Tyler Ankrum will be returning as the driver of the No. 18 LiUNA! Chevrolet Silverado RST entry for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing (MHR) for the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season.
The news comes as the 2018 ARCA Menards Series East champion from San Bernardino, California, is coming off his fifth full-time campaign in the Truck Series and first with MHR. In his first season with MHR, Ankrum made the 2024 Truck Series Playoffs and finished in eighth place in the final standings. He also notched career-high stats in top fives (six), top 10s (12) and laps led (92) while also tying his career-best average-finishing result of 13.4, the same he generated in 2020, throughout the 23-race schedule.
For the 2025 season, Ankrum will also have continuous crew chief support from Mark Hillman, the latter of whom returns for his fourth Truck season as a crew chief for MHR.
“I’m really glad to be staying at MHR with Mark and the entire LIUNA team,” Ankrum said in a released statement. “This last year was probably the best of my career with the consistency we showed throughout the season. Making the playoffs was a huge goal for us and we were in the mix all the way to Martinsville, so we want to take another step and make it to Phoenix in 2025. We all want to get back to victory lane, and I think keeping this group together and continuing to develop as a team will help us get there.”
Ankrum made his Truck Series debut in 2018, the same season where he would claim the ARCA East title. Driving the No. 54 Toyota for DGR-Crosley at Martinsville Speedway in October 2018, Ankrum started 19th and finished 18th in his debut. He would make an additional start at Phoenix Raceway in November, where he finished sixth.
The following season, Ankrum moved up to the Truck Series to drive the No. 17 entry for DGR-Crosley. After being absent for the first three-scheduled events due to age restrictions, he spent his first nine events racing between DGR-Crosley and NEMCO Motorsports due to sponsorship woes. Then at Kentucky Speedway, he claimed his first Truck career victory and earned an automatic berth to the Playoffs. Despite being eliminated from the Playoffs following the Round of 6, he settled in eighth place in the final standings and wrapped up the 2019 Rookie-of-the-Year title.
Ankrum would proceed to spend his next two Truck seasons racing for GMS Racing. During the two-year span, he made the Playoffs in 2020 and settled in ninth place in the final standings on the strength of 10 top-10 results. He also recorded his first career pole for the series’ inaugural event at Circuit of the Americas in May 2021. The following two seasons, he transitioned to Hattori Racing Enterprises, where his best points result was 12th in 2022, before he made his recent move to MHR in 2024.
Through 136 current starts in the Truck Series, Ankrum has recorded one victory, one pole, 16 top-five results, 50 top-10 results, 236 laps led and an average-finishing result of 13.4 as he strives to extend the momentum from this past season towards a return to Victory Lane and another Playoff bid in 2025.
“Tyler had his strongest season in 2024 and the best is yet to come,” Bill McAnally, team owner of MHR, added. “He, Mark (Hillman), and the whole LIUNA team worked well together, made a strong playoff run, and put themselves in position to win some races. The growth of MHR we have for 2025 will make the No. 18 team stronger and I can’t wait to see what we can accomplish with Tyler next season.”
With his plans for next season set, Tyler Ankrum’s 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season is set to commence at Daytona International Speedway on February 14. The event’s broadcast time is scheduled to commence at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
Daniel Hemric has been named a full-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitor for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing’s No. 19 Chevrolet Silverado RST entry for the 2025 season.
The news comes as Hemric, the 2021 Xfinity Series champion from Kannapolis, North Carolina, is coming off his second full-time campaign in the Cup Series and first with Kaulig Racing in the series. Throughout the 36-race schedule, Hemric notched four top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 23.0 before settling in 29th place in the final standings.
“This is a great opportunity for me to compete for wins and chase another championship,” Hemric said. “Thanks to Bill McAnally, Bill Hilgemann, NAPA, Chevrolet and everyone involved for the opportunity. It’s a big milestone season to be a part of with NAPA’s 100th anniversary and the 35th year of Bill’s partnership with them. We’re going to do everything we can to get the NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet in victory lane and be in contention for a championship.”
Hemric, who grew up competing in go-karts before trancending his way to Bandolero and Legends cars as he would claim the Legends Million victory in 2010, made his inaugural presence within NASCAR’s top three national touring series in the Truck Series at Martinsville Speedway in October 2013. Driving the No. 6 Chevrolet for Sharp Gallaher Racing, Hemric finished 32nd in his Truck debut and would proceed to finish 13th in his second Truck start at Phoenix Raceway two races later.
After making a single Truck start with NTS Motorsports in 2014 at Homestead, Hemric graduated to a full-time driving role in the series and in NTS’s No. 14 Chevrolet Silverado entry for the 2015 season. During the season, he notched four top-five results, 13 top-10 results and finished seventh in the final standings. The following season, Hemric transitioned to Brad Keselowski Racing as he piloted the No. 19 Ford F-150 entry. During the season, he made the series’ inaugural Playoffs and finished in sixth place in the final standings on the strengths of 11 top-five results, 17 top-10 results, 119 laps led and an average-finishing result of 8.6.
Since graduating to the Xfinity Series in 2017, Hemric would proceed to campaign in two full-time Cup seasons (2019 & 2024), claim the 2019 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title and achieve both his first race victory and championship during the 2021 Xfinity Series finale at Phoenix Raceway. Within his run, he made a single additional start in the Truck Series, which occurred at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May 2018 as he finished 21st while driving for Young’s Motorsports.
Through 50 current starts in the Truck Series, Hemric has recorded 15 top-five results, 30 top-10 results, 137 laps led and an average-finishing result of 11.1 as he strives to achieve his first victory in the series and maintain the competitiveness of McAnally-Hilgemann Racing’s No. 19 team that is coming off a four-race winning season with Christian Eckes, who also made the Championship 4 round before settling in third place in the final standings.
“We’re looking forward to a big year and Daniel is the guy to pick up where we left off,” Bill McAnally, owner of McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, said. “The 2025 season will be a milestone year for us with NAPA’s centennial anniversary and our 35th year of partnership with them. This relationship started with my local store in California and progressed to the NAPA Sacramento DC and then to a national level. To see what we’ve built over the years is incredibly special. Daniel has a wealth of experience in all three national series and can perform in the big moments, so we can’t wait to continue our team’s success with him behind the wheel.”
With his plans set for the 2025 season set, Daniel Hemric’s return as a full-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitor is set to commence at Daytona International Speedway on February 14. The event’s broadcast time is scheduled to commence at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
Tanner Gray will be returning for a sixth consecutive full-time campaign in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series division with TRICON Garage in 2025.
The news comes as the 25-year-old Gray from Artesia, New Mexico, is coming off his fifth campaign as a driver of the No. 15 TRICON Garage Toyota Tundra TRD Pro entry in the Truck circuit. Through 23-scheduled events in 2024, Gray notched his second career pole at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, a total of five top-10 results and career-high stats in laps led (35) and average-finishing result (15.7). Despite missing the 2024 Playoffs, Gray achieved a career-best 13th-place result in the final standings. He also surpassed 100 career starts in the Truck Series.
“TRICON has become a second home to me, and I am looking forward to another year as the driver of the 15,” Gray said in a released statement. “I feel like we have some unfinished business after this past season, and I am as motivated as ever to compete in the postseason in 2025.”
Gray, the 2018 NHRA Pro Stock champion, made his first three Truck Series career starts during the final three events of the 2019 season with TRICON, which competed at DGR-Crosley then. Since 2020, he competed as a full-time competitor with the organization that rebranded to David Gilliland Racing from 2021-22 and currently under the TRICON banner since 2023. After notching a career-high four top-five results and eight top-10 results before settling in 14th place in the final standings in 2020, Gray achieved his first career pole at Charlotte in May 2023. During the 2023 season, he would proceed to notch three top-five results, six top-10 results and 26 laps led before finishing in 14th place in the standings for a second time.
In addition to being a full-time Truck Series competitor, Gray has made a total of 21 starts in the ARCA Menards Series division. This past season, Gray made six starts with Joe Gibbs Racing and achieved his first two career victories (Charlotte in May and Kansas Speedway in September).
