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  • TRICON Garage reveals crew chief lineup for 2025 Truck season

    TRICON Garage reveals crew chief lineup for 2025 Truck season

    TRICON Garage took to social media to reveal its crew chief lineup for the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season.

    The host of names that will occupy TRICON’s crew chief lineup for next season features the return of four names from the previous season and one new name returning atop the pit box for the first time in two seasons.

    Beginning in 2025, Jake Hampton will work as a crew chief for TRICON’s No. 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro team. The No. 1 entry will be fielded as the team’s “all-star” entry for a third consecutive season and piloted by multiple competitors who haven’t been named. Hampton had previously served as a crew chief for TRICON’s Nos. 15 and 17 entries through 11 of the remaining 12 events on the 2023 schedule.

    For the list of familiar names returning in 2025, Derek Smith and Scott Zipadelli will remain as crew chiefs for TRICON’s Nos. 5 and 11 Toyota entries, respectively. Smith, who spent the previous two seasons working with driver Dean Thompson, will be paired with Toni Breidinger, the latter of whom replaces Thompson and is set to make her first full-time campaign in the Truck Series after she competed on a full-time ARCA Menards Series basis for Venturini Motorsports in 2024. Meanwhile, Zipadelli, the 2018 Truck Series championship-winning crew chief who enters his third consecutive season with TRICON, will remain paired with driver Corey Heim. Together, the duo of Zipadelli and Heim have notched nine victories, five poles, 26 top-five results, 37 top-10 results, the 2023 Truck Series Regular Season Championship and two Championship 4 appearances, where they settled in the runner-up spot in the 2024 driver’s standings.

    Lastly, crew chiefs Jeff Hensley and Jerame Donley will return to TRICON as both will also switch teams in 2025. Hensley, a veteran crew chief with 22 Truck victories who first joined TRICON and worked atop the No. 17 pit box for driver Taylor Gray a year ago, will transition to TRICON’s No. 15 Toyota team and work with Tanner Gray, Taylor’s older brother. As a result, Donley, who first joined TRICON in 2023 to crew chief the No. 15 entry and Tanner Gray, will assume Hensley’s former position atop the No. 17 pit box for newcomer Gio Ruggiero, the latter of whom is set to make his first full-time campaign in the Truck Series after spending this past season competing in the ARCA Menards Series East division for Venturini Motorsports.

    This past season, Donley was replaced by Jason Burdett at the No. 15 team before the seven-race Playoff stretch. However, he did work as the crew chief for the No. 1 entry piloted by William Sawalich for the remaining three scheduled events.

    In addition to the crew chief lineup, Matt Puccia, a three-time race-winning crew chief in the Cup Series, will remain as TRICON’s competition director for a third consecutive season.

    The 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season is set to mark TRICON Garage’s third season of existence since being rebranded from David Gilliland Racing and changing manufacturers from Ford to Toyota. Since 2023, the organization has notched nine victories, all of which have been recorded by driver Corey Heim, crew chief Scott Zipadelli and the No. 11 team. In addition, the organization has also recorded a combined eight poles, 48 top-five results, 150 top-10 results and 1,467 laps led. This past season, Heim and Taylor Gray represented TRICON in the Playoffs as the organization continues to pursue its first championship in the Truck Series division.

    TRICON Garage’s 2025 Truck Series season is scheduled to commence at Daytona International Speedway on February 14 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Tanner Gray remaining at TRICON Garage for 2025 Truck season

    Tanner Gray remaining at TRICON Garage for 2025 Truck season

    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.

  • Christian Eckes clinches Championship 4 berth at Martinsville with bump and run

    Christian Eckes clinches Championship 4 berth at Martinsville with bump and run

    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.

  • Corey Heim rallies for wild final-lap Truck Series victory at Kansas; Playoff’s Round of 8 field set

    Corey Heim rallies for wild final-lap Truck Series victory at Kansas; Playoff’s Round of 8 field set

    Corey Heim capped off a roller coaster event that started with starting at the rear of the field to quickly carve his way to the front, dominating and playing a late fuel-mileage battle to perfection on the final lap to win the Kubota Tractor 200 at Kansas Speedway on Friday, September 27.

    The 22-year-old Heim from Marietta, Georgia, led three times for a race-high 64 of 134 scheduled laps in an event where he started at the rear of the 34-truck field due to hitting the wall when a part of his suspension rubbed against his right-side tire while trying to post a qualifying lap, which resulted with his No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota team opting to repair the truck and the driver not posting a qualifying lap.

    Once he took the green flag from the rear of the field, Heim quickly rocketed his way to a third-place result after the first stage period that spanned 30 laps. He would then muscle the lead away from Playoff rival Christian Eckes at the start of the second stage period and proceed to claim the stage victory. Heim would dominate the final stage period before pitting from the lead with less than 30 laps remaining as part of a late cycle of green flag pit stops.

    Then as he cycled his way back to the front in the closing laps, Heim zipped by Playoff contender Ty Majeski, who ran out of fuel on the final lap after he was trying to stretch his fuel tank to the event’s scheduled distance and proceeded to cruise to his sixth NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory of the 2024 season. As a result of his victory, Heim and seven additional Playoff contenders officially transferred from the Playoff’s Round of 10 to 8 while two contenders, including the reigning series champion Ben Rhodes, were eliminated from title contention.

    On-track qualifying determined the starting lineup on Friday. Playoff contender Ty Majeski secured his fifth Truck Series pole position of the 2024 season with a pole-winning lap at 175.023 mph in 30.853 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Connor Mosack, who posted his best qualifying lap at 174.565 mph in 30.934 seconds.

    Before the event, Playoff contender Corey Heim dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his TRICON Garage Toyota entry.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Ty Majeski received a push from Playoff contender Christian Eckes from the inside lane to muscle ahead of Connor Mosack through the first two turns and the backstretch. As the field behind fanned out to multiple lanes, Eckes issued an early side-by-side challenge with Majeski for the lead through Turns 3 and 4, where he would lead the first lap by a narrow margin from the outside lane.

    Over the next three laps, Eckes and Majeski dueled fiercely for the lead through every corner and straightaway while Connor Mosack followed closely in third place. Amid the early battle for the lead, early trouble struck for Playoff contenders Rajah Caruth and Daniel Dye, both of whom hit the outside wall on separate occasions, with Caruth hitting the wall entering the backstretch on the second lap as Dye scraped the wall entering the frontstretch on the third lap. Amid the scrapes, both kept their trucks running straight and proceeding without drawing a caution.

    By the fifth lap, Eckes managed to muscle ahead of Majeski to have both lanes under his control with the top spot. As Conor Daly served a pass-through penalty through pit road for diving his No. 44 Polkadot Chevrolet Silverado RST below the frontstretch’s white lines before taking the green flag, Playoff contender Taylor Gray bounced off the frontstretch’s outside wall and got loose off the front nose of Dawson Sutton while just behind, rookie Layne Riggs nearly spun sideways after he almost brushed the wall. Miraculously, both continued to race straight.

    Through the first 10-scheduled laps, Majeski, who reassumed the lead from Eckes two laps earlier, was leading by over Eckes as Playoff contender Nick Sanchez, Stewart Friesen and Mosack were in the top five. Behind, Kaden Honeycutt, Playoff contender Ben Rhodes, Playoff contender Taylor Gray, Dawson Sutton and Layne Riggs were in the top 10 while Tanner Gray, Corey Heim, Jake Garcia, Matt Mills and Daniel Dye were mired in the top 15. With seven of 10 Playoff contenders racing in the top-15 mark, the remaining Playoff contenders including Tyler Ankrum, Grant Enfinger and Rajah Caruth were mired in 18th, 21st and 22nd, respectively.

    Shortly after, Daniel Dye, who hit the outside wall for a second time, pitted his No. 43 NAPA Nightvision Chevrolet Silverado RST under green and lost a lap in the process. By then, Majeski had stretched his advantage to two seconds over Eckes as Sanchez, Friesen and Honeycutt followed suit in the top five.

    At the Lap 20 mark, Majeski stabilized his advantage to more than two seconds over Sanchez while Eckes dropped to third place. Behind, Honeycutt and Taylor Gray followed suit in the top five while Friesen, Riggs, Heim, Tanner Gray and Mosack were running in the top 10. Meanwhile, Rhodes was mired in 14th, Ankrum was scored in 18th, Enfinger and Caruth were mired back in 20th and 21st, respectively, and Dye was mired in 33rd as he would pit for a second time to address a flat right-front tire, which cost him two more laps in the process.

    When the first stage period concluded on Lap 30, Majeski, who came into Kansas 58 points above the top-eight cutline in the Playoff standings, captured his sixth Truck stage victory of the 2024 season. With the 10 stage points, Majeski officially clinched his spot into the Playoff’s Round of 8. Eckes followed suit in second along with Heim, who thundered his way from the rear of the field, while Honeycutt, Riggs, Sanchez, Taylor Gray, Tanner Gray, Friesen and Mosack were scored in the top 10. By then, the remaining Playoff contenders that included Caruth, Rhodes, Ankrum, Enfinger and Dye were scored in 16th, 17th, 18th, 21st and 34th, respectively, with the latter three laps down.

    Under the stage break, nearly the entire lead lap field led by Majeski pitted for a first round of service while Timmy Hill remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Eckes exited pit road first followed by Heim, Majeski, Sanchez and Riggs. With Hill eventually pitting under the caution period, Eckes cycled back to the lead.

    The second stage period started on Lap 37 as Eckes and Heim occupied the front row. At the start, Eckes, who gained a strong start from the inside lane, quickly darted his No. 19 Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet Silverado RST to the outside lane to move in front of Heim. Eckes’ move enabled Majeski to try to gain a run from the inside lane as the field fanned out through the first two turns and the backstretch. With Eckes proceeding to lead the following lap, Majeski and Heim dueled for the runner-up spot while Riggs and Sanchez battled for fourth place in front of Taylor Gray and Kaden Honeycutt. As a series of on-track battles towards the front continued, Eckes led by two-tenths over Heim, with Majeski, Riggs and Sanchez in the top five by Lap 40.

    By Lap 45, Heim dueled with Eckes for the lead amid a crossover moves through the frontstretch, where he led a lap for himself for the first time from the inside lane and he would muscle ahead by three-tenths of a second over the following lap. Behind, Riggs trailed in third place by eight-tenths of a second followed by a trio of Playoff contenders that included Majeski, Sanchez and Taylor Gray. With Caruth scored in 11th place behind non-Playoff contenders Tanner Gray, Honeycutt, Bayley Currey and Friesen, Enfinger was in 14th place, Ankrum was scored in 19th place and Rhodes was in 21st place. Meanwhile, Dye was scored two laps down in 31st place.

