driver and this team will improve to some degree in 2021.
Kris Wright – No. 02 Young's Motorsports Chevrolet – Wright raced in multiple lower divisions of NASCAR last season in what appears to have been a crash course in stock car racing prep. The young Pennsylvanian showed good ability and netted some good results in those multiple racing series. Wright has now been named to be the full-time driver of Young's No. 02 Chevrolet. He'll compete for Rookie of the Year in this division of NASCAR and look to make an impact immediately. Wright will be teamed with crew chief Chad Kendrick. Kendrick has 13 seasons of crew chief experience in this division of NASCAR with six victories and 107 Top-10 finishes to his credit. In recent season's he's had success mentoring drivers such as Tyler Dippel and Austin Hill. Wright will be a little fish in a big pond in 2021, and certainly they'll be a steep learning curve along the way.
Codie Rohrbaugh – No. 9 CR7 Motorsports Chevrolet – This small race team would love to go full-time racing, but simply doesn't have the sponsorship to do so at this point. However, we can't rule out that happening this season. Rohrbaugh made 17 of the 23 events in 2020 and raced to some pretty decent results. He grabbed two Top-5 and three Top-10 finishes in those efforts, so ability and performance are there for this small race team and young driver. Rohrbaugh has the ability to do a lot, especially on the larger ovals. The only weakness at this point is money. CR7M is likely looking at another 17 or 18 start schedule in 2021. That limits Rohrbaugh's week-to-week impact. However, he's a driver to watch closely when the No. 9 team does show up on the entry list.
Brennan Poole – No. 30 On Point Motorsports Toyota – This team has raced a part-time schedule over the past couple seasons with Poole behind the wheel. The veteran driver had a pretty decent 2019 campaign with one Top-5 and four Top-10 finishes. However, the COVID-affected season of 2020 wasn't so kind to this driver and team. Poole's average finish ballooned from 15.7 to 22.5 in 2020, and he failed to crack the Top 10 in his 11 starts last season. Poole will look to regroup in 2021 as the team hopes to go full-time racing. That has yet to be confirmed, and we can only assume this driver and team are looking at another roughly half-time schedule. Poole's age and experience are assets, and the team just needs to get into some kind of rhythm to see the results.
Cory Roper – No. 04 Roper Racing Chevrolet – The 43-year-old veteran driver returns this season. Roper will once again field his self-owned race team, the No. 04 Chevrolet. Last season was a part-time effort for this driver and team. Roper made 12 starts and netted just three Top-20 finishes in those efforts. The part-time schedule and inflated 23.9 average finish led to a 29th-place slot in the final driver standings. At the time of this writing there's no word on the potential for Roper's team going full-time in 2021, although that's the desire. Given the lack of equipment and funding the potential to improve for this race team is very limited. The part-time schedule also tempers any ability to climb the truck series ladder.
Josh Reaume/Other Drivers – No. 33 Reaume Brothers Racing Chevrolet – This race team ran the full schedule last season with a host of different drivers behind the wheel of the No. 33 Chevrolet. Reaume made just four of the 23 starts while a conglomerate filled in the rest of the schedule. As a group they netted one Top-10 and two Top-20 finishes. It was a campaign marked by wild inconsistency at times. The plans for this team have not been announced at the time of this writing, but it's expected that Reaume will return for the full schedule with another mix of drivers in 2021. The lack of consistency behind the wheel and the lack of consistency on the race track are two themes that will likely continue forward into this season.
Jennifer Jo Cobb – No. 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing Chevrolet – This driver and her self-owned team have managed to run most of the schedule for the last seven seasons in the Camping World Truck Series. Cobb made 21 of the 23 events last year and struggled to be relevant at times. The seven DNF's she registered put the truck in the garage too early and led to the inflated 30.2 average finish. The 47-year-old driver will look to hit the reset button in 2021. Cobb's 2018 and 2019 campaigns led to 20th- and 21st-place finishes in the driver standings respectively, so she's raced much better than last season. It could be that Cobb's advancing age and small race team are beginning to shrink in impact in this constantly tilting younger division of NASCAR.
Jake Griffin/Other Drivers – No. 00 Reaume Brothers Racing Chevrolet – This team ran mostly with Josh Reaume last season, but with a mix of other drivers in the seat of the No. 00 Chevrolet. The driver lineup is not complete at this point for 2021, but we do know that Griffin will run the two events on dirt (Bristol and Knoxville). Last season's results were mixed at best. The driver conglomerate earned just three Top-20 finishes for the 2020 campaign. Those efforts all came on the intermediate ovals, so that's the team's strength. By contrast, short tracks and road courses seemed to be the team's Achilles' heel. It's hoped that Griffin's talent on dirt will have some impact in those two events this season.