Through 117 previous Truck Series starts, Gray has achieved a total of two poles, 10 top-five results, 27 top-10 results, 81 laps led and an average-finishing result of 17.7 as he continues to strive for both his first series victory and Playoff appearance.
“We are excited to have Tanner back with us for another season,” David Gilliland, team owner of TRICON Garage, added. “He is a foundational member of our team, and we are eager to continue to grow our organization alongside he and Corey [Heim]. I am very pleased with the progress we are making at TRICON and look forward to continuing our pursuit of new milestones.”
Currently, Tanner Gray and Corey Heim comprise TRICON’s 2025 Truck Series driver lineup with the rest, including crew chief details, to be determined at a later date.
With his plans for next season set, Tanner Gray’s 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season is set to commence at Daytona International Speedway. The event is scheduled to occur on February 14, 2025, and air at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
Ty Majeski stormed to his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship by securing a dominant victory in the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on Friday, November 8.
After starting on the pole, the 30-year-old Majeski from Seymour, Wisconsin, led a race-high 132 of 150-scheduled laps in the season-finale event. He led the first 38 laps before he was overtaken by Championship 4 contender Corey Heim. Majeski finished the first stage in second place at the conclusion of the first stage. He regained the lead during the first stage’s pit stop period and before the start of the second stage, Majeski prevailed after a mid-stage battle with Heim on the track to claim the second stage victory.
Majeski would then lead the field to the start of the final stage period with 52 laps remaining. During three caution periods due to on-track carnages and three restart periods throughout the final stage, Majeski retained the lead through every restart period. He executed the final one with 27 laps remaining to his advantage as he motored away from Heim along with Championship 4 finalists Christian Eckes and Grant Enfinger. Majeski capped off the 2024 season with his third Craftsman Truck Series victory this year and his first championship in his third full-time series campaign.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Championship 4 finalist Ty Majeski claimed the final pole position of the 2024 season and the sixth of the season with a pole-winning lap at 138.180 mph in 26.053 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Championship 4 finalist Corey Heim, who clocked in his best qualifying lap at 138.021 mph in 26.083 seconds. Christian Eckes and Grant Enfinger, the remaining two Championship 4 finalists, lined up in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Before the event, Lawless Alan dropped to the rear of the field in a backup after he wrecked his primary truck during the finale’s qualifying session.
When the green flag waved and the finale commenced, the field fanned out through the frontstretch’s dogleg as Ty Majeski led the way through the first two turns. Majeski pulled away through the backstretch and led the first lap. His Championship 4 rivals Corey Heim and Christian Eckes followed suit in second and third, respectively.
Over the next four laps, Majeski stretched his early advantage to more than a second over Heim and Eckes while Nick Sanchez and Stewart Friesen followed suit in the top five. Behind, Dean Thompson retained sixth place ahead of Connor Mosack, Championship 4 finalist Grant Enfinger, Kaden Honeycutt and rookie Layne Riggs. Conner Jones, Chase Purdy, Rajah Caruth, Tyler Ankrum and the Gray brothers of Tanner and Taylor were racing in the top 16.
Through the first 10-scheduled laps, Majeski continued to lead by two seconds over Heim while third-place Eckes trailed by three-and-a-half seconds. Behind, Sanchez and Friesen remained in the top five. Enfinger, who lost three spots despite starting in fifth place, was up to seventh place behind Thompson. Majeski stabilized his lead to more than two seconds over Heim and by nearly six seconds over Eckes 10 laps later as Enfinger drove his way back to fifth place behind Sanchez.
At the Lap 30 mark, Majeski’s lead decreased to six-tenths of a second over Heim as the latter started to close in on the former for the top spot. Majeski slightly increased his lead to nine-tenths of a second over Heim at the Lap 35 mark before Heim assumed the lead from Majeski entering the backstretch on Lap 39. By then, Eckes retained third place and trailed the lead by more than four seconds. Enfinger retained fifth place behind Sanchez but trailed the lead by more than 10 seconds.
On Lap 41, the finale’s first caution period flew when Frankie Muniz got bumped by William Sawalich as he slid sideways in Turn 3 as Heim barely avoided McGee’s sideways truck. Muniz’s incident was enough for the first stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 45, to officially conclude under caution as Heim claimed his 10th Truck stage victory of the 2024 season. Majeski, Eckes, Sanchez and Enfinger followed suit in the top five while Thompson, Mosack, Riggs, Conner Jones and Friesen were scored in the top 10.
Under the stage break, they pitted for the first round of pit service. Following the pit stops, Majeski reassumed the lead as he exited pit road first. He was followed by Eckes, Heim, Sanchez and Enfinger. Amid the pit stops, Heim endured slow pit service after he was forced to reverse his No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro into his pit stall to ensure his pit crew could change the left-side tires. Enfinger barely clipped his rear tire changer while entering his pit stall.
The second stage period started on Lap 54 as Majeski and Eckes occupied the front row. The field fanned out through the frontstretch’s dogleg as Majeski and Eckes dueled for the lead. Majeski would then use the outside lane to muscle his No. 98 Road Ranger Ford F-150 ahead and gain the lead through the first two turns as Heim muscled through into second place ahead of Eckes and Sanchez. As the field continued to fan out through the backstretch, Majeski led the next lap over Heim while Eckes, Sanchez, Thompson and Enfinger followed suit in the top six.
On Lap 58, the caution returned when Jack Wood, who was racing outside the top 25, got sideways after making contact with Bayley Currey who was racing in a three-wide battle with Matt Crafton. It resulted in Wood spinning and backing his No. 91 Mongoose Chevrolet Silverado RST into the outside wall in Turn 2. The incident and damage to the rear end of Wood’s truck were enough to make Wood the first retiree of the finale. During the caution period, Crafton and Daniel Dye pitted while the rest of the field, led by Majeski, remained on the track.
As the event restarted under green on Lap 64, a four-wide battle for the lead ensued between Majeski, Heim, Sanchez and Thompson through the frontstretch’s dogleg. Heim muscled ahead from the inside lane entering the first two turns and Majeski closed to Heim’s rear bumper entering the backstretch. Majeski tried to make a move beneath him, but Heim transitioned to the outside lane and fended off Majeski to retain the lead. With Heim leading the race, Majeski retained second ahead of Sanchez and Eckes while Riggs moved up into the top five. Riggs then challenged Eckes for fourth place while Mosack, Enfinger and Thompson closed in from sixth to eighth, respectively. By then, Thompson was penalized for a restart violation.
At the halfway mark on Lap 75, Majeski, who overtook Heim for the lead five laps earlier despite making contact with the latter, extended his advantage to more than a second over Heim. Sanchez, in third place, trailed by more than two seconds. Behind, Riggs and Eckes trailed in the top five ahead of Mosack, Friesen, Enfinger, Taylor Gray and Purdy. Ben Rhodes, Rajah Caruth, Tanner Gray, Conner Jones, Kaden Honeycutt, Daniel Dye, William Sawalich, Tyler Ankrum, Matt Crafton and Stefan Parsons followed suit in the top 20.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 90, Majeski had stretched his advantage to more than three seconds and captured his seventh Truck stage victory of the 2024 season. Heim followed suit in second while Riggs, Sanchez, Eckes, Mosack, Enfinger, Taylor Gray, Friesen and Rhodes were scored in the top 10.
During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Majeski returned to pit road for service. After the pit stops, Majeski retained the lead after he exited pit road first while Sanchez, Eckes, Riggs, Heim, Mosack, Taylor Gray, Enfinger, Caruth and Tanner Gray followed suit in the top 10. Amid the pit stops, Crafton was penalized for improper fueling to his No. 88 Menards Ford F-150.
With 52 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Majeski and Sanchez occupied the front row. At the start, the field fanned out through the frontstretch’s dogleg as both Sanchez and Majeski dueled in front of the field entering the first two turns. Majeski and Sanchez would continue to duel for the lead entering the backstretch in front of Heim and Riggs before Mosack, who was racing in the top six behind Eckes, ran up the track and hit the outside wall.