    Five laps later, Heim stretched his advantage to eight-tenths of a second over Riggs, who overtook Eckes for the spot, while Majeski, Taylor Gray and Sanchez continued to follow suit in the top six.

    When the second stage period concluded on Lap 60, Heim, who had already secured his spot into the Round of 8 by points, notched his eighth Truck stage victory of the 2024 season. Riggs followed suit in second place as he trailed by three-and-a-half seconds while Eckes, Majeski, Taylor Gray, Sanchez, Tanner Gray, Honeycutt, Currey and Caruth were scored in the top 10. The remaining Playoff contenders included Enfinger, Ankrum, Rhodes and Dye were mired in 15th, 16th, 21st and 31st, respectively.

    During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Heim returned to pit road for another round of service. Following the pit stops, Heim exited pit road first as he was followed by Riggs and Eckes. Amid the pit stops, Brenden “Butterbean” Queen and Ankrum were both penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation while Dawson Sutton was penalized for being too fast while exiting pit road. Not long after, Taylor Gray, who had a slow pit service, returned to pit road due to an issue with his right front tire.

    With 66 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Heim and Riggs occupied the front row. At the start, Heim and Riggs dueled for the lead through the first two turns until Heim muscled ahead from the inside lane. As the field fanned out to multiple lanes while Eckes challenged Riggs for the runner-up spot, Heim rocketed away with the top spot as he led the following lap.

    Not long after, Eckes, who was fiercely battling Riggs for the runner-up spot, got loose and caused Riggs to step off the gas as he dropped to fifth place. With Eckes retaining second, Sanchez and Tanner Gray followed suit in third and fourth, respectively. Amid the fierce battle for the runner-up spot, Heim was leading by four-tenths of a second with 60 laps remaining.

    A few laps later, the caution returned when Matt Mills, who was battling Taylor Gray and Corey Day for a spot in the top 15, veered dead right into Day as Day made contact against the side of Gray’s No. 17 Place of Hope Toyota Tundra TRD Pro before he hit the Turn 3 outside wall head-on as Mills also slipped and wrecked against the wall. During the caution period, select names including Playoff contenders Majeski, Taylor Gray, and Rhodes pitted while the rest led by Heim remained on the track. Soon after, Rhodes pitted for a second time for fuel that would enable him to reach the event’s scheduled distance on his full tank.

    With the race restarting under green with 51 laps remaining, Heim and Eckes battled dead even for the lead in front of two stacked lanes from the first two turns through the backstretch as both Riggs and Sanchez tried to join the battle. Heim would then manage to muscle ahead of Eckes for the lead through Turns 3 and 4 and back to the frontstretch for the following lap. Riggs, who was battling Sanchez for third place during the previous lap, would then overtake Eckes for the runner-up spot a few laps later as he commenced his charge on Heim for the lead while Currey, Sanchez, Chase Purdy and Caruth battled for fourth place.

    With nearly 45 laps remaining, the top five competitors were separated by a second as Riggs, who was trying to use every lane to gain ground on Heim through every turn and straightaway, only trailed Heim by a tenth of a second. Behind, Eckes retained third place ahead of Currey and Purdy as Sanchez, Caruth, Mosack, Majeski and Tanner Gray were racing in the top 10. Not long after, Matt Crafton was penalized for a restart violation. Then while trying to serve a pass-through penalty through pit road, Crafton was penalized a second time, this time for missing the commitment line to enter pit road.

    As the event was down to its final 40 laps, Heim retained the lead by a tenth of a second over Riggs while third-place Eckes and fourth-place Currey trailed by two seconds. Purdy retained fifth as he trailed the lead by three seconds while Sanchez, Caruth, Majeski, Tanner Gray and Mosack continued to race in the top 10. By then, Playoff contenders Enfinger, Ankrum, Rhodes, Taylor Gray and Dye were mired in 12th, 13th, 17th, 19th and 27th, with the latter pinned two laps behind.

    Then 10 laps later and with Heim slightly stretching his advantage to eight-tenths of a second, a late cycle of green flag pit stops and strategies ensued as Riggs and Enfinger peeled off the track to pit their respective entries. By then, Tanner Gray and Sanchez had pitted under green before Currey and Bret Holmes pitted during the following lap. Mosack, Ankrum and Dean Thompson would pit during the next lap before the leader Heim pitted with 27 laps remaining. More names including Caruth, Eckes, Purdy and Caruth would all pit with 25 laps remaining as Majeski cycled into the lead.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Majeski, who opted to remain on the track to stretch his fuel tank and worn tires as far as possible, was leading by seven-and-a-half seconds over runner-up Honeycutt and by eight seconds over third-place Sutton while Rhodes, who commenced his fuel stretch to the event’s scheduled distance and to race his way into the Playoff’s Round of 8, was scored in fourth place. Behind, Heim navigated his way up to seventh place behind teammate Taylor Gray while Enfinger was mired in 17th place behind Caruth.

    Five laps later, Majeski continued to lead by nine seconds over Honeycutt while third-place Sutton trailed by 10 seconds. As Rhodes, who was locked in a heated duel with Enfinger for the final transfer spot into the Round of 8, retained fourth place and trailed the lead by 11 seconds, Heim was up to fifth place and trailing the lead by 16 seconds while Friesen, who opted to remain on the track to try to stretch his fuel tank to the distance, dropped to sixth place as he was in front of Riggs.

    With 10 laps remaining, Majeski retained the lead by 10 seconds over Honeycutt as Heim boosted his way up to third place. With Sutton following suit in fourth place, Rhodes dropped to fifth place, which left him in jeopardy of not advancing to the Round of 8, as Enfinger, who boosted himself back above the cutline, was up to 13th place on the track and trying to overtake Currey for more.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, Majeski, whose lap time continued to decrease while he was on fuel-conservation mode, was ahead by six seconds over a hard-charging Heim while Honeycutt, Riggs and Rhodes were scored in the top five. By then, Eckes and Caruth were in seventh and ninth, respectively, while Enfinger was up to 11th as Sanchez, Taylor Gray, Ankrum and Dye were mired in 15th, 17th, 19th and 27th, respectively.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Majeski, who led by three seconds during the previous lap, remained as the leader by more than a second over Heim, but he dropped his No. 98 Soda Sense Ford F-150 below the frontstretch’s apron as he ran out of fuel. By then, both Friesen and Rhodes also ran out of fuel and lost pace with the field as Heim rocketed past Majeski entering Turn 1. Having enough fuel in his fuel tank, Heim smoothly navigated his No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro around the Kansas circuit for a final time before he returned to the frontstretch victorious as he claimed the checkered flag.

    With the victory, Heim, who had already secured his spot into the Playoff’s Round of 8 by points, claimed his 11th career win in the Craftsman Truck Series division, his sixth of the season and his second at Kansas after he won the spring Kansas event in May. Heim also became the first competitor to sweep both Truck Kansas events in a single season as he continues his quest to return to the Championship 4 and contend for this year’s Truck Series championship.

    Photo by Ron Olds for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “[I had] Just a deep sigh of relief [when Majeski ran out of fuel],” Heim said on the frontstretch on FS1. “We were the best truck all night. Just huge thank you to my TRICON Garage guys. This is my favorite track. I love coming here. I had a smile on my face all week coming to this place. Just glad we could sweep the year here. It’s just such an awesome place to come. [I] Certainly thought we had [the race] lost there with [Majeski] almost making it on fuel, but it just shows my team made the right [pit] call.”

    Behind Heim, rookie Layne Riggs, who was bidding for a third consecutive Truck Series race victory, came home in second place as Christian Eckes, Kaden Honeycutt and Dawson Cram finished in the top five. Ty Majeski, who led 51 laps from pole position, coasted across the finish line in 15th place, the final competitor on the lead lap, after he ended up a single lap shy of having enough fuel to win.

    Meanwhile, Grant Enfinger steered his No. 9 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RST to a ninth-place result, which was enough for him to claim the eighth and final transfer spot into the Round of 8. He will join Corey Heim, Christian Eckes, Ty Majeski, Nick Sanchez, Rajah Caruth, Tyler Ankrum and Taylor Gray as eight Playoff contenders transferring into the second round of the Playoffs.

    “[Tonight was] Definitely a little bit stressful. Definitely too close for comfort,” Enfinger said. “[Crew chief] Jeff Stankiewicz and all these guys at CR7 Motorsports have done a great job all year, but this is a round we want to forget. We snuck through here and now, we’re looking forward to going to Talladega next week.”

    For Ben Rhodes, however, the reigning two-time series champion ended up in 22nd place and a lap down after he ran out of fuel despite trying to stretch his fuel tank in his No. 99 Kubota Ford F-150 to the distance from when he last pitted on Lap 82. The final result left both him and Daniel Dye eliminated from the Playoffs, with the former not remaining in contention for a third title in 2024.

    “We could have been a lot better to fire off [tonight’s race],” Rhodes said. “All in all, I’m thankful for all of our partners. I wish we were able to get [my sponsors] another championship run, but the past three seasons have been really good to us.”

    The remaining Playoff contenders including Rajah Caruth, Nick Sanchez, Tyler Ankrum, Taylor Gray and Daniel Dye finished seventh, 12th, 14th, 18th and 27, respectively, on the track.

