Daniel Dye finished eighth in Saturday night's NASCAR Truck Series race at Richmond International Raceway. But he was a little better than that at key times, and it proved to be the difference maker as the DeLand racer gained enough ground to qualify for the 10-team playoffs, which begin in two weeks.

Dye entered the Clean Harbors 250 11th in the standings, five points behind Tanner Gray for the 10th playoff berth. He gained just four points on Gray in the finishing order, with Gray finishing 12th.

But finishes of sixth and third at the end of Stages 1 and 2 made the difference for Dye, gaining him 13 bonus points and leaving him 12 points clear of 11th-place Gray in the standings. Gray wasn't running in the top 10 at either of the stage breaks and therefore earned no bonus points.

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Dye drives the No. 43 Chevrolet for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing in his second full-time season of Truck Series racing.

Ty Majeski won Saturday's race in a Ford.

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Reset Truck Series standings

Here are the new driver standings at the end of the regular season and entering the playoffs:

1. Corey Heim: 2041

2. Christian Eckes: 2038

3. Ty Majeski: 2023

4. Nick Sanchez: 2018

5. Rajah Caruth: 2009

6. Grant Enfinger: 2007

7. Tyler Ankrum: 2007

8. Taylor Gray: 2003

9. Ben Rhodes: 2002

10. Daniel Dye: 2001

NASCAR Truck Series playoff format

After an off-week, the playoffs begin Aug. 25 at the historic Milwaukee Mile.

Unlike the Cup Series playoffs, the trucks run seven playoff races. After three races, the field of 10 playoff teams is cut to eight. After three more, it's cut to four for the championship final Nov. 8 at Phoenix.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR Truck playoffs next up for Daniel Dye. Finishes 8th at Richmond