As the field scattered to avoid hitting Mosack, Tyler Ankrum then got bumped by Sawalich as he spun his No. 18 LiUNA! Chevrolet Silverado RST back across the middle of the backstretch, which triggered a multi-truck wreck that involved Sawalich, Andres Perez de Lara, Stefan Parsons, Friesen, Frankie Muniz, Spencer Boyd and rookie Thad Moffitt. The carnage was enough to place the finale in a red flag period for more than six minutes. By then, Heim, who restarted in fifth place and had moved up to third place before the caution, was penalized for a restart violation, after he steered his No. 11 Safelite Toyota to the left and below the frontstretch’s apron before reaching the start/finish line.
Once the red flag lifted and the field proceeded under a cautious pace, some of the drivers, including Mosack, Friesen and Currey, pitted while the rest of the field, led by Majeski, remained on the track.
The next restart period began with 43 laps remaining and featured Majeski as he fended off Sanchez, Eckes and Riggs through the frontstretch’s dogleg and the first two turns. Majeski proceeded to lead Riggs through the backstretch while Sanchez, Taylor Gray, Enfinger, Caruth and Eckes all followed suit. Meanwhile, Heim, who restarted 19th after serving his penalty, was up to 16th place. As Heim proceeded to climb his way into the top 14, Majeski held a narrow lead over Riggs with 40 laps remaining as Sanchez, Taylor Gray, Enfinger and Eckes followed suit in the top six.
Shortly after, the caution returned when Conner Jones, who was racing in 11th place, spun in Turn 2 after he made contact with teammate Jake Garcia amid close-quarters racing and was nearly hit by teammate Ben Rhodes while sliding towards the outside wall. The incident occurred in front of Heim, who made his way into 11th place. During the caution period, some of the drivers, including Enfinger and Eckes, pitted while the rest, led by Majeski, remained on the track.
During the next restart period with 33 laps remaining, Majeski and Riggs led the field to the start as Majeski muscled ahead from the outside lane through the frontstretch’s dogleg. Heim went to the apron to gain spots towards the top-five mark entering the first two turns, as Majeski muscled away from the field entering the backstretch. But the caution quickly returned as Riggs made contact with Sanchez in a battle for the runner-up spot and spun his No. 38 Love’s Travel Stops Ford F-150 in Turn 2. Nathan Byrd also spun as he jammed on the brakes to avoid Riggs.
The following restart period with 27 laps remaining featured Majeski muscling ahead of a three-wide battle for the runner-up spot. Heim, Sanchez and Daniel Dye battled through the frontstretch’s dogleg and the first two turns before Heim muscled his way into the runner-up spot entering the backstretch. As the field fanned out, Majeski led the following lap ahead of a hard-charging Heim while Sanchez, Eckes and Dye were in the top five.
Meanwhile, Enfinger was mired in ninth place as Majeski stretched his advantage to a second over Heim. Eckes would then charge his No. 19 NAPA Chevrolet Silverado RST into third place on the track. With his fresh tires and only 24 laps remaining, it placed three Championship 4 finalists in the top three on the track while Dye was assessed a restart violation penalty.
Down to the final 20 laps of the finale, Majeski was leading both the race and the championship battle by more than a second over Heim while third-place Eckes trailed by more than two seconds. Meanwhile, Enfinger was in sixth place behind Sanchez and Taylor Gray while Honeycutt, Mosack, Tanner Gray and Rhodes were in the top 10.
Five laps later, Majeski added another second to his advantage as he led by more than two seconds over Heim while Eckes trailed in third place by three-and-a-half seconds. By then, Enfinger moved his No. 9 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RST up to fifth place despite trailing the lead by more than seven seconds. Majeski, who was posting the fastest lap times on the track, continued to extend his advantage to more than three seconds over Heim with 10 laps remaining.
With five laps remaining, Majeski stabilized his advantage to more than four seconds over Heim while Eckes continued to trail in third place by five seconds. Meanwhile, Enfinger trailed in fifth place on the track by nine seconds while Sanchez was mired in fourth place.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Majeski remained in the lead both in the race and the championship battle by more than four seconds over Heim. Heim was unable to narrow the gap between himself and Majeski for a final lap charge. Majeski smoothly navigated his No. 98 Road Ranger Ford F-150 around the Phoenix circuit for a final time before he returned to the frontstretch to claim the checkered flag and win both the race and his first Truck Series championship.
With his first title, Majeski also claimed his sixth career race victory and became the 21st competitor overall to win a championship in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series division. He was also the third consecutive Ford competitor to win a Truck championship in recent seasons and the seventh to achieve a first title under the series’ current inception of the Playoff-elimination format.
Majeski also delivered both the sixth Truck driver’s championship and the third owner’s championship for ThorSport Racing while veteran crew chief Joe Shear Jr. notched his second title in the series.
The 2024 season marks the fourth time over the previous seven seasons that the championship-winning competitor won the season-finale event on a schedule and the third time over the last five seasons that it occurred at Phoenix Raceway. Majeski’s 2024 championship comes in his third full-time Truck season driving for ThorSport Racing, a team whom Majeski drove for in select events in 2021 before he was elevated to a full-time ride in 2022.
Photo by Ron Olds for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“God, I can’t believe it,” Majeski said on the frontstretch on FS1. “Just huge thank you to [team owners] Duke and Rhonda Thorson. Joe Shear Jr., he’s one bad dude. This is so much fun racing with this group. So proud to have the opportunity to drive these great race trucks. There’s a lot of time in my career where this [championship] looks like a far dream and Duke and Ronda really gave me my third opportunity after I had two opportunities that failed. Man, I can’t thank them enough. We have had a lot of ups and downs and just so proud of these guys.”
During his championship interview, Majeski, a five-time ARCA Midwest Tour champion who grew up competing in late models and short-track events, evoked an inspiring message to short-track racers striving to emerge as a future NASCAR champion.
“[Winning]’s possible,” Majeski said. “You just need to find a way to set yourself apart from everybody else. I did that by working in the shop. [I] Started as an engineer at ThorSport [Racing] in 2021 with three or four races, didn’t know what it was going to turn into and now, we’re champions. Man, this is special. We’re going to celebrate this one.”
As Majeski celebrated both the race victory and his first championship on the stage with his team, the remaining three Championship 4 finalists including Corey Heim, Christian Eckes and Grant Enfinger were left disappointed on pit road as the trio fell short of winning their first title in the series.
Heim, the driver of the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota entry, ended up in the runner-up spot both on the track and in the final standings and was left surprised by the late restart violation penalty. He admitted though that he could not keep pace with Majeski to battle for the title amid his late-race rally. Heim, who capped off the season with a series-leading six victories, will return to the Truck Series with TRICON Garage for the 2025 season as he strives to make another run for his first championship.
“It’s hard to even be upset,” Heim said. “I did almost everything right except for that restart violation, but we were able to get our track position back pretty quick and make the most of it. I just had nothing for [Majeski] all day. He was so fast. I’m just proud of myself for not driving through the fastest truck like I drove through last year by [Carson] Hocevar and we’re going to go with our heads up high. A six-win season, career highs for myself, my team, organization, everybody. Just one sport short of the championship.”
Meanwhile, the late pit stops for both Eckes and Enfinger did not pay dividends for either driver as Eckes settled in third place on the track and in the final standings while Enfinger came home in fifth place on the track and fourth place in the final standings.
“[I] Just didn’t have enough today,” Eckes, who achieved four race victories, a season-high 11 stage victories and is set to graduate to the Xfinity Series with Kaulig Racing in 2025, said. “[Majeski] and [Heim] were just stronger than us. We threw a Hail Mary with the tires and I thought for a second I would be able to catch them and just didn’t have enough. I wish we could have finished [the season] off with a championship, but just came up a little short. So proud of my guys and we’ll move on to 2025.”
“Honestly, [I needed] just more speed,” said Enfinger, who notched back-to-back victories during the Round of 8 and will be remaining with CR7 Motorsports for the 2025 Truck Series season.