    There were 10 lead changes for three different leaders. The race featured three cautions for 20 laps. In addition, 15 of 34 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Results:

    1. Corey Heim, 64 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    2. Layne Riggs

    3. Christian Eckes, 19 laps led

    4. Kaden Honeycutt

    5. Dawson Sutton

    6. Tanner Gray

    7. Rajah Caruth

    8. Bayley Currey

    9. Grant Enfinger

    10. Connor Mosack

    11. Chase Purdy

    12. Nick Sanchez

    13. Dean Thompson

    14. Tyler Ankrum

    15. Ty Majeski, 51 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    16. Bret Holmes, one lap down

    17. Conor Daly, one lap down

    18. Taylor Gray, one lap down

    19. Nathan Byrd, one lap down

    20. Brenden Queen, one lap down

    21. Jake Garcia, one lap down

    22. Ben Rhodes, one lap down

    23. Timmy Hill, two laps down

    24. Stewart Friesen, two laps down

    25. Matt Crafton, two laps down

    26. Justin Mondeik, three laps down

    27. Daniel Dye, three laps down

    28. Spencer Boyd, five laps down

    29. Frankie Muniz, five laps down

    30. Lawless Alan, six laps down

    31. Jennifer Jo Cobb – OUT, Electrical

    32. Corey Day – OUT, Accident

    33. Matt Mills – OUT, Accident

    34. Marco Andretti – OUT, Brakes

    *Bold indicates Playoff competitors

    Playoff standings:

    1. Corey Heim – Advanced

    2. Christian Eckes – Advanced

    3. Nick Sanchez – Advanced

    4. Ty Majeski – Advanced

    5. Rajah Caruth – Advanced

    6. Taylor Gray – Advanced

    7. Tyler Ankrum – Advanced

    8. Grant Enfinger – Advanced

    9. Ben Rhodes – Eliminated

    10. Daniel Dye – Eliminated

    The Round of 8 in the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs is set to occur at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama, for the Love’s RV Stop 225. The event is scheduled to occur next Friday, October 4, and air at 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Daniel Dye claims final Playoff berth over Tanner Gray with top-10 run at Richmond

    Daniel Dye claims final Playoff berth over Tanner Gray with top-10 run at Richmond

    With an eighth-place finish in the Clean Harbors 250 at Richmond Raceway, the final regular-season event on the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule, Daniel Dye claimed the final transfer spot into this year’s Playoffs by a mere margin over Tanner Gray and will race for his first series’ championship two weeks from now.

    Dye, a 20-year-old native from DeLand, Florida, came into the regular-season finale at Richmond trailing Gray by five points after he previously finished 29th at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in mid-July compared to Gray’s 20th-place result. Ironically, Dye’s deficit at Indianapolis occurred after the Floridian was a single point above Gray for the final transfer spot into the Playoffs after Dye finished three spots ahead of the New Mexican native at Pocono Raceway in 16th place.

    During the regular-season finale weekend at Richmond, Dye struck first by qualifying in 13th place while Gray lined up in 26th place on the starting grid. For the majority of the event, Dye was running within the top 10 and he proceeded to finish sixth in the first stage period and third in the second stage period. With his results, he garnered a total of 13 stage points while Gray collected none as he and his No. 15 Operation 300 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro team were mired outside the top 20 on the track.

    Then despite losing a bevy of spots during a pit stop amid a late-race caution period with 26 laps remaining, which allowed Gray, who was a lap down earlier, to narrow the deficit back down to a single point, Dye used four fresh tires to carve his way back to the front while Gray, whose fresh tires was beginning to wear, slid backward after he restarted within the top-12 mark.

    Following the final restart period with eight laps remaining, Dye powered his No. 43 Champion Container Chevrolet Silverado RST across the finish line in eighth place for his sixth top-10 result of the 2024 season. When all was said and done, Dye emerged with the 10th and final transfer spot into the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs as Gray could only march his way up to 12th place in the final running order, which was enough for Dye to overtake him in the standings and left Gray on the outside looking in.

    With his accomplishment, Dye, who is competing in his first season with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing and notched a career-best runner-up result at Nashville Superspeedway in June that kept him within striking distance of making the Playoffs, became the first competitor to rally from a deficit to jump above the Playoff cutline during the series’ regular-season finale. He joins the 2024 Truck Series regular-season champion Christian Eckes and Tyler Ankrum as one of three McAnally-Hilgemann Racing competitors who will contend for this year’s drivers’ title. Dye also joins Rajah Caruth and Taylor Gray as newcomers to the Truck Series Playoffs.

    Amid his success at Richmond, Dye evoked his game plan on remaining focused on his own goal and garnering as many points as possible that enabled him to make the Playoffs as he enters a seven-race postseason stretch to the championship seeded in 10th place in the Playoff standings with 2,001 points and trailing points leader Corey Heim by 40 points.

    “I said earlier in the week, I really didn’t want to know what was going on with everybody else,” Dye said. “As soon as you start playing defense, you kind of get in the way of your potential. So no, after we got quite a bit of stage points to get a swell, I started thinking about it a little bit more so we maybe didn’t have to be as aggressive, but no, I asked one question the whole time. Then it’s just, when you’re behind, you’ve got to be on offense. If you’re in by 15 or 20 [points] coming into the race, maybe play a little defense, but when you’re out by five, you’ve got to go to work.”

    Amid Dye’s relief, Tanner Gray was left disappointed on pit road after having an up-and-down season, similar to Dye’s, resulting in the New Mexican being the first competitor that was scored outside of the Playoff cutline. For this season, Gray joins teammate Dean Thompson as the only two full-time TRICON Garage competitors who will not contend for this year’s title while Gray’s younger brother, Taylor, and Corey Heim will after the latter two made the Playoffs.

    Gray, the 2018 NHRA Pro Stock champion who is campaigning in his fifth full-time season in the Truck Series, took note of the inconsistent results he garnered throughout this season along with the on-track issues at Richmond that resulted in him missing his first opportunity to make his first series’ Playoffs.

    “We just weren’t good enough all day,” Tanner Gray said. “We just didn’t have the speed, didn’t have the balance and I didn’t do a good enough job. Really frustrated. When you come into a race where you’re on the cut like this, you just got to be better. We weren’t tonight. Congrats to Daniel [Dye]. They were better and they were better coming down the stretch when it mattered. We just made too many mistakes overall throughout the season. Just too sloppy, so we got to clean it up and I got to clean up a lot of things on my end.”

    Daniel Dye’s 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoff run commences at The Milwaukee Mile for the LiUNA! 175 on August 25, with the event’s broadcast time to commence at 4 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Majeski rallies to win regular-season finale at Richmond for second consecutive Truck victory of 2024

    Majeski rallies to win regular-season finale at Richmond for second consecutive Truck victory of 2024

    Three weeks after breaking through with his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory of the 2024 season at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Ty Majeski capped off the regular-season stretch by doubling down with a second consecutive victory in recent weeks in the Clean Harbors 250 at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, August 10.

    The 29-year-old Majeski from Seymour, Wisconsin, led three times for 70 of 250-scheduled laps in an event where he started alongside pole-sitter Christian Eckes on the front row and rallied from having brief issues launching at the start to assume the lead for the first time on Lap 13. Then after opting to remain on track on old tires during the event’s first caution period on Lap 51, Majeski endured a handful of challenges that hindered his performance that began as he struggled to keep pace on his worn tires during the following restart on Lap 63 and lost a bevy of spots. Just as he pitted for fresh tires during the first stage break period, he was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation.

    Restarting at the tail end of the field for the start of the second stage period, Majeski would spend a majority of the event methodically charging his way back to the front as the event endured a series of caution periods and pit strategies amongst the field. Having marched his way back into the top 10 within the closing stages, Majeski used fresh tires and capitalized on a late-race skirmish involving Grant Enfinger and William Sawalich to return atop the leaderboard during a late-race restart with 20 laps remaining. Amid an additional caution period and late-race restart with eight laps remaining, Majeski fended off Enfinger amid contact to remain out in front of the field and cruise to his second consecutive Truck Series victory of the 2024 season while also entering the Playoffs with early momentum.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Christian Eckes secured the pole position with a pole-winning lap at 118.655 mph in 22.755 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Ty Majeski as he clocked in the second-fastest qualifying lap at 118.033 mph in 22.875 seconds.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Christian Eckes rocketed his No. 19 Instacoat Premium Products Chevrolet Silverado RST ahead with the lead from the inside lane. In the process, Grant Enfinger followed suit in second while Ty Majeski, who struggled to launch from the outside lane, was trying to retain third place from William Sawalich. Amid the early jostles of spots around the track, where a three-wide action occurred between Sawalich, Layne Riggs and Taylor Gray for fourth place through the backstretch, Eckes proceeded to lead the first lap from Enfinger as Majeski, Taylor Gray, Riggs and Sawalich followed suit in the top six.

    During the second lap, Majeski, who regained pace amid his rocky start, navigated his way past Enfinger for the runner-up spot as Taylor Gray was trying to fend off Layne Riggs, William Sawalich, Nick Sanchez and Ben Rhodes for fourth place. While Gray continued to occupy his spot as both Majeski and Enfinger railed in second and third, respectively, Eckes retained the lead by eight-tenths of a second by the fifth lap mark.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Eckes was leading by three-tenths of a second over Majeski followed by Enfinger, Taylor Gray and Riggs while Rhodes, Sawalich, Corey Heim, Nick Sanchez and Daniel Dye were scored in the top 10 on the track. Behind, Kaden Honeycutt occupied 11th place ahead of teammate Bayley Currey, Tyler Ankrum, Jake Garcia and Stewart Friesen while Rajah Caruth, Ty Dillon, Matt Crafton, newcomer Connor Hall and Connor Zilisch trailed in the top 20 ahead of Matt Mills, Timmy Hill, Dean Thompson, Lawless Alan, Tanner Gray and Chase Purdy.

    A few laps later, Majeski dueled with Eckes in a side-by-side battle for the lead and the former would continue to battle Eckes before he pulled his No. 98 Soda Sense Ford F-150 ahead from the outside lane on Lap 13. By Lap 17, Majeski stretched his advantage to a second over Eckes and he would stabilize his advantage to a second while third-place Enfinger trailed Eckes by four-tenths of a second. Behind, Taylor Gray and Riggs remained in the top five.

    At the Lap 25 mark, Majeski retained the lead by more than a second over Eckes while Enfinger, Taylor Gray and Riggs continued to trail in the top five on the track. Rhodes, Heim, Sawalich, Dye and Sanchez followed suit in the top 10 as Honeycutt, Currey, Ankrum, Friesen and Crafton followed suit in the top 15.

    Ten laps later, Majeski, who was starting to lap the competitors running towards the bottom of the leaderboard, stretched his advantage to more than three seconds over Eckes as Enfinger, Taylor Gray and Riggs remained in the top five. Meanwhile, Taylor Gray, Rhodes and Dye, all three of whom were currently scored inside the top-10 cutline in their efforts to make the 2024 Playoffs, were running in the top nine on the track while Friesen and Crafton, both of whom came into Richmond trailing the cutline by 16 and 43 points, respectively, were mired within the top 15. In addition, Tanner Gray, who came into the event five points above the cutline with the final transfer spot, was scored nine points below the cutline as he was mired in 23rd place in front of teammate Dean Thompson.

