NASCAR announced Tuesday the Gander Outdoors Truck Series Playoff field would expand from 8 teams to 10 teams in 2020. The series will stick with the traditional three races per round with two drivers being eliminated after the first round, four after the second round, leaving four drivers to battle at Phoenix.

The expansion from 8 to 10 in 2020 could have been directly affected by what happened during the 2019 season. Kyle Busch Motorsports saw both of their full-time drivers miss the playoffs. Tyler Ankrum won at Kentucky thrusting himself into the playoffs after having to start and park with NEMCO a few races prior. Combine that with Illmor’s issues at Las Vegas with Thorsport and the argument for 10 within the NASCAR offices made sense.

Who they picked up?

The Truck Series field picked up a few new full-time teams for 2020 which also could have influenced the expansion to 10. GMS Racing will field 4 full-time teams in 2020, up from 2 last season. Bill McAnally’s team joins full time with help from HRE. Front Row Motorsports joins the series in a partnership with DGR-Crosley to field a truck for Todd Gilliland. The biggest issue here is will NASCAR condense the playoff field if there are only 11 competitive full-time teams in 2021? A precedent has been set for expansion during competitive years.

Allowing more than half the competitive field into the playoffs is certainly a sell for sponsors. Instead of a 50% chance of making the playoffs you know have a 62% chance. In some public schools that might be a passing grade. Regardless of the reasoning behind the expansion boomers will be out in full force bashing participation trophies.

Field expansion should have been put on hold until NASCAR figures out how to start all three series’ playoffs on the same weekend. That’s the biggest issue.

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Decker moves to Niece after running 19 races for DGR-Crosley in 2019. Her first season in the NASCAR Truck Series was rather forgettable. In 19 races she recorded zero Top-10’s, an average finish of 22.2, she finished on the lead lap just once and recorded an astonishing 9 DNFs. Keep in mind her teammate Tyler Ankrum make The Playoffs and captured the win at Kentucky.

Niece Motorsports was thrust into NASCAR Truck Series stardom thanks to Ross Chastain. The team’s meteoric rise on the back of Chastain’s four three wins saw them racing for a championship at Homestead.

Ross Chastain is moving to the Xfinity Series full-time with Kaulig Racing in 2020 Niece Motorsports was left with an empty seat. The team has signed Ty Majeski to run full-time for the team in 2020. The other truck will see a rotating cast of drivers much as it did in 2019 with Angela Ruch and others. In 2020, Ross Chastain, Carson Hocevar, and Natalie Decker will share the second seat.

NASCAR’s Funding Model Is Broken

By all accounts Natalie Decker shouldn’t be in NASCAR, she shouldn’t be in a national touring series, she should be back in Wisconsin running super late model races in the ARCA Midwest Series.

Decker, however, brings sponsorship and that’s something Niece Motorsports needs. It’s clear Decker didn’t get signed for her talent, she got signed for the check No. 29 her sponsor is writing for her to be in the truck.

Decker moves to Niece

Niece Motorsports made a business decision here. To stay as a 2-truck team the team needed to take on a pay driver. That’s where Natalie Decker enters into the fold. She’s not a driver that is going to win a race or even finish in the Top-10. However, she is a driver that brings a decent check and that’s what a team like Nieve Motorsports needs to keep the doors open and run one super-competitive team.

NASCAR’s funding model is inherently broken and has been for a while. Natalie Decker isn’t the first driver to buy a seat and certainly won’t be the last. Sponsorship isn’t as plentiful as it once was meaning drivers with sponsors (and a check) are landing seats over drivers that are inherently more talented. We see it in all three series, we see it in IndyCar and F1. It happens in every series and there’s really no fix for it other than you know, letting Tobacco companies back into sports. DO IT, COWARDS.

She brings money

Natalie Decker shouldn’t be in NASCAR, she’ll wreck a lot of trucks and keep the fab shop busy. Unfortunately, she brings a check and money keeps teams going. As much as Niece would like to sign another more talented driver Natalie brings the money that allows them to run a competitive truck and a second team.

The business model is broken. But hey, at least there’s a new Cup car coming with a 5-speed.

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