“Really proud of the CR7 Motorsports group. All we’ve overcome all year. I feel like we came here with the right mindset, the right game plan and honestly, pretty much the right execution for the stuff in our control. We just flat out didn’t have the speed tonight…It is a special year. Definitely disappointing performance for us tonight, but overall, proud of everything we did. We just flat out didn’t have the short-run speed. I think after 15 laps, we were respectable, but just couldn’t go on the short run.”
Nick Sanchez finished in fourth place, which was enough to settle in fifth place in the final standings and his final campaign in the Truck Series with Rev Racing as he is set to move up to the Xfinity Series with Big Machine Racing in 2025. Taylor Gray, Kaden Honeycutt, Connor Mosack, Ben Rhodes and Layne Riggs, the latter of whom claimed the 2024 Truck Series Rookie-of-the-Year title, completed the top 10 in the final running order.
There were seven lead changes for three different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 43 laps. In addition, 22 of 35 starters finished on the lead lap.
Results.
1. Ty Majeski, 132 laps led, Stage 2 winner
2. Corey Heim, 16 laps led, Stage 1 winner
3. Christian Eckes
4. Nick Sanchez
5. Grant Enfinger, two laps led
6. Taylor Gray
7. Kaden Honeycutt
8. Connor Mosack
9. Ben Rhodes
10. Layne Riggs
11. Tanner Gray
12. Chase Purdy
13. Rajah Caruth
14. Jake Garcia
15. Dean Thompson
16. Brett Moffitt
17. Conner Jones
18. Stewart Friesen
19. Matt Crafton
20. Dawson Sutton
21. Bayley Currey
22. Timmy Hill
23. Stefan Parson, one lap down
24. Daniel Dye, one lap down
25. Matt Mills, two laps down
26. Nathan Byrd, three laps down
27. Thad Moffitt, three laps down
28. Spencer Boyd, four laps down
29. Keith McGee, four laps down
30. Lawless Alan, four laps down
31. Andres Perez de Lara – OUT, Accident
32. William Sawalich – OUT, Accident
33. Tyler Ankrum – OUT, Accident
34. Frankie Muniz – OUT, Accident
35. Jack Wood – OUT, Accident
*Bold indicates championship finalists
Final standings
1. Ty Majeski
2. Corey Heim
3. Christian Eckes
4. Grant Enfinger
5. Nick Sanchez
6. Taylor Gray
7. Rajah Caruth
8. Tyler Ankrum
9. Ben Rhodes
10. Daniel Dye
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series teams and competitors enter an off-season period before returning to action at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, on February 14, 2025, for a new season of competition.
Layne Riggs has officially been named the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ Sunoco Rookie of the Year.
Riggs, a second-generation racer from Bahama, North Carolina, made his Truck Series debut at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in July 2022. By then, he was contending for the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series championship, which he would achieve after he racked up 16 victories and thus becoming the youngest-series champion at age 20. Driving the No. 62 Halmar Friesen Racing (HFR) Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for his Truck debut at Indianapolis, Riggs started 23rd and finished seventh following an overtime shootout. He would make two additional Truck starts with HFR throughout the season, where he finished 19th at Richmond Raceway before finishing 13th during the season-finale event at Phoenix Raceway in November after he started on the front row.
The following season, Riggs, who made his first three career starts in the Xfinity Series with Kaulig Racing, also made three starts in the Truck Series. His first start of the 2023 season was with TRICON Garage at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March, where he finished 28th. He then finished 27th in his second start at Nashville Superspeedway while driving for Young’s Motorsports. His third and final Truck start of the season occurred at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park with Spire Motorsports, where he notched his first top-five career result by finishing third.
In December 2023, Riggs was named a full-time Truck Series competitor for the 2024 season, where he replaced Zane Smith in the No. 38 Ford F-150 entry for Front Row Motorsports. He commenced his rookie campaign in 33rd place after being involved in a multi-truck wreck on the opening lap and failing the Damaged Vehicle Policy (DVP) to continue. The North Carolinian would then finish no higher than 10th over his next eight starts before he recorded a stellar third-place run at North Wilkesboro Speedway in May. He then finished fifth at World Wide Technology Raceway in June two races later and cap off the regular-season stretch with back-to-back fifth-place results. With an average-finishing result of 19.4 throughout the 16-race regular-season stretch, however, Riggs ended up falling short of making his first Truck Playoffs.
Riggs then responded back by scoring his first Truck career victory in the 2024 Playoff opener at the Milwaukee Mile in an event where he led 53 of the 175 scheduled laps. With his accomplishment, Riggs became the 125th competitor overall to win in the Truck Series as he joined his father, Scott, in the series’ all-time wins list.
Not long after becoming the second competitor overall to win a Truck Series Playoff opener as a non-Playoff contender, Riggs then became the first non-Playoff contender to win the series’ first two Playoff events on a schedule as he doubled down with a dominant victory at Bristol Motor Speedway in September. As a result, Riggs also became the first competitor to back up a first Truck career victory with a second in back-to-back starts since Ford competitor Chase Briscoe made the last accomplishment between 2017-18.
During the next event on the schedule at Kansas Speedway, Riggs fell short of winning three races in a row, but managed to claim a runner-up result amid a late fuel-mileage battle. After finishing no higher than 22nd during his next two-scheduled events, Riggs would cap off the 2024 season with two consecutive top-10 results, which was enough to claim 11th place in the final driver’s standings by 38 points over Stewart Friesen. As a result, this made Riggs the highest-finishing competitor in the standings who did not make the 2024 Truck Series Playoffs.
With the rookie title accomplishment, Riggs became both the first Ford competitor and the first North Carolina-raised competitor to achieve a Truck Series’ rookie title since Charlotte native Myatt Snider made the last accomplishments in 2018. Riggs also became the first competitor representing Front Row Motorsports to achieve a rookie title across NASCAR’s top three national touring series and he joined his father, Scott, as a Rookie-of-the-Year recipient within one of NASCAR’s top three national touring series.
Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.
Riggs’ closest rival for this year’s Truck rookie title was Conner Jones, who made 13 starts in the No. 66 Ford F-150 entry for ThorSport Racing and achieved a season-best 11th-place result at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May. Thad Moffitt, another rookie contender, initially commenced the season as a full-time competitor for Faction46 before he transitioned to Young’s Motorsports towards the halfway mark of the season. He then did not compete in five of the final six events on the schedule as he only returned to compete in the season-finale event at Phoenix Raceway, where he finished 27th on the track and 32nd in the final standings, one spot behind Jones.
With the rookie title achieved, Riggs is currently slated to remain at Front Row Motorsports for a second full-time Truck Series campaign in 2025 as he strives to make his first Playoffs and contend for his first series championship.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series teams and competitors enter an off-season period before returning to action at Daytona International Speedway on February 14, 2025, for a new season of competition.
Ty Majeski commenced his pursuit for his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship on a high note by winning the pole position for the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on Friday, November 8.
The 30-year-old Majeski from Seymour, Wisconsin, commenced the weekend by being the third-fastest competitor during the series’ lone practice session on Thursday, November 7. During Friday’s qualifying session, he posted a pole-winning lap at 138.180 mph in 26.053 seconds, which was enough to claim the top-starting spot over Corey Heim, the latter of whom clocked in his best qualifying lap at 138.021 mph in 26.083 seconds.
By claiming the series’ final pole position of the 2024 season, Majeski notched his sixth pole position of the year, the 14th of his Truck Series career and his first since starting in first place at Kansas Speedway in late September. The 2024 season marks Majeski’s third consecutive full-time campaign in the series, all while driving for ThorSport Racing, and their second time making the Championship 4 round as he attempts to claim his first title in the series.
Majeski will share the front row with Corey Heim, a Championship 4 finalist who is also striving for his first series’ title after ending up in fourth place in the final standings a year ago. Heim, who is set to remain at TRICON Garage for the 2025 Truck Series season, was the fastest competitor during the event’s practice session on Thursday.