    By Lap 50, Majeski lost a second to his advantage, but he was still leading by more than two seconds over Eckes as top-five competitors Taylor Gray, Enfinger and Riggs trailed the lead by four seconds. Five laps later, Taylor Gray would overtake Eckes for the runner-up spot. By then, Taylor’s older brother, Tanner, was lapped by Majeski as he was mired in 22nd place.

    Six laps later, the event’s first caution period flew when Matt Mills lost a right-front tire and went dead straight into the Turn 4 outside wall from 15th place. During the caution period, a majority of the field led by runner-up Taylor Gray pitted for four fresh tires and fuel while the rest led by the leader Majeski and including Ankrum and Connor Zilisch remained on the track.

    When the event restarted under green on Lap 63, the field fanned out to multiple lanes through the frontstretch as Eckes used the outside lane and four fresh tires to blast by Ankrum through the first two turns before he then quickly dispatched Majeski for the lead through the backstretch. By the following lap and amid a series of on-track shuffles, Eckes was leading ahead of Taylor Gray and Enfinger while Majeski plummeted to seventh place on his old tires as Rhodes, Riggs and Dye all overtook him. Majeski would then drop to 18th place just past the Lap 65 mark as Ankrum and Zilisch also plummeted in the leaderboard on their old tires while Eckes retained the lead by less than half a second over Taylor Gray.

    When the first stage period concluded on Lap 70, Eckes captured his eighth Truck stage victory of the 2024 season. Taylor Gray settled in second ahead of Enfinger, Rhodes and Riggs while Dye, Matt Crafton, Heim, Sanchez and Rajah Caruth were scored in the top 10.

    Amid the battles towards the front, Tanner Gray, who restarted in 22nd place and was trying to emerge as the first competitor a lap down at the first stage’s conclusion, had dropped to 28th place and was the seventh competitor scored a lap down as 22nd-place competitor Bret Holmes received the free pass. As a result, he was left with a 22-point disadvantage to Dye in the battle for the cutline. Meanwhile, Eckes’ first stage victory was enough for him to clinch the regular-season championship while runner-up Taylor Gray garnered enough stage points to clinch his spot into the Playoffs based on points.

    Under the first stage break, some led by Majeski and including Zilisch and Ankrum pitted while the rest led by Eckes remained on the track. During the pit stops, Majeski was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation and was sent to the rear of the field before the second stage’s start.

    The second stage period started on Lap 79 as Eckes and Taylor Gray occupied the front row. At the start, Eckes muscled away from the field and the inside lane to retain the lead while Gray and Enfinger battled for the runner-up spot in front of Riggs, Rhodes, Dye and Heim. Amid a series of battles around the track, Heim overtook Dye for sixth place and Crafton trailed in eighth place. In the process, Eckes’ advantage stabilized to more than half a second over Enfinger while third-place Taylor Gray trailed by a second as he was ahead of Riggs and Rhodes. With Friesen mired in 13th place, Purdy and Tanner Gray were back in 26th and 27th, respectively.

    By Lap 90, Eckes was leading by nine-tenths of a second over Enfinger as Taylor Gray, Riggs and Rhodes trailed by four seconds in the top five. Heim, Dye, Crafton, Ty Dillon and Sanchez would follow suit in the top 10 as Conner Jones, Zilisch, Ankrum, Caruth and Honeycutt were mired in the top 15. Meanwhile, Majeski was trying to rally his way into the top 20 amid his tire violation while Friesen and Tanner Gray were running 16th and 24th, respectively.

    At the Lap 100 mark, Eckes’ advantage decreased to three-tenths of a second over Enfinger while Taylor Gray, Riggs and Rhodes continued to run in the top five ahead of Heim, Dye, Ty Dillon, Crafton and Conner Jones. Over the next five laps, Eckes, who was slowly catching lapped traffic, kept leading by above half a second over Enfinger as Taylor Gray kept the two leaders close within his front windshield.

    Then on Lap 115, Enfinger overtook Eckes and moved his No. 9 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet Silverado RST into the lead through the frontstretch. Enfinger continued to lead by three-tenths of a second by the following lap as Taylor Gray, who tracked the two leaders, passed Eckes for the runner-up spot during the ensuing lap. As Enfinger retained the lead by three-tenths of a second towards the Lap 120 mark, Riggs and Rhodes followed suit in the top five while Ankrum was up to sixth place ahead of Heim, Dye, Ty Dillon and Zilisch.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 125, Enfinger continued to lead by a narrow margin over Taylor Gray before Gray used a bold move beneath Enfinger, who was trapped behind Jake Garcia, entering Turn 1 to grab the lead. Gray stretched his advantage to half a second on the following lap as Eckes trailed by a second in third place while Riggs and Ankrum were in the top five.

    Then on Lap 127, the caution flew when Matt Crafton, who was running in the top 15, spun in Turn 4 after he slipped underneath Kaden Honeycutt, where Crafton’s No. 88 Menards Ford F-150 spun from the middle to the bottom of the track and made light contact with the inside wall as Crafton continued. During the caution period, a majority of the lead lap field led by Taylor Gray pitted for service while the rest led by Ty Dillon, who pitted during the first stage’s break period, remained on the track. Friesen and Currey would also remain on the track while Enfinger beat Taylor Gray off of pit road first as he lined up in fourth place on the track.

    The start of the following restart period on Lap 135 featured the field getting jumbled up and fanning out through the frontstretch as Friesen jumped ahead with a brief advantage over Dillon on the inside lane. With the field fanning out to four lanes, Enfinger used the four fresh tires to bolt his way to the front from the outside lane as he carved his way back into the lead just past the first two turns.

    Eckes followed suit along with Dye, Riggs, Heim and others while Friesen, Dillon and Currey plummeted down the leaderboard on their old tires. Amid the scrambling for spots, Enfinger stretched his advantage to more than half a second with the second stage’s conclusion approaching.

    When the second stage period concluded on Lap 140, Enfinger, who clinched his spot into the Playoffs based on points, claimed his first Truck stage victory of the 2024 season. Eckes followed suit in second along with teammate Dye, Riggs and Heim while Rhodes, Caruth, Ankrum, Taylor Gray and Conner Jones were scored in the top 10. By then, Dye had a 28-point advantage over 23rd-place Tanner Gray for the final transfer spot into the Playoffs, though Gray was awarded the free pass for being the first competitor scored a lap down, while Friesen, Crafton, Riggs, Purdy, Dean Thompson and Jake Garcia all trailed the cutline by 39+ points.

    During the stage break, some including Friesen, Currey, Jake Garcia, Kaden Honeycutt, Nick Sanchez, Tanner Gray, Ty Dillon, Crafton and Stefan Parsons pitted while the rest led by Enfinger remained on the track.

    With 101 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Enfinger and Eckes occupied the front row. At the start and with the field fanning out, Enfinger and Eckes dueled for the lead in front of Riggs while Heim made contact with Dye while trying to force his way beneath him and have a shot at a top five. Shortly after, the caution quickly returned for a multi-truck wreck that erupted between Turns 3 and 4 when Purdy bumped and sent Ty Dillon running into the rear of Dean Thompson, which resulted in Thompson spinning up the track and in front of oncoming traffic as Sawalich, Stefan Parsons, Keith McGee, rookie Thad Moffitt, Bayley Currey, Mason Massey and Crafton all sustained damage to their respective entries.

    As the event restarted under green with 85 laps remaining, Enfinger rocketed away with the lead as the field fanned out approaching the first two turns. Through the backstretch, Enfinger led Rhodes, who navigated past Eckes for the spot, as Ankurm and Riggs battled for fourth place in front of Heim and Caruth. The caution, however, returned for the following lap after Lawless Alan spun in Turn 3 amid contact with Crafton and Bayley Currey.

    Following an extensive caution period, the race restarted under green with 73 laps remaining. At the start, Enfinger and Rhodes dueled for the lead as Ankrum, Heim and Caruth all made three-wide moves of their own approaching the first turn. Enfinger would then clear Rhodes and muscle ahead to retain the lead as Eckes would navigate his way into the runner-up spot over Rhodes during the following lap. Amid the late-race battles, Enfinger retained the lead by half a second over Eckes, Rhodes, Riggs and Ankrum while Majeski was up to seventh place behind Heim. The caution, however, would return with 69 laps remaining due to Conner Jones falling off the pace and nearly coming to a stop just past the frontstretch as the Virginia native missed the pit road entrance. During the caution period, some including Heim, Caruth, Sawalich, Purdy, Sanchez and Tanner Gray pitted for fresh tires while the rest led by Enfinger remained on the track.

    With the event restarting under green with 63 laps remaining, Enfinger fended off Rhodes to retain the lead from the outside lane as Heim used the four fresh tires to storm his way back to the front while running on the outside lane. With Tanner Gray also using his fresh tires to try to move up the leaderboard despite being mired in 16th place, Enfinger retained the lead by nearly a second over Rhodes with 60 laps remaining as Heim was making his way into the top five. Heim would then overtake Ankrum for fourth place and he would gain ground on Eckes while Majeski, Riggs, Friesen, Ty Dillon and Dye were mired in the top 10.

    Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Enfinger was leading by less than two seconds over a hard-charging Heim while Rhodes, Eckes, Majeski, Ankrum, Riggs, Friesen, Dillon and Crafton were scored in the top 10. Meanwhile, Dye, who slipped to 12th place, was 12 points above the cutline with the final transfer spot over Tanner Gray, who was still mired in 16th place and trying to overtake Friesen for the spot. In the process, Taylor Gray was back in 17th place while Sanchez was mired in 22nd place behind Purdy, Garcia and Stefan Parsons.

    Ten laps later, Enfinger stabilized his advantage to eight-tenths of a second over runner-up Heim while Majeski trailed the lead by four seconds as he navigated his way up to third place. With teammate Rhodes and Eckes trailing in the top five, Riggs was down in sixth place while Sawalich, Ankrum, Crafton and Caruth were in the top 10. By then, Dye was down in 13th place behind Dillon and Zilisch while Tanner Gray was in 15th place behind Friesen.

    Another eight laps later, Heim drew his truck alongside Enfinger as both dueled for the lead before Enfinger muscled ahead to retain the lead and pull away from Heim by two-tenths of a second during the following lap. Heim would then challenge Enfinger a second time for the lead with 30 laps remaining before he prevailed and had the top spot to his control for the following lap. With Heim leading Enfinger, Majeski trailed in third place by two seconds while Riggs and Sawalich were in the top five.