Christian Eckes and Grant Enfinger, both of whom are contending in the Championship 4 round and squaring off against themselves along with Majeski and Heim, will start fourth and fifth, respectively. The only non-Championship 4 finalist to start in the top five is Stewart Friesen, who will line up in third place after he posted his best qualifying lap at 136.809 mph in 26.314 seconds.
Dean Thompson, Nick Sanchez, Kaden Honeycutt, Connor Mosack and Chase Purdy rounded out the top 10 starting spots for the finale.
All 35 competitors entered for Friday’s finale at Phoenix earned a starting spot.
Qualifying position, best speed, best time:
Ty Majeski, 138.180 mph, 26.053 seconds
Corey Heim, 138.021 mph, 26.083 seconds
Stewart Friesen, 136.809 mph, 26.314 seconds
Christian Eckes, 136.467 mph, 26.380 seconds
Grant Enfinger, 136.348 mph, 26.403 seconds
Dean Thompson, 135.952 mph, 26.480 seconds
Nick Sanchez, 135.947 mph, 26.481 seconds
Kaden Honeycutt, 135.916 mph, 26.487 seconds
Connor Mosack, 135.895 mph, 26.491 seconds
Chase Purdy, 135.890 mph, 26.492 seconds
Layne Riggs, 135.839 mph, 26.502 seconds
Tyler Ankrum, 135.461 mph, 26.576 seconds
Conner Jones, 135.201 mph, 26.627 seconds
Taylor Gray, 135.064 mph, 26.654 seconds
Tanner Gray, 135.064 mph, 26.654 seconds
Daniel Dye, 135.044 mph, 26.658 seconds
William Sawalich, 134.948 mph, 26.677 seconds
Bayley Currey, 134.831 mph, 26.700 seconds
Rajah Caruth, 134.736 mph, 26.719 seconds
Ben Rhodes, 134.338 mph, 26.798 seconds
Jack Wood, 134.318 mph, 26.802 seconds
Matt Crafton, 134.013 mph, 26.863 seconds
Stefan Parsons, 133.804 mph, 26.905 seconds
Brett Moffitt, 133.670 mph, 26.932 seconds
Dawson Sutton, 133.615 mph, 26.943 seconds
Andres Perez de Lara, 133.571 mph, 26.952 seconds
Jake Garcia, 132.363 mph, 27.198 seconds
Matt Mills, 131.661 mph, 27.343 seconds
Timmy Hill, 131.411 mph, 27.395 seconds
Spencer Boyd, 130.199 mph, 27.650 seconds
Frankie Muniz, 128.797 mph, 27.951 seconds
Keith McGee, Owner Points
Nathan Byrd, Owner Points
Thad Moffitt, Owner Points
Lawless Alan, Owner Points
The 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway is set to occur on Friday, November 8, and air at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.
NASCAR heads to Phoenix Raceway this weekend for the highly anticipated 2024 season finale. Four drivers in each division will compete for the coveted championship title, with the highest-finishing eligible driver in each series claiming victory.
Reigning Cup Series champion, Ryan Blaney is prepared for a tough battle heading into the weekend.
“Everyone’s going to be strong. I don’t think there’s like any favorites, to be honest with you,” Blaney said during media availability Tuesday afternoon. “And I never look at favorites when it gets to the Champ 4 because everyone’s there for a reason. They’re all teams that are really fast and they’re gonna be fast no matter what, any given weekend, at any given track.”
All times are Eastern.
Cup Series Championship Contenders
Ryan Blaney William Byron Joey Logano Tyler Reddick
Xfinity Series Championship Contenders
Justin Allgaier AJ Allmendinger Cole Custer Austin Hill
Truck Series Championship Contenders
Christian Eckes Grant Enfinger Corey Heim Ty Majeski
Weekend Schedule
Thursday, Nov. 7
7 p.m.: Truck Series Practice
8 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series West Practice
9:20: ARCA Menards Series West Qualifying
Friday, Nov. 8
1:30 p.m.: ARCA West Valley 100 – FloRacing
4:05 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying – FS2
5:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – USA/NBC Sports App
6:05 p.m.: Cup Series Practice USA/MRN/SiriusXM/NBC Sports App
NASCAR levied major penalties to three Cup Series teams for violating the sport’s Member Conduct sections within the Rule Book following this past weekend’s Round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway that occurred on Sunday, November 3.
The teams that were affected under the penalty report were Trackhouse Racing’s No. 1 Chevrolet team piloted by Ross Chastain, Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 Chevrolet team piloted by Austin Dillon and 23XI Racing’s No. 23 Toyota team piloted by Bubba Wallace.
In the closing laps of last Sunday’s event at Martinsville, both Chastain and Dillon were performing a side-by-side roadblock for oncoming competitors while remaining behind Chevrolet teammate William Byron, who was racing in sixth place at the time of the actions made between Chastin and Dillon. By then, the handling of Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet entry was fading as Byron was trying to retain his sixth-place spot that would enable him to claim the fourth and final berth to the Championship 4 round by a single point over Christopher Bell, who was racing a lap down in 19th place.
Then prior to the final lap, Bubba Wallace, a Toyota teammate to Bell who was racing in 18th place and had been lapped earlier by the leaders, began to fall off the pace as he radioed a potential tire going down on his No. 23 Toyota entry. With Byron, Dillon, Chastain and a host of competitors overtaking Wallace’s slow entry through the frontstretch on the final lap, Bell then caught up to Wallace through the backstretch. Just as Bell overtook Wallace entering Turn 3 for 18th place, he got loose and hit the outside wall. Bell then proceeded to accelerate and scrape his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota entry through Turns 3 and 4 before he crossed the finish line. As a result, Bell initially overtook Byron in the Playoff standings to claim the final transfer spot to the Championship 4 round.
Following an extensive review of the finish, however, Bell was levied a safety violation for maneuvering his way to the finish line while scraping the outside wall through Turns 3 and 4 since the move had been banned for future use, particularly since the start of the 2023 season amid Ross Chastain’s use of it in November 2022. As a result, Bell was demoted to 22nd place in the final running order, which kept him four points out of making his third consecutive Championship 4 appearance. In the process, Byron was awarded the final transfer berth as he is set to square off against reigning series champion Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick for the 2024 Cup Series championship this upcoming weekend at Phoenix Raceway.
Despite the Championship 4 field being determined, Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition, then said during the post-race conference at Martinsville that officials would also examine the actions and radio dialogue made by Chastain, Dillon and Wallace over their on-track actions while racing both Bell and Byron over any forms of manipulation and to provide an advantage for one Playoff competitor over the other.
With the official determination and penalty report levied to Chastain, Dillon and Wallace on Tuesday, November 5, the trio and their respective teams have been fined $100,000 apiece and docked 50 driver/owner points. The points penalty dropped Wallace from 17th to 18th and Dillon from 28th to 34th in the driver’s standings, respectively, while Chastain retained 19th.
In addition, each of their crew chiefs and spotters has been suspended from this upcoming weekend’s Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. The suspensions include Chastain’s crew chief Phil Surgen and spotter Brandon McReynolds, Dillon’s crew chief Justin Alexander and spotter Brandon Benesch, and Wallace’s crew chief Bootie Barker and spotter Freddie Kraft. Tony Lunders, Keith Rodden and Dave Rogers, all of whom serve as team executives for Trackhouse Racing, Richard Childress Racing and 23XI Racing, respectively, have also been suspended for participating in the finale.
Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.
Following the announcement of the penalties, Richard Childress Racing, Trackhouse Racing and 23XI Racing declared plans to appeal the penalties.
The penalties to Chastain, Dillon, Wallace and their respective teams were not the only penalties levied from this past weekend’s triple-header events at Martinsville. In addition to Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet team, Richard Childress Racing’s No. 8 Chevrolet team piloted by Kyle Busch was assessed a safety violation due to a loose left-front wheel that detached off of Busch’s entry entering Turn 3 and prior to a restart with 94 laps remaining. As a result, front-tire changer Michael Russell and jackman Josh Sobecki were levied a two-race suspension, including the 2024 Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. Following the incident, Busch would proceed to finish 28th place, three laps down.
Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.
In the Xfinity Series, Chandler Smith, who finished in third place during last Saturday’s Round of 8 finale at Martinsville, was fined $10,000 for being involved in a post-race altercation with Cole Custer, where the former swung a punch to the latter to express his displeasure over being bumped by Custer, who retaliated from being bumped by Smith earlier, during a late-race restart that knocked Smith out of contention to making the Championship 4 round. Meanwhile, Custer, who finished fourth at Martinsville, was able to claim a Championship 4 berth as he will square off against Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger and Austin Hill to defend his series’ title at Phoenix.
In the Craftsman Truck Series, Ty Majeski, who finished in 11th place during last Friday’s Round of 8 finale at Martinsville, was fined $12,500 for not performing a media obligation. The fine did not affect Majeski’s outcome of making the Championship 4 field as he is set to square off against Christian Eckes, Grant Enfinger and Corey Heim for the series’ title at Phoenix.
Next on the schedule is the 2024 season-finale events for NASCAR’s top three national touring series at Phoenix Raceway, where a champion in each series will be crowned. The Craftsman Truck Series finale at Phoenix is scheduled to occur this Friday, November 8, at 8 p.m. ET on FS1 while the Xfinity Series finale will follow suit this Saturday, November 9, at 7 p.m. ET on the CW Network. The Cup Series finale will cap off the weekend on Sunday, November 10, at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.
Christian Eckes capped off a dominant run by pulling a late bump-and-run move on Playoff rival Taylor Gray that enabled him to clinch a Championship 4 berth after winning the Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 at Martinsville Speedway on Friday, November 1.
The 23-year-old Eckes from Greenville, New York, led all but 13 of 200-scheduled laps in an event where he started on the pole position. He captured the event’s first two stage periods before he pitted for the first and only time before the start of the final stage period with 90 laps remaining. After reassuming the lead from Ben Rhodes with 84 laps remaining, Eckes would retain the top spot through three caution periods and two restart periods.
Then, during the event’s final restart period with five laps remaining, Eckes was caught in a controversial incident with Taylor Gray. It resulted in Eckes bumping and sending Gray up the racetrack and out of the lead after Gray had taken it from Eckes at the start of the restart. Eckes would then duel, swap spots and bump Rhodes for the top spot during the following two laps before he moved Rhodes out of the racing groove in the same turn as he moved Gray. With the late clean air to his advantage, Eckes retained the lead for the final two laps and cruised to his fourth NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory of the 2024 season and secured his first-ever berth to the Championship 4 round.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Playoff contender Christian Eckes notched the pole position with a lap at 96.830 mph in 19.556 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff contender Ty Majeski, who clocked in his best qualifying lap at 96.805 mph in 19.561 seconds.
Before the event, the following names including Playoff contender Tyler Ankrum, Justin Carroll, Tanner Gray and Clayton Green dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective trucks.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Christian Eckes motored his No. 19 Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet Silverado RST ahead of Ty Majeski, who struggled to launch at the start, and the field through the frontstretch as he had both lanes to his control through the first two turns and the backstretch. As the field behind jostled for early spots, Eckes led the first lap while Majeski fended off Playoff contenders Nick Sanchez and Taylor Gray for the runner-up spot as rookie Layne Riggs followed suit.
Over the next four laps, Eckes stretched his early advantage to as high as seven-tenths of a second over Majeski while Sanchez followed suit in third place as the field behind bumped and jostled amongst one another for early spots. Behind, Riggs was in fourth place ahead of Taylor Gray while Ben Rhodes, Playoff contender Corey Heim, Chase Purdy, Kaden Honeycutt and Playoff contender Rajah Caruth were in the top 10.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Eckes was leading by nine-tenths of a second over Majeski while Sanchez, Riggs and Taylor Gray were racing in the top five ahead of Rhodes, Heim, Purdy, Honeycutt and Caruth. Behind, Jack Wood, Johnny Sauter, William Sawalich, Dean Thompson and Matt Crafton were in the top 15 while Timmy Hill, Stewart Friesen, Daniel Dye, Landen Lewis and Matt Mills pursued in the top 20. Meanwhile, Playoff contender Grant Enfinger was up to 24th place while Playoff contender Tyler Ankrum was mired in 31st place.
Ten laps later, Eckes extended his advantage to more than a second over Majeski while third-place Sanchez trailed by two seconds. Behind, Riggs and Taylor Gray remained in the top five ahead of Rhodes, Heim, Purdy, Honeycutt and Caruth as Enfinger and Ankrum were mired in 22nd and 31st, respectively.
Another 10 laps later, Eckes stabilized his advantage to more than a second over runner-up Majeski and by more than three seconds over third-place Sanchez while Riggs and Taylor Gray remained racing in the top five. Meanwhile, Enfinger cracked the top 20 as he was up to 20th place while Ankrum gained four spots to 27th place. By then, Heim retained seventh place behind Rhodes while Caruth continued to race in 10th place behind Purdy and Honeycutt.
Then on Lap 35, the event’s first caution period flew due to Matthew Gould slowly coming to a halt in the backstretch after he fell off the pace through the frontstretch earlier. During the caution period, some led by Rhodes and including Enfinger and Ankrum, the latter of whom was spared from losing a lap, pitted while the rest led by Eckes remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Matt Crafton and Landen Lewis were both penalized for speeding on pit road.
When the race restarted under green on Lap 42, Eckes fended off Majeski to retain the lead through the first two turns while 10th-place Caruth tried to throw a three-wide move beneath teammate Purdy for more positions towards the front. The following lap, Purdy and Dean Thompson made contact entering Turn 1 as Thompson tried to make a tight move beneath Purdy for position. With a bevy of competitors continuing to bump, fan out and jostle for spots, Eckes proceeded to drive away with the lead as he retained the top spot by the Lap 45 mark.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 50, Eckes, who came into Martinsville 38 points above the top-four cutline in his pursuit to make the Championship 4 round, captured his 10th Truck stage victory of the 2024 season. Majeski followed suit in second as he was followed by Sanchez, Taylor Gray and Riggs while Heim, Honeycutt, Purdy, Sawalich and Connor Zilisch were scored in the top 10. Meanwhile, Caruth plummeted to 28th place after he went up the racetrack in Turn 3 on Lap 49 while Enfinger and Ankrum settled in 14th and 17, respectively.
Under the stage break, some led by Taylor Gray and including Caruth pitted while the rest led by Eckes remained on the track. By then, the top seven competitors including Eckes, Majeski, Sanchez, Heim, Honeycutt, Purdy and Sawalich were the only ones who had yet to pit. During the pit stops, Jake Garcia was penalized for pitting outside his pit box.
The second stage period started on Lap 60 as Eckes and Majeski occupied the front row. At the start, Eckes fended off Majeski and Sanchez to retain the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. Eckes retained the lead for the following lap while Majeski was racing in second place ahead of Sanchez and Heim. Towards the Lap 65 mark, Honeycutt was in fifth place and he was followed by Sawalich while Purdy, who was trapped on the outside lane, was dueling with Friesen and Rhodes for seventh place.
Just past Lap 70, Eckes extended his lead to more than a second over Majeski while Sanchez and Heim continued to trail in third and fourth, respectively. As Honeycutt retained fifth place in front of Sawalich, Friesen, Rhodes and Zilisch, Purdy dropped to 10th place as he was racing ahead of Enfinger while Ankrum, Taylor Gray and Caruth were mired in 14th, 16th and 22nd, respectively.
At the Lap 80 mark, Eckes’ advantage stood to nearly two seconds over runner-up Majeski while third-place Sanchez trailed by three seconds. With fourth-place Heim trailing by four seconds, Enfinger and Ankrum were mired in 10th and 11th, respectively, Taylor Gray was up to 15th place and Caruth was mired in 22nd place.
Ten laps later, Eckes extended his advantage to more than three seconds over Majeski as Sanchez and Heim trailed as far back as six seconds. Behind, Sawalich was up into fifth place and trailing the lead by seven seconds while Friesen, Rhodes, Honeycutt, Enfinger and Ankrum were in the top 10 ahead of Zilisch, Riggs, Taylor Gray, Daniel Dye and Purdy.