    Then following another caution with 26 laps remaining due to Kaden Honeycutt spinning in Turn 4 after he got hit by Stefan Parsons, the entire lead lap field led by Heim pitted for service, with most pitting for a final set of fresh tires. Following the pit stops, Sawalich exited pit road first with only two fresh tires while Enfinger, Heim, Majeski and Eckes, all of whom opted for four fresh tires, exited in the top five. Amid the pit stops, Dye, who pitted from the top 10, exited pit road outside the top 20, which left him with only a one-point advantage over Tanner Gray as Gray was scored in 12th place.

    During the following restart with 20 laps remaining, Enfinger tried to bolt away from Sawalich as the field fanned out approaching the first turn. Sawalich, however, slipped up the track and made contact with Enfinger through the first two turns. This allowed Majeski to overtake both for the lead as Enfinger was left to battle Riggs for the runner-up spot in front of Eckes and Heim. As Sawalich began to drop in the leaderboard, Enfinger and Riggs continued to battle hard for the runner-up spot during the proceeding laps. Eckes would join the battle between Enfinger and Riggs while Heim was being overtaken by Ankrum, Taylor Gray, and Dillon. Behind, Dye was up to 11th place on fresh tires while Tanner Gray down to 21st place on older tires to Dye.

    With 15 laps remaining, Majeski was leading by more than a second over Enfinger and Riggs. The following lap, however, the caution returned after Holmes hit and send Zilisch into the outside wall in Turn 2, with Zilisch backing his No. 7 Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Silverado RST into the wall and retiring due to the damage. During caution, few including Tanner Gray, pitted while the rest led by Majeski remained on the track.

    Down to the final eight laps of the event, the race restarted under green as Enfinger jumped ahead from Majeski. Then while trying to clear and block Majeski, Majeski kept his foot in the gas and nearly turned Enfinger, which got Enfinger loose and stalled his momentum as Majeski, who then got hit and nearly turned by Enfinger entering Turn 3, powered back into the lead. The contact allowed Eckes to challenge Enfinger for the runner-up spot as Riggs and Taylor Gray tried to join the battle. Over the next two laps, a four-wide battle for the runner-up spot ensued between Enfinger, Eckes, Riggs and Taylor Gray, with neither giving an inch. Meanwhile, Majeski managed to pull away and he would retain the lead by half a second over Enfinger with five laps remaining as Eckes, Taylor Gray and Riggs remained in close pursuit within the top five.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Majeski remained the leader by nine-tenths of a second over Eckes as Enfinger, Riggs and Taylor Gray trailed closely behind. Having no competition lurking close enough to his rear bumper, Majeski cycled his Ford around Richmond smoothly for a final time before he returned to the frontstretch victorious for his second checkered flag of the 2024 Truck Series season.

    With the victory, Majeski notched his fifth career win in the Craftsman Truck Series division and his first at Richmond Raceway. The victory was also the second of the 2024 season for both ThorSport Racing and the Ford nameplate as Majeski, who qualified for his third consecutive Playoffs, will commence his pursuit for his first Truck Series championship over a seven-race Playoff stretch that begins at the Milwaukee Mile two weeks from now.

    “[The win] feels good,” Majeski said on FS1. “We’ve had great ThorSport trucks here at Richmond the last two years. Found different ways to lose’em. We tried to do it again tonight. Another mistake, we really need to clean that stuff up before Playoff time, but so proud of these guys sticking behind me. [I] Wouldn’t be able to it without [owners] Duke and Ronda Thorson. They gave me a huge opportunity a few years ago and I’m having the time of my life racing for this team. Proud of these ThorSport Racing guys. We work so hard at the shop. We’re proud to do this from Sandusky, Ohio and we’re gonna try and bring another trophy back home.”

    Behind Majeski, Christian Eckes, the 2024 Truck Series Regular Season Champion, settled in second place followed by Taylor Gray and Grant Enfinger, all of whom are among 10 competitors who have made the Playoffs. Meanwhile, rookie Layne Riggs finished in fifth place but was among several who did not make the Playoffs.

    Tyler Ankrum and Ben Rhodes finished sixth and seventh as both are in the Playoffs along with Daniel Dye, who rallied from an up-and-down season to clinch the 10th and final berth to the Playoffs by 12 points over 12th-place finisher Tanner Gray. Ty Dillon and Connor Hall finished in the top 10 on the track.

    Notably, Corey Heim, Rajah Caruth and Nick Sanchez, all of whom ended up 16th, 17th and 30th on the track, will compete in the Playoffs for this year’s championship while top names including Stewart Friesen, Chase Purdy, Ty Dillon and Matt Crafton did not make the Playoffs, with the latter having his streak of making the Playoffs for eight consecutive seasons and since the Playoff’s inception 2016 came to an end.

    There were 12 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 69 laps. In addition, 21 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Results.

    1. Ty Majeski, 70 laps led

    2. Christian Eckes, 64 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    3. Taylor Gray, five laps led

    4. Grant Enfinger, 98 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    5. Layne Riggs

    6. Tyler Ankrum

    7. Ben Rhodes

    8. Daniel Dye

    9. Ty Dillon, four laps led

    10. Connor Hall

    11. Stefan Parsons

    12. Tanner Gray

    13. Jake Garcia

    14. Kaden Honeycutt

    15. Matt Crafton

    16. Corey Heim, six laps led

    17. Rajah Caruth

    18. Lawless Alan

    19. Timmy Hill

    20. Chase Purdy

    21. Bret Holmes

    22. William Sawalich, one lap down, three laps led

    23. Bayley Currey, one lap down

    24. Spencer Boyd, one lap down

    25. Stewart Friesen, two laps down

    26. Mason Massey, three laps down

    27. Justin Carroll, three laps down

    28. Mason Maggio, four laps down

    29. Connor Zilisch – OUT, Accident

    30. Nick Sanchez – OUT, Clutch

    31. Conner Jones – OUT, Electrical

    32. Dean Thompson – OUT, Accident

    33. Thad Moffitt – OUT, Accident

    34. Keith McGee – OUT, Accident

    35. Matt Mills – OUT, Accident

    36. Jerry Bohlman – OUT, Too Slow

    The 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs is set to commence at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin, for the LiUNA! 175. The event is scheduled to occur on August 25 and air at 4 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Corey Heim rallies for fourth Truck victory of 2024 at Gateway

    Corey Heim rallies for fourth Truck victory of 2024 at Gateway

    Corey Heim’s recent hot pursuit on the track continued after the driver of the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota Tundra TRD Pro raced his way to a strong, dominant victory in the Toyota 200 at World Wide Technology Raceway on Saturday, June 1.

    The 21-year-old Heim from Marietta, Georgia, led twice for a race-high 65 of 160-scheduled laps in an event where he qualified ninth and settled in the top five during both stage periods before he assumed the lead for the first time at the start of the final stage period with 83 laps remaining.

    Then, amid a late cycle of green flag pit stops, followed by a single-truck incident involving Vicente Salas, Heim cycled his way back into the lead for the start of the final restart period with 23 laps remaining. Despite restarting on the inside lane, which was deemed a struggling lane on restarts, Heim rocketed ahead with the lead and led the remainder of the event as he beat runner-up Christian Eckes by more than a second. It was his fourth NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory of the 2024 season as he also cashed in on the second Triple Truck Challenge bonus.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, May 31, Ty Majeski claimed his third Truck pole position of the 2024 season after posting a pole-winning lap at 138.568 mph in 32.475 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Christian Eckes, who clocked in the second-fastest qualifying lap at 138.041 mph in 32.599 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Tanner Gray dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his TRICON Garage entry.

    When the green flag waved and the race started following a three-hour delay due to on-track precipitation, the field within the middle of the pack fanned out to three lanes through the frontstretch as Ty Majeski used the outside lane to his advantage to muscle his No. 98 Road Ranger/Bucked UP Ford F-150 ahead of Christian Eckes through the first two turns and retain the lead through the backstretch. As the field behind continued to fan out through the backstretch, Majeski fended off Eckes to lead the first lap.

    Through the second to fifth lap marks, Majeski retained the lead as he stretched it to as high as half a second over Eckes while Nick Sanchez, Stewart Friesen and Dean Thompson trailed in the top five. Behind, Ben Rhodes trailed in sixth place by four seconds while Corey Heim, Taylor Gray, Grant Enfinger and Daniel Dye were racing in the top 10.

    Just past the Lap 10 mark, the event’s first caution period flew when newcomer Luke Fenhaus, who was racing in the mid-20s and battling both Bayley Currey and Lawless Alan amid three lanes, got loose underneath Currey before he spun his No. 66 Soda Sense Ford F-150 in Turn 1. During the event’s first caution period, select names, mainly those running within the mid-pack region, pitted, among which included Tanner Gray, Matt Mills, Connor Mosack, Bayley Currey and rookie Thad Moffitt, while the rest led by Majeski remained on the track.

    When the event restarted under green on Lap 15, Majeski and Eckes battled dead even for the lead through the first two turns and through the backstretch as Sanchez pursued in third. Amid the tight battle, Eckes managed to lead the next lap from the inside lane and he would lead the following lap by a tenth of a second until Majeski reassumed the top spot by Lap 18. Not long after Eckes was fending off Sanchez for the runner-up spot, Friesen proceeded to battle Sanchez amid close-quarters racing for third place. With Friesen muscling ahead of Sanchez for third, Majeski retained the lead by half a second over Eckes while Dean Thompson occupied fifth place.

    Through the first 25 scheduled laps, Majeski was leading by more than a second over Eckes followed by Sanchez, Friesen and Corey Heim while Thompson, Grant Enfinger, Ben Rhodes, Daniel Dye and Taylor Gray were running in the top 10. Behind, Rajah Caruth occupied 11th place ahead of Tyler Ankrum, Chase Purdy, Ty Dillon and Jake Garcia while rookie Layne Riggs, newcomer Andres Perez de Lara, Tanner Gray, Bayley Currey and Lawless Alan followed suit in the top 20 along with Colby Howard, Mason Massey, Matt Crafton, Matt Mills and Bret Holmes.

    When the first stage period concluded on Lap 35, Majeski claimed his fourth Truck stage victory of the 2024 season. Eckes settled in second ahead of Sanchez, Friesen and Heim while Thompson, Enfinger, Rhodes, Dye and Taylor Gray were scored in the top 10. By then, all but one of 32 starters were scored on the lead lap.

    Under the stage break, a majority of the field led by Majeski pitted while the rest led by Tanner Gray, including those who pitted earlier, remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Daniel Dye was penalized for speeding on pit road as Sanchez emerged as the first competitor off of pit road.