Another four laps later, Eckes lapped Caruth, who was the lowest-running Playoff contender on the track in 25th place and placed in a “must-win” situation to keep his Playoff hopes alive. Eckes would proceed to stretch his lead to four seconds over Majeski just past the Lap 95 mark as both Sanchez and Heim trailed by seven seconds.
Then on Lap 97, the caution flew as Dylan Lupton slid and wrecked his No. 02 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST hard against the Turn 2 outside wall. Lupton’s incident was enough for the second stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 100 to officially conclude under caution as Eckes captured his second Truck stage victory of the event and the 11th of the 2024 season. Majeski followed suit in second ahead of Sanchez, Heim and Sawalich while Friesen, Rhodes, Honeycutt, Ankrum and Enfinger were scored in the top 10. With seven of eight Playoff contenders racking up the event’s second round of stage points, Caruth, the only Playoff contender to not score stage points, was mired in 25th place.
Under the stage break, nearly the entire lead lap field led by Eckes pitted while Ben Rhodes remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, the following names that include Justin Carroll, Daniel Dye and Dean Thompson were all penalized for their respective pit crews jumping over the pit wall too soon. Soon after, Caruth, who pitted twice under the caution period, took his No. 71 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado RST behind the wall and the pit crew went under the hood of Caruth’s truck to address a potential left-front braking issue. The issue was enough to knock Caruth both out of the lead lap category and in contention to advance into the Championship 4 round.
With 90 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced under green as Rhodes and Eckes occupied the front row. At the start, the field fanned out through the frontstretch as Rhodes retained the lead ahead of Eckes through the first two turns and the backstretch. Rhodes would proceed to lead the following lap ahead of Eckes while Majeski and Sanchez battled for third place in front of Heim. Behind, Taylor Gray, Ankrum and Enfinger were strapped from seventh to ninth, respectively, as Eckes closed in on Rhodes for the lead with 85 laps remaining.
Then with 84 laps remaining, Eckes gave Rhodes a slight bump in Turn 3, which allowed Eckes to draw himself even with Rhodes’ No. 99 Kubota Ford F-150 through the frontstretch before he muscled back ahead and reassumed the lead. As Eckes proceeded to lead with 80 laps remaining, Sanchez started to close in on Rhodes for the runner-up spot while Majeski and Heim trailed in the top five.
With 70 laps remaining, Eckes stretched his advantage to more than three seconds over Sanchez and Majeski while Rhodes dropped to fourth place. Meanwhile, Heim retained fifth place ahead of Friesen, Taylor Gray, Ankrum, Enfinger and Sawalich while Caruth, who had his left-front brakes addressed, returned to the track despite being strapped 20 laps down in 33rd place.
Fifteen laps later, Eckes’ advantage grew to five seconds over runner-up Sanchez while third-place Majeski also trailed by five seconds. In the process, Heim retained fifth place while trying to fend off Friesen and both Taylor Gray and Ankrum battled for seventh place while Enfinger was in 10th place.
Another 15 laps later, Eckes retained the lead by six seconds over Sanchez while Majeski trailed the latter by nearly a second in third place. Behind, Friesen moved up to fifth place as he trailed Rhodes on the track while Ankrum, Taylor Gray, Sawalich, Enfinger and Riggs occupied the top 10 in front of Heim, Corey Day, Honeycutt, Crafton and Zilisch.
Then with 38 laps remaining, the caution flew when Honeycutt, who was racing in the top 15, made contact with the outside wall in between Turns 1 and 2 after he blew a right-front tire. During the caution period, some led by Rhodes and including Taylor Gray, Enfinger and Heim pitted while the rest led by Eckes and including Sanchez, Majeski and Ankrum remained on the track.
The start of the ensuing restart period with 29 laps remaining featured Eckes muscling ahead and leading the field with both lanes under his control through the first two turns while Sanchez and Majeski dueled for the runner-up spot. As Eckes muscled away with a reasonable lead for the following lap, Sanchez, who was placed in a “must-win” situation to maintain his Playoff hopes, muscled his No. 2 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado RST away with the runner-up spot ahead of Majeski, who got bumped by Friesen in Turn 1.
With Friesen settling in fourth behind Majeski, a three-wide action then ensued between Riggs, Rhodes and Taylor Gray during the next lap while Purdy almost got turned by Corey Day through the backstretch. As more bumping and jostling for late spots ensued within the field, Eckes was ahead by more than a second with the lead with 25 laps remaining.
Then with 19 laps remaining, the caution returned when Dean Thompson bumped and sent teammate Tanner Gray into Brett Moffitt as both went up the track and wrecked against the Turn 3 outside wall while Corey Day slid sideways and spun past both to avoid the carnage. During the caution period, some including Riggs, Crafton, Sawalich and Ankrum pitted while the rest led by Eckes remained on the track.
Down to the final 12 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Eckes fended off Taylor Gray, whom Eckes shared on the front row, through the first two turns and the backstretch to retain the lead. With Gray settling behind Eckes and in front of a stacked field, Sanchez tried to pursue both from third place as Eckes led the following lap. Then in Turn 1, Gray, who was placed in a “must-win” situation to advance to the Championship 4 round, bumped Eckes through the first two turns. Seconds later, the caution returned when Friesen, who was racing in sixth place, got bumped by Enfinger as the latter was hit by Purdy, which sent Friesen for a spin in Turn 2 as Sauter limped his No. 66 TSPORT Ford F-150 to pit road with damage and sparks flying out of the truck.
The start of the next restart period with five laps remaining featured Eckes and Taylor Gray sharing the front row for a second time, where Gray dueled with Eckes through the first two turns until Gray used the outside lane to muscle his No. 17 JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro ahead with the lead through the backstretch. Then entering Turn 3, Eckes bumped and sent Gray up the racetrack, which allowed Eckes to reassume the lead while Gray dropped to fifth place.
During the following lap, Rhodes bumped and drew himself into a side-by-side with Eckes through the first two turns and the backstretch before Rhodes muscled his way into the lead through Turns 3 and 4. Rhodes proceeded to lead the next lap before Eckes bumped and drew himself back beneath Rhodes through the first two turns and the backstretch. Eckes would then slip up and cause Rhodes to go up the track, which allowed Eckes to muscle back away with the lead as Purdy came storming in his No. 77 Bama Buggies Chevrolet Silverado RST into the runner-up spot. Purdy and Rhodes would both bump and jostle for the runner-up spot during the following lap as Eckes motored away.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Eckes remained in the lead ahead of a tight side-by-side battle between Purdy and Rhodes for the runner-up spot. With the latter two battling amongst one another and not closing the gap to the lead, Eckes would smoothly cycle his No. 19 Chevrolet around the Martinsville circuit for a final time before he returned to the frontstretch and claimed the checkered flag by more than a second over Rhodes, who edged Purdy at the finish line for the runner-up spot.
With the victory and the Martinsville sweep of the season, Eckes notched his ninth career win in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series division, his fourth of the 2024 season and his first since winning at Nashville Superspeedway in late June. He also recorded the fourth Truck victory of the season for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing and the 12th for the Chevrolet nameplate.
Above all, Eckes, who is in his fourth and final campaign in the Truck Series before he graduates to the Xfinity Series in 2025, officially clinched his spot into this year’s Championship 4 round for the first time in his career as he will contend for his first Craftsman Truck Series championship next weekend at Phoenix Raceway.
Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“[Contending for the championship] feels great,” Eckes, who was met with mixed reactions from the crowd, said on FS1.” Like I told everybody, I wasn’t gonna let us lose this race. The truck was too good. [Racing with Taylor Gray], it was just hard racing. I feel bad about [Rhodes]. I just got way too loose entering the corner, but everybody’s really happy with me. I don’t really care. Proud of everybody for working hard. We’ll go on to Phoenix.”