    The second stage period started on Lap 41 as Tanner Gray and Colby Howard occupied the front row. At the start, Gray muscled ahead from the outside lane to retain the lead while Mosack also retained second ahead of Sanchez and Howard as the field fanned out through the backstretch. Gray would proceed to lead by two seconds over Mosack while Sanchez, Rhodes, Howard and Majeski trailed in the top six.

    Within Lap 45, the caution returned after Howard, who was in the top five, wrecked his No. 1 Coastal Sports Cards Toyota Tundra TRD Pro hard against the outside wall in Turn 3 after he lost a right-front tire. By then, Sanchez had overtaken Mosack to claim the runner-up spot while Tanner Gray was still leading. During the caution period, Crafton, who was battling electrical issues earlier in the event, pitted his No. 88 Menards Ford F-150 to have his issues further addressed. Crafton would make multiple trips to pit road but he would remain on the lead lap.

    As the event restarted under green on Lap 54, Tanner Gray and Sanchez dueled for the lead entering the first two turns. They then rubbed fenders and nearly wrecked entering the backstretch, but they kept their trucks running straight. Their stalled momentum, however, enabled Ben Rhodes to go three wide in between both of them exiting the backstretch as Rhodes made the move stick and he led the following lap over both Sanchez and Tanner Gray. Amid the tight battle, Rhodes would proceed to lead in his No. 99 Bommarito Automotive Group Ford F-150 ahead of Sanchez, and Tanner Gray dropped to third as Majeski closed in and eventually overtook Gray for third place.

    By Lap 60, Rhodes was leading by two-tenths of a second over Sanchez followed by Majeski, Sanchez and Tanner Gray while Heim, Enfinger, Chase Purdy, Taylor Gray and Rajah Caruth trailed in the top 10. Behind, Connor Mosack was in 11th ahead of Ty Dillon, Friesen, Tyler Ankrum and Dean Thompson as rookie Layne Riggs, Andres Perez de Lara, Daniel Dye, Jake Garcia and Bret Holmes occupied the top 20.

    Six laps later, Majeski, who spent the previous six laps navigating his way into the runner-up spot and was closing in on teammate Rhodes for the lead, overtook Rhodes to reassume the lead. Not long after, Eckes navigated past Rhodes for the runner-up spot while Sanchez was trying to close in for third place. In addition, Heim trailed in fifth place by more than two seconds while Tanner Gray and Enfinger both trailed by seven seconds in the top seven.

    When the second stage period concluded on Lap 70, Majeski claimed his fifth Truck stage victory of the 2024 season and completed the sweep of both stages of the event. Eckes settled in a close second followed by Sanchez, Rhodes and Heim while Enfinger, brothers Tanner and Taylor Gray, Purdy and Dillon were scored in the top 10.

    During the stage break, nearly the entire lead lap field led by Majeski pitted while Kieth McGee and Thad Moffitt remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Ankrum and Dye exited first and second, respectively, after both opted for two fresh tires while Heim, who exited third, was the third competitor to have four fresh tires on his entry. Not long after, McGee and Moffitt pitted their respective entries as Ankrum assumed the lead

    With 83 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Ankrum and Heim occupied the front row. At the start, Heim muscled his No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro ahead into the lead from the inside lane. As a flurry of battles ensued within the field, Heim retained the lead by half a second over Ankrum at the halfway mark with 80 laps remaining. Meanwhile, Majeski trailed in third place and by eight-tenths of a second along with Sanchez and Dye while Rhodes, Eckes, Tanner Gray, Enfinger and Caruth were scored in the top 10.

    With 70 laps remaining, Heim was leading by nine-tenths of a second over Majeski followed by Sanchez, Ankrum and Rhodes while Eckes, Dye, Enfinger, Caruth and Tanner Gray were racing in the top 10 ahead of Friesen, Purdy, Thompson, Dillon and Crafton. Meanwhile, Taylor Gray pitted his No. 17 Place of Hope Toyota Tundra TRD Pro and his pit crew raised Gray’s hood up to address a brake issue as Gray lost multiple laps on pit road.

    Ten laps later, Heim extended his advantage by more than a second over Majeski as Sanchez, Rhodes and Eckes continued to follow suit in the top five. Meanwhile, Dye was in sixth and he was racing ahead of Ankrum, Enfinger, Caruth and Friesen while Heim proceeded to slightly extend his advantage to nearly two seconds over Majeski with 50 laps remaining.

    Then with 45 laps remaining, green flag pit stops commenced as the leader Heim pit along with Jake Garcia. Majeski then pitted during the following lap before more names, including Rhodes, Enfinger, Caruth, Dillon, Dye and Ankrum, pit during the proceeding laps. With more names peeling off the track to pit their respective entries, Sanchez, who has yet to pit, was leading ahead of Eckes and Friesen while Tanner Gray and Purdy were scored in the top five with 40 laps remaining.

    With less than 35 laps remaining, more names, including Sanchez, pitted under green while select names led by Tanner Gray, Purdy and Luke Fenhaus, all of whom have yet to pit, were running in the top-three spots.

    Then with nearly 30 laps remaining, the caution flew after Vicente Salas spun in Turn 4 as Heim had to take evasive action to avoid hitting Salas. At the time of caution, Tanner Gray had pitted while Purdy, Fenhaus and Crafton, all of whom had yet to pit, were still on the track and occupying the top three spots. During the caution period, select names including Purdy, Crafton and Fenhaus pitted while the rest led by Heim remained on the track as Heim cycled back into the lead.

    With 23 laps remaining, the event restarted under green as Heim and Majeski occupied the front row. At the start, Heim, who restarted on the inside lane, retained the lead by a narrow advantage over Majeski through the first two turns and back to the backstretch. With the battle for the lead intensifying, Heim retained the lead by two-tenths of a second over Majeski while third-place Eckes tried to close in from third place and as he trailed by six-tenths of a second with 20 laps remaining.

    With less than 15 laps remaining, Heim extended his advantage by nearly a second over Majeski while Eckes, Sanchez and Rhodes were in the top five. Riggs, Purdy, Friesen, Andres Perez de Lara and Luke Fenhaus followed suit in the top 10 while Heim continued to lead by a second with 10 laps remaining. Behind him, Eckes and Sanchez started to pressure Majeski for second.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, Heim retained the lead by a second over Eckes and Sanchez while Majeski dropped to fourth as he trailed by three seconds. Meanwhile, Layne Riggs was up into fifth place as he occupied the spot over Purdy and Rhodes.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Heim remained as the leader by more than a second over Eckes as Sanchez trailed by two seconds. Having a reasonable lead to his advantage, Heim was able to smoothly navigate his way around Gateway for a final time before he navigated back to the frontstretch to claim his fourth checkered flag of the 2024 Truck Series season.

    With the victory, Heim, who became the first four-time race winner of this season, notched his ninth career win in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series division, his first since winning at North Wilkesboro Speedway two races ago and his second at Gateway’s World Wide Technology Raceway after he won his first in 2022.

    As an added bonus, Heim, who was absent from last year’s Truck event at Gateway due to an illness, claimed the second $50,000 bonus as part of the Triple Truck Challenge, which also marks his second time claiming the prize after he achieved his first in 2022.

    Photo by Simon Scoggins for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “Total team effort today,” Heim said on FS2. “We actually struggled a bit yesterday and worked overnight on [the truck]. I just have to say [that] this pit crew redeemed themselves. Last week, we felt like we could’ve won the race and admittedly they made some mistakes, but they redeemed themselves today and that’s what it’s all about. That was awesome. [I’m] On top of the world right now. We’ve got such a great race team and such a long season ahead.”

    Christian Eckes settled in the runner-up position for a third consecutive event at Gateway while Nick Sanchez, Ty Majeski and rookie Layne Riggs finished in the top five.

    Chase Purdy, Ben Rhodes, Stewart Friesen, and newcomers Andres Perez de Lara and Luke Fenhaus completed the top 10 in the final running order.

    There were 13 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 32 laps. In addition, 20 of 32 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Following the 12th event of the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series season, Christian Eckes leads the regular-season standings by 31 points over Corey Heim, 53 over Nick Sanchez and 64 over Ty Majeski.

    Results.

    1. Corey Heim, 65 laps led

    2. Christian Eckes, two laps led

    3. Nick Sanchez, 10 laps led

    4. Ty Majeski, 43 laps led, Stages 1 & 2 winner

    5. Layne Riggs

    6. Chase Purdy, five laps led

    7. Ben Rhodes, 11 laps led

    8. Stewart Friesen

    9. Andres Perez de Lara

    10. Luke Fenhaus

    11. Tanner Gray, 19 laps led

    12. Daniel Dye

    13. Ty Dillon

    14. Dean Thompson

    15. Tyler Ankrum, four laps led

    16. Rajah Caruth

    17. Grant Enfinger

    18. Timmy Hill

    19. Lawless Alan

    20. Matt Crafton

    21. Bret Holmes, one lap down

    22. Connor Mosack, one lap down

    23. Matt Mills, one lap down

    24. Jake Garcia, one lap down

    25. Vicente Salas, three laps down

    26. Spencer Boyd, four laps down

    27. Keight McGee, four laps down, one lap led

    28. Thad Moffitt, five laps down

    29. Bayley Currey, seven laps down

    30. Taylor Gray, eight laps down

    31. Mason Massey – OUT, Engine

    32. Colby Howard – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule is Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee, for the Rackley Roofing 200. The event is scheduled to occur on June 28 and air at 8 p.m. ET on FS2.

  • Nick Sanchez wins 700th Truck Series event at Charlotte; snags first Triple Truck Challenge bonus

    Nick Sanchez wins 700th Truck Series event at Charlotte; snags first Triple Truck Challenge bonus

    On a night where the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series division achieved a milestone feat in series’ history, Nick Sanchez has 50,000 reasons to celebrate after storming to a late victory in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday, May 24.

    The 2022 ARCA Menards Series champion from Miami, Florida, led the final nine of 134 scheduled laps in an event where he started 16th and spent the first half of the event mired outside the top 10 and trying to manage his way to the front. Initially poised for a top-10 run when the event was placed in a late caution period with 15 laps remaining, Sanchez was one of multiple competitors who opted to pit for fresh tires. Then after restarting in the fourth lane with nine laps remaining, Sanchez quickly bolted his way to the front as he overtook Christian Eckes for the lead through the frontstretch. From there, he fended off a late charge from Corey Heim to score his second Truck Series career victory in the series’ 700th event in history and cash in the first of three $50,000 bonuses as part of this year’s Triple Truck Challenge.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Tanner Gray notched his first Truck Series pole position of the 2024 season and the second of his career after posting a pole-winning lap at 178.241 mph in 30.296 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate Corey Heim, who clocked in the second-fastest qualifying lap at 177.795 mph in 30.372 seconds.