Not long after, Eckes, who was bumped into the rear by Taylor Gray during the cooldown lap, was met with Gray on the frontstretch as the latter vented his verbal frustration over the late bump and contact caused by Eckes that took Gray out of contention for both the victory and a spot to the Championship 4 round. With both competitors exchanging words while being surrounded by crew members and officials, Gray would give Eckes a light shove to the chest after issuing his warning before he stormed away.
“[Am I happy] With the exchange? No,” Gray, who finished fourth at Martinsville but missed the Championship 4 cutline by 28 points, said. “I got shipped to the fence whenever I raced him perfectly clean in [Turns] 1 and 2. What comes around goes around. I have to race him next year all year long. I guess he’s got that one for him.”
Overall, Gray joins Nick Sanchez, Tyler Ankrum and Rajah Caruth as the bottom four Playoff contenders in the standings to not transfer into the Championship 4 round. On the contrary, Corey Heim and Ty Majeski, who finished seventh and 11th at Martinsville, respectively, claimed the final two berths to the Championship 4 round as both join Eckes and Grant Enfinger in the final Playoff round to contend for their first Truck Series championship.
Rhodes and Purdy finished second and third on the track at Martinsville while Taylor Gray and Nick Sanchez finished in the top five. Layne Riggs, Corey Heim, Tyler Ankrum, Grant Enfinger and Stewart Friesen completed the top-10 final running order.
There were six lead changes for three different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 46 laps. In addition, 19 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.
Results.
1. Christian Eckes, 187 laps led, Stages 1 & 2 winner
2. Ben Rhodes, 12 laps led
3. Chase Purdy
4. Taylor Gray, one lap led
5. Nick Sanchez
6. Layne Riggs
7. Corey Heim
8. Tyler Ankrum
9. Grant Enfinger
10. Stewart Friesen
11. Ty Majeski
12. Connor Zilisch
13. Matt Crafton
14. William Sawalich
15. Dawson Sutton
16. Bayley Currey
17. Dean Thompson
18. Corey Day
19. Matt Mills
20. Jake Garcia, one lap down
21. Timmy Hill, two laps down
22. Spencer Body, two laps down
23. Lawless Alan, two laps down
24. Clayton Green, three laps down
25. Justin Carroll, three laps down
26. Jack Wood, four laps down
27. Matthew Gould, five laps down
28. Johnny Sauter – OUT, Accident
29. Tanner Gray – OUT, Accident
30. Brett Moffitt – OUT, Accident
31. Rajah Caruth, 21 laps down
32. Daniel Dye – OUT, Brakes
33. Kaden Honeycutt – OUT, Accident
34. Dylan Lupton – OUT, Accident
35. Landen Lewis – OUT, Brakes
36. Norm Benning – OUT, Brakes
*Bold indicates Playoff competitors
Playoff standings
1. Grant Enfinger – Advanced
2. Christian Eckes – Advanced
3. Corey Heim – Advanced
4. Ty Majeski – Advanced
5. Taylor Gray – Eliminated
6. Nick Sanchez – Eliminated
7. Tyler Ankrum – Eliminated
8. Rajah Caruth – Eliminated
The 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season is set to conclude at Phoenix Raceway, where a champion will be crowned. The finale is scheduled to occur next Friday, November 8, and air at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.
Christian Eckes struck first in his quest to contend for his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship by winning the pole position for the Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 at Martinsville Speedway on Friday, November 1.
The 23-year-old Eckes from Greenville, New York, who was the fastest during Friday’s practice session, turned in his best qualifying lap at 96.830 mph in 19.556 seconds. The result was enough for him to claim the top-starting spot over Playoff contender Ty Majeski, who clocked in his best lap at 96.805 mph in 19.561 seconds.
With the pole position, Eckes, who is in his second consecutive season piloting the No. 19 Chevrolet Silverado RST for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, notched his fourth Truck Series pole of the 2024 season, his 10th of his career and his first since claiming the top-starting spot at Richmond Raceway in August. With Friday night’s Truck event at Martinsville marking the third and final event in this year’s Playoff’s Round of 8, Eckes, who won at Martinsville earlier in April and enters the event 38 points above the top-four cutline to the Championship 4 round, strives to achieve a strong result that will net him a spot in next weekend’s finale at Phoenix Raceway and contend for the series championship.
Playoff contender Ty Majeski, who finished second to Eckes in the spring Martinsville event and currently occupies the final transfer spot to the Championship 4 round by 22 points, will share the front row with Eckes. They will be followed by Playoff contenders Taylor Gray and Nick Sanchez, both of whom are currently scored below the cutline as they occupy the second starting row.
Rookie Layne Riggs will start in fifth place while Ben Rhodes, Playoff contender Corey Heim (who is above the Playoff cutline), Chase Purdy, Kaden Honeycutt and Jack Wood complete the top-10 starting grid.
With five of eight Playoff contenders starting in the top 10 for Friday’s main event, Playoff contender Rajah Caruth and Tyler Ankrum, both of whom are scored below the cutline, will start 11th and 23rd, respectively. In addition, Grant Enfinger, who is already guaranteed a spot in the Championship 4 field after winning the previous two Round of 8 events at Talladega Superspeedway and at Martinsville Speedway, respectively, will line up in 33rd place.
Notably, Johnny Sauter, the 2016 Truck Series champion who is filling in for the suspended Conner Jones in ThorSport Racing’s No. 66 Ford F-150 entry, will start in 13th place while Landen Lewis, a three-time race winner across the ARCA Menards Series platform who is piloting the No. 16 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota Tundra TRD Pro in place of Sauter, will start alongside Sauter in 14th place. In addition, Matt Mills, who has been medically cleared to compete at Martinsville following his accident and run-in with Conner Jones last weekend at Homestead, will start in 21st place.
All 36 competitors entered for Friday’s event at Martinsville earned a starting spot.
Qualifying position, best speed, best time:
Christian Eckes, 96.830 mph, 19.556 seconds
Ty Majeski, 96.805 mph, 19.561 seconds
Taylor Gray, 96.755 mph, 19.571 seconds
Nick Sanchez, 96.529 mph, 19.617 seconds
Layne Riggs, 96.529 mph, 19.617 seconds
Ben Rhodes, 96.484 mph, 19.626 seconds
Corey Heim, 96.450 mph, 19.633 seconds
Chase Purdy, 96.386 mph, 19.646 seconds
Kaden Honeycutt, 96.293 mph, 19.665 seconds
Jack Wood, 96.097 mph, 19.705 seconds
Rajah Caruth, 95.786 mph, 19.769 seconds
William Sawalich, 95.636 mph, 19.800 seconds
Johnny Sauter, 95.559 mph, 19.816 seconds
Landen Lewis, 95.506 mph, 19.827 seconds
Tanner Gray, 95.444 mph, 19.840 seconds
Matt Crafton, 95.420 mph, 19.845 seconds
Dean Thompson, 95.415 mph, 19.846 seconds
Daniel Dye, 95.400 mph, 19.849 seconds
Timmy Hill, 95.328 mph, 19.864 seconds
Stewart Friesen, 95.175 mph, 19.896 seconds
Matt Mills, 95.022 mph, 19.928 seconds
Matthew Gould, 95.022 mph, 19.928 seconds
Tyler Ankrum, 95.003 mph, 19.932 seconds
Dawson Sutton, 94.960 mph, 19.941 seconds
Bayley Currey, 94.813 mph, 19.972 seconds
Jake Garcia, 94.732 mph, 19.989 seconds
Connor Zilisch, 94.590 mph, 20.019 seconds
Brett Moffitt, 94.125 mph, 20.118 seconds
Dylan Lupton, 94.064 mph, 20.131 seconds
Lawless Alan, 93.989 mph, 20.147 seconds
Corey Day, 93.905 mph, 20.165 seconds
Spencer Boyd, Owner Points
Grant Enfinger, Owner Points
Norm Benning, Owner Points
Clayton Green, Owner Points
Justin Carroll, Owner Points
The 2024 Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 at Martinsville Speedway is set to occur on Friday, November 1, and air at 6 p.m. ET on FS1.