    Prior to the event, the following names that included Lawless Alan, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Christian Eckes and Tyler Ankrum dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Tanner Gray gained the early advantage from the inside lane as he muscled his No. 15 Dead on Tools Toyota Tundra TRD Pro ahead from teammate Corey Heim through Turns 1 and 2. As the field behind jostled for early spots, Gray proceeded to lead the first lap ahead of a side-by-side battle between Heim and Ty Majeski while Rajah Caruth, rookie Layne Riggs, Jack Wood and Chase Purdy followed suit.

    Three laps later, Heim zipped his No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro past teammate Tanner Gray to assume the lead from the backstretch through Turns 3 and 4. Heim would proceed to lead by nearly three-tenths of a second over Gray as Majeski, Caruth and Riggs followed suit in the top five through the first five scheduled laps. Behind, Wood retained sixth ahead of Purdy as Connor Mosack, Kaden Honeycutt and Ben Rhodes trailed in the top 10.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Heim was leading by nine-tenths of a second over teammate Tanner Gray followed by Majeski, Caruth and Riggs while Honeycutt, Purdy, Mosack, Wood and Rhodes continued to race in the top 10. Behind, Dean Thompson occupied 11th place ahead of Taylor Gray, Bayley Currey, Stewart Friesen and Ty Dillon while Matt Crafton, Grant Enfinger, Matt Mills, Christian Eckes and Nick Sanchez followed suit in the top 20. Notably, Brett Moffitt was in 22nd, Tyler Ankrum was mired in 25th ahead of Connor Jones and Jeffrey Earnhardt was down in 34th.   

    Ten laps later, Heim extended his advantage to more than three seconds over teammate Tanner Gray as Majeski, Caruth and Honeycutt were in the top five. Behind, Riggs dropped to sixth while Purdy, Rhodes, Thompson and Mosack were in the top 10.

    When the first stage period concluded on Lap 30, Heim, winner of last weekend’s Truck Series event at North Wilkesboro Speedway, captured his fifth stage victory of the 2024 season. Honeycutt, who overtook Tanner Gray for the runner-up spot three laps earlier, settled in second ahead of Gray, Caruth and Majeski while Riggs, Purdy, Thompson, Rhodes and Mosack were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the field led by Heim pitted for a first round of service. Following the pit stops, Tanner Gray reassumed the lead after exiting first ahead of Heim while Honeycutt, Purdy, Majeski, Caruth, Riggs, Taylor Gray, Thompson and Mosack followed suit. During the pit stop sequence, Caruth was forced into the grass amid a side-by-side contact with Majeski, who was trying to avoid Riggs as Riggs was exiting his pit stall. In addition, Stewart Friesen returned to pit road for his first service of the night after missing his pit stall during the first sequence with the field. Soon after, Caruth also pitted again to address a tire rub from the damage with Majeski’s contact.

    The second stage period started on Lap 37 as teammates Tanner Gray and Heim occupied the front row. At the start, Gray and Heim battled dead even in front of two stacked lanes while Honeycutt, who restarted in the second lane, made a move to the outside lane in an attempted three-wide battle towards the front. With the field behind also fanning out to nearly three lanes through the backstretch, Tanner Gray barely managed to muscle ahead of Heim to retain the lead while returning back to the frontstretch. Behind, a series of battles ensued as Purdy and Majeski battled for third place, Thompson battled Honeycutt for fifth place, Riggs and Mosack battled for fifth place and Taylor Gray battled Jack Wood for 10th place.

    On Lap 40, Heim, who kept teammate Tanner Gray within close distance over the previous four laps, drew his Toyota alongside Gray’s through Turns 3 and 4 and back to the frontstretch. Heim would then muscle ahead of Gray from the inside lane and through Turns 1 and 2 as he reassumed the lead.

    At the Lap 45 mark, Heim was leading by three-tenths of a second over teammate Tanner Gray followed by Purdy, Majeski and Thompson while Riggs, Honeycutt, Mosack, Taylor Gray and Wood were in the top 10. Behind, Nick Sanchez trailed in 11th ahead of Daniel Dye, Dillon, Rhodes and Grant Enfinger while Caruth, Matt Mills, Eckes, Moffitt and Crafton were in the top 20.

    By Lap 50, Heim slightly extended his advantage as he was leading by eight-tenths of a second over teammate Gray followed by Purdy, Thompson and Majeski while Honeycutt, Riggs, Mosack, Gray and Sanchez trailed in the top 10.

    When the second stage period concluded on Lap 60, Heim swept both stage periods of the night while also claiming his sixth Truck stage victory of the 2024 season. Teammate Tanner Gray settled in second ahead of Purdy, Honeycutt and Thompson while Majeski, Riggs, Mosack, Sanchez and Daniel Dye were scored in the top 10.

    During the stage break, the field led by Heim returned to pit road for another round of pit service. Following the pit stops, Heim retained the lead after exiting first ahead of Tanner Gray, Majeski, Mosack and Purdy as Sanchez, Taylor Gray, Riggs, Thompson and Honeycutt followed suit in top 10. Amid the pit stops, however, Honeycutt was penalized for dragging his gas can out of his pit stall.

    Towards the halfway mark of the event, the final stage commenced as teammates Heim and Tanner Gray occupied the front row once again. As Heim retained the lead, the caution quickly returned for a multi-truck wreck that erupted just past the backstretch when contact from Moffitt got Ankrum loose as he spun his No. 18 LiUNA! Chevrolet Silverado RST below the apron in Turn 3 before his truck went right back towards the outside wall and was T-boned on the right side by Thad Moffitt as Keith McGee and Jeffrey Earnhardt were also involved while trying to avoid the wreckage.

    During the following restart with 58 laps remaining. Heim gained the advantage from the inside lane and muscled ahead to retain the lead while Connor Mosack challenged Tanner Gray for the runner-up spot. As Gray and Mosack continued to battle for second in front of Taylor Gray, Majeski and Purdy, Heim led the field back to the frontstretch.

    Four laps later, however, the caution returned after Matt Crafton lost a tire and slapped his No. 88 Menards Ford F-150 hard against the outside wall in Turn 3. During the caution period, the following names that included Purdy, Mason Massey, Stefan Parsons, Friesen, Connor Jones, Boyd, Eckes and Currey remained on the track while the rest led by Heim pitted. During the pit stops, Heim’s dominant run hit a braking zone after a slow pit stop due to a broken jack while his No. 11 team was trying to change the right-side tires plummeted to 28th place.

    As the event restarted with 47 laps remaining, Purdy muscled ahead with a slight advantage over Eckes before Eckes made his move beneath Purdy and assumed the lead in his No. 19 NAPA Chevrolet Silverado RST exiting the backstretch and through Turns 3 and 4. As Eckes led Purdy, Stefan Parsons was in third place as he was racing in front of Connor Jones, Stewart Friesen and Ben Rhodes while Grant Enfinger was in seventh. With more battles ensuing within the field, Eckes, who was dealing with voltage issues earlier in the race, retained the lead with 45 laps remaining.

    With 40 laps remaining, Eckes was leading by nearly a second over Purdy as they were being followed by Parsons, Friesen, Rhodes, Honeycutt and Sanchez. Meanwhile, Heim, who restarted 27th following his pit stop miscue, had muscled his way all the way up to eighth place while Jones and Moffitt trailed in the top 10 ahead of Majeski, Caruth, Enfinger, Dillon and Mosack.

    Ten laps later, Eckes retained the lead by nearly seven-tenths of a second over Purdy while Parsons, Honeycutt and Friesen were scored in the top five. Behind, Heim was in sixth place and trailing the lead by more than three seconds while Sanchez, Rhodes, Moffitt and Majeski were in the top 10. By then, Tanner Gray was mired in 12th behind Caruth, Thompson was back in 16th behind Dillon and Mosack was battling Matt Mills for 17th along with Taylor Gray and Dye.

    Another three laps later, the battle for the lead ignited as Purdy made a move beneath Eckes for the lead in Turn 1. Despite assuming the top spot, however, Purdy went wide, which allowed Eckes to pull a crossover move entering the backstretch as both he and Purdy battled dead even for the lead through Turns 3 and 4. Then as Eckes slid in front of Purdy entering the frontstretch, Purdy pulled a crossover move on Eckes through the frontstretch as they dueled for the lead again. Purdy then slid up the track in Turn 1 for a second time, which allowed Eckes to muscle ahead and maintain a reasonable advantage over a hard-charging Purdy. Amid the battle between Eckes and Purdy, third-place Honeycutt started to close in in his No. 45 R.C.D. Shoe Company Chevrolet Silverado RST while Heim was in fifth place and trailing the lead by more than two seconds.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Eckes, who was beginning to be mired in lapped traffic, retained the lead by three-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Purdy while Honeycutt made it a three-truck battle for the lead as he trailed by half a second. Behind, Heim trailed by more than three seconds in fourth place while Parsons was in fifth.

    Four laps later, Purdy scrubbed the outside wall through Turns 1 and 2, which stalled his late momentum and his challenge on Eckes for the lead. Despite scraping the wall, Purdy remained on the track, but he would lose the runner-up spot to Honeycutt as Eckes continued to lead. A lap later, however, Purdy’s strong run went sour after he scrubbed the outside wall for a second time through Turns 1 and 2, which was enough for the event to be placed in a late caution period as Purdy, who lost a tire in the process, nursed his damaged No. 77 Bama Buggies Chevrolet Silverado RST back to pit road. The caution also erased Eckes’ six-second advantage over Honeycutt as Heim was up to third place.

    During the caution period, a majority of the field led by Honeycutt and Heim pitted while the rest led by Eckes remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Honeycutt and Heim both lost a bevy of spots after both endured slow pit services. For Honeycut, a broken air gun resulted in his tire changer having issues changing the right-rear tire. For Heim, the issue stemmed from his rear tire changer struggling to get the lug nuts tightened on the left-rear tire as Heim started to spin his tires, which left his No. 11 team uncertain if the lug nuts on the truck were tightened as Heim lined up in 11th place.

    Down to the final nine laps, the event restarted under green as Eckes and Parsons occupied the front row. At the start, the field fanned out through the frontstretch as Eckes rocketed away with the lead followed by Caruth and Sanchez while Parsons was struggling to launch. Then through the frontstretch to complete the following lap, Sanchez, who pitted during the latest caution period and passed Caruth for the runner-up spot, overtook Eckes for the lead as Heim, who was charging to the front for a second time since the restart, bolted past Eckes through Turns 3 and 4 to move into third place. Heim would then overtake Friesen for the runner-up spot during the following lap as he set his sights on Sanchez for the lead and potential victory.

    With five laps remaining, Sanchez maintained the lead by nearly three-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Heim while Friesen trailed in third place by eight-tenths of a second. As the field behind jostled for late spots, pole-sitter Tanner Gray spun sideways towards the apron in Turns 1 and 2, but the event remained under green flag conditions as Heim was trying to gain a run on Sanchez for the lead.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Sanchez, who had managed to keep his No. 2 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado RST in front of Heim’s Toyota, remained as the leader by four-tenths of a second over Heim. Through Turns 1 and 2, Heim ran his truck close towards the outside wall through Turns 1 and 2 in an effort to gain a run, but Sanchez maintained his advantage through the backstretch. With Heim unable to mount a final lap rally for two final turns, Sanchez was able to cycle back to the frontstretch victorious as he claimed the checkered flag to win by half a second over Heim.

    With the victory, Sanchez, who notched his first career win at Daytona International Speedway in February, became the 82nd competitor overall to achieve multiple victories in the Truck Series and the 13th to win a Truck event at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    With Sanchez winning the series’ 700th event in recorded history, the Miami native joins an exclusive club of competitors to win during a milestone event for the series. Ron Hornaday Jr., a four-time champion of the series, won the 100th recorded Truck Series event in history at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington, in 1999 before winning the 300th series event at Dover Motor Speedway eight years later. Ted Musgrave, the 2005 champion, won the series’ 200th race at Memphis Motorsports Park in 2003, Clint Bowyer won the series’ 400th event at Kansas Speedway in 2011 and Austin Dillon won the series’ 500th event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2015. Recently, Kyle Busch won the series’ 600th event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2020.

    As an added bonus, Sanchez, who recorded the 284th Truck victory for the Chevrolet nameplate and the second overall for Rev Racing, claimed the first of three Triple Truck Challenge bonuses and a $50,000 check.  

    Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “It’s awesome,” Sanchez said on FS1. “What can I say more about this team? We started off bad. We knew it. [We] Did not let it affect us. We went to work. We put ourselves in position when it mattered most. It’s great to get [win] number two. [I’ll] Probably put the [$50,000 bonus] in the savings. I totally forgot about that, so yeah, added bonus. Sweet.”

    Sanchez’s Charlotte victory was the most meaningful for Chris Showalter, the truck chief for both Sanchez and Rev Racing as he has been working through all 700 recorded events in the Truck Series since the first event at Phoenix Raceway in February 1995.

    “[This race] just probably popped to number one [favorite],” Showalter, who fought tears of joy, said. “It’s a long battle. This is about people and I love this group of people. I’ll do anything for this group of people.”

    Heim, who led a race-high 72 laps and swept both stages, settled in second place for his seventh top-three result of the 2024 season as he fell short of winning at Charlotte Motor Speedway for a second consecutive season.

    “Obviously, an eventful day for us,” Heim said. “[I] Just felt like it got away from us on separate occasions there. We had control of the race and as soon as you don’t, you’re just victim to the leader and they can control the air. Nick [Sanchez] did a great job at just blocking my air the best he could. I felt like we had the best truck by a long shot. When you’re behind the leader, you can’t do much, but I feel like we were able to get through traffic so well. Glad I could make it entertaining at least, but it doesn’t really matter for us. We finished second.”

    Shortly after, however, Heim was disqualified from the runner-up result due to his truck having three lug nuts not safely secured following his recent pit service. As a result, Stewart Friesen, who missed his pit stall and was running in the middle of the pack earlier in the day, was promoted to second place as Grant Enfinger, Matt Mills and Ben Rhodes ended up in the top five.

    Finishing in the top 10 were Jake Garcia, Kaden Honeycutt, Connor Mosack, Dean Thompson and Christian Eckes. Notably, Chase Purdy ended up 13th behind Taylor Gray, Rajah Caruth fell back to 16th behind Brett Moffitt, pole-sitter Tanner Gray ended up 17th, Ty Majeski slid to 23rd and Stefan Parsons ended up 25th.

    There were eight lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 31 laps.

    Following the 11th event of the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series season, Christian Eckes leads the regular-season standings by 30 points over Corey Heim, 50 over Nick Sanchez, 64 over Ty Majeski and 99 over Taylor Gray.

    Results.

    1. Nick Sanchez, nine laps led

    2. Stewart Friesen

    3. Grant Enfinger

    4. Matt Mills

    5. Ben Rhodes

    6. Jake Garcia

    7. Kaden Honeycutt

    8. Connor Mosack

    9. Dean Thompson

    10. Christian Eckes, 37 laps led

    11. Connor Jones

    12. Taylor Gray

    13. Chase Purdy, five laps led

    14. Bret Holmes

    15. Brett Moffitt

    16. Rajah Caruth

    17. Tanner Gray, 11 laps led

    18. Mason Massey

    19. Daniel Dye

    20. Spencer Boyd

    21. Jack Wood

    22. Timmy Hill

    23. Ty Majeski

    24. Ty Dillon

    25. Stefan Parsons

    26. Bayley Currey

    27. Mason Maggio

    28. Layne Riggs, one lap down

    29. Memphis Villarreal, three laps down

    30. Lawless Alan – OUT, Brakes

    31. Matt Crafton, 15 laps down

    32. Tyler Ankrum – OUT, Accident

    33. Thad Moffitt – OUT, Accident

    34. Keigh McGee – OUT, Accident

    35. Jeffrey Earnhardt – OUT, Accident

    36. Corey Heim – Disqualified 72 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    Next on the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule is the series’ annual visit to Gateway’s World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, for the Toyota 200. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, June 1, and air at 1:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Tanner Gray Rebounds to win ARCA Menards Series race at Charlotte

    Tanner Gray Rebounds to win ARCA Menards Series race at Charlotte

    Tanner Gray won the ARCA Menards Series General Tire 150 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Friday evening after rebounding from a flat tire and going a lap down.

    He started strong, earning his second career pole and his second at Charlotte, in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. However, on Lap 34 he had to make an unscheduled pit stop due to a flat right-rear tire and went a lap down.

    With 20 laps to go, Carson Kvapil had a two-second lead while Gray had methodically made his way back to the lead lap. Gray caught a break after a crash involving Con Nicolopoulos and Mitch Gibson as most of the lead-lap cars pit with 15 laps remaining in the race.

    When the race resumed, Gray, who had stayed on the track during the caution and was now in the lead, held off Kvapil and won by a margin of 0.939 seconds.

    Andres Perez finished third followed by Will Kimmel in fourth and Lavar Scott in fifth.

    “To be able to come here and rebound the way we did is really cool,” Gray said. “We fought a little adversity in the beginning, cutting the right-rear (tire) down and going a lap down. To be able to execute a solid race and finish off those last few laps is really cool.

    *Note: Gray finished 18th in Friday night’s Truck Series North Carolina Education Lottery 200.

    • Race results:
    Pos.Car No.DriverSponsor, OEMLapsDiff.
    118Tanner GrayJGR Toyota100 –
    282Carson Kvapil*Chevrolet Performace Chevrolet1000.939
    32Andres PerezMax Siegal Inc Chevrolet1002.355
    469Will KimmelWeddington Custom Homes-Accel Hydraulics1005.192
    56Lavar Scott*Max Siegel Inc Chevrolet1005.343
    655Gus DeanDRIVEN Trackside1007.275
    720Dean ThompsonThompson Pipe Group Toyota1007.423
    833Lawless Alan*Auto Parkit Ford1007.817
    997Jason KitzmillerA.L.L Construction Chevrolet1008.342
    109Sebastian AriasBrady IFS Chevrolet10011.265
    1135Greg Van AlstCB Fabricating Ford10011.273
    1225Toni BreidingerCelsius Toyota10012.836
    1310Cody Dennison*Timcast.com Toyota10016.986
    1473Andy JankowiakAcacia Energy Toyota10027.118
    1522Amber BalcaenICON Toyota991 Lap
    1612Ryan Roulette*Bellator Recruiting Academy/VFW Ford982 Laps
    1727Tim RichmondImmigration Law Center Toyota982 Laps
    1815Kris WrightFNB Corporation Toyota973 Laps
    1988A.J. MoyerRivers’s Edge Cottages & RV Park/Ampere EV Chevrolet964 Laps
    2099Michael Maples*Don Ray Petroleum LLC/Maples Motorsports Chevrolet946 Laps
    2157Austin McDaniel*Brother In Law Motorsports Chevrolet9010 Laps
    2206Con NicolopoulosPeterson Motorsports Ford8911 Laps
    2375Hunter Deshautelle*Brother-In-Law Motorsports Chevrolet8713 Laps
    2431Mitch Gibson*C&S Construction & Cabinet Designs Chevrolet7921 Laps
    2503Alex ClubbRace Parts Liquidators Ford4555 Laps
    2648Brad SmithCopraya.com Ford3664 Laps
    2728Connor Mosack*Chevrolet/Silver Hare Development Chevrolet3070 Laps
    2832Christian RoseBlue Wolf Cleaners & Degreasers Ford2872 Laps
    2911Jayson Alexander*Constant Contact Ford2080 Laps
  • Tanner Gray claims pole for Charlotte Truck Series race

    Tanner Gray claims pole for Charlotte Truck Series race

    Tanner Gray won Friday night’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 pole at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He topped NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series qualifying with a 178.241 mph lap in the No. 15 Toyota for TRICON Garage to earn his first pole this season and his second consecutive Truck Series pole at Charlotte.

    Gray’s teammate, Corey Heim, will start beside him on the front row. Ty Majeski qualified third followed by Rajah Caruth and Layne Riggs to complete the top five.

    Chase Purdy, Connor Mosack, Jack Wood, Kaden Honeycutt and Bayley Currey rounded out the top 10 in qualifying.

    Truck Series points leader, Christian Eckes, will start at the rear of the field after damage during practice.

    Justin Carroll and Jennifer Jo Cobb did not qualify for the race.

    The North Carolina Education Lottery 200 is scheduled for Friday at 8:30 p.m. on FS1 with radio coverage provided by MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

    Starting Line Up: