Ford’s long winless streak in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series finally came to an end Friday night at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, as Ty Majeski crossed the finish line first in the TSPORT 200. Majeski’s victory is the fourth of his NASCAR Truck Series career, his second in a row at IRP, and the first for Ford in the Truck Series since Brett Moffitt won in a second Front Row Motorsports entry at Talladega Superspeedway last October.
The winless streak for the blue oval ended at 16 races. The last time Ford went 16 or more races between Truck Series wins was in 2019 when the manufacturer went the final 17 races of the season without a victory.
RELATED: Race Results: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series TSPORT 200 at IRP
Majeski rallied back from a restart violation on Lap 48 of the 200-lap contest. The ThorSport Racing driver had a fast Ford F-150, and he was determined to put it back where it belonged — up front.
“Made a little bit of a mistake, it was probably a little bit of a close call on that restart, and I had to pony up and get it back,” Majeski said in his post-race interview. “Obviously when you make a mistake as a driver you drive a little bit harder to try and make up for it but these guys have my back”.
Back-to-back IRP victories for Ty Majeski. ??@Reporterjamie | @NASCAR_Trucks https://t.co/MxW1GIuNiV pic.twitter.com/qP5QIix4CV
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) July 20, 2024
Points leader Christian Eckes finished second in his No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet Silverado. Eckes swept both stages and led the most laps in the race with 73.
Grant Enfinger finished third, giving him his fifth top ten in his last six races. Enfinger, who started from the second position, quickly worked around polesitter Rajah Caruth on the opening lap of the race and led the first 55 laps of the race. Overall, Enfinger led 71 laps on the night, second-most to Eckes.
Tyler Ankrum, Eckes’ teammate, brought his No. 18 Chevrolet home fourth, giving McAnally-Hilgemann Racing two trucks inside the top five. Ankrum, along with Enfinger, clinched spots in the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series playoffs on points with their finishes on Friday night at IRP.
Rookie of the Year contender Layne Riggs rounded out the top five finishers in his No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford F-150. Riggs has finished inside the top 10 in all three races that he has run at IRP and scored his second fifth-place finish in his last four starts in the series.
Sammy Smith, Luke Fenhaus, Caruth, Dean Thompson, and Nick Sanchez completed the top 10 finishers. Fenhaus’ finish is the best of his career, earning his second top 10 in three career series starts.
Rajah Caruth and Grant Enfinger led the field to green, with Enfinger quickly pulling away to the race lead. Enfinger led the first 43 laps until the caution came out for Mason Massey and Ty Dillon. Dillon’s No. 25 Chevrolet spun in turn three, while Massey’s No. 02 blew a tire in turn two and made significant contact with the outside wall in an unrelated incident. Dillon was able to continue but Massey’s damage forced him behind the wall and out of the race.
Enfinger and Ty Majeski brought the field back up through the gears for the restart. Majeski was able to hang with Enfinger but promptly received a black flag and a pass-through penalty for a restart violation. Christian Eckes inherited the runner-up spot with the penalty to the No. 98 and quickly challenged Enfinger for the top spot, making the pass for the lead with five laps remaining in stage one. Eckes was able to hold off Enfinger to take home his sixth stage win of the season.
Eckes and Enfinger led the field back to green to begin stage two, with Enfinger clearing Eckes after one lap to secure the lead once again. On lap 71, Spencer Boyd’s No. 76 slowed to a crawl on the backstretch but was able to make it back to pit road. The incident marked the second race in a row that Boyd suffered a mechanical failure.
On lap 85, the caution came out for Corey Heim and Conor Daly, who both suffered unrelated flat tires. Heim, whose left front tire was cut, doored Eckes under caution, showing displeasure from contact earlier in the race.
Sparks fly at IRP (in more ways than one).
Corey Heim isn't happy with Christian Eckes. pic.twitter.com/7gdYlbU1k0
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) July 20, 2024
On the ensuing restart, Eckes quickly took the lead while Enfinger fell in the wrong direction to fifth. The No. 9 fell to eighth after four laps, with Ross Chastain ascending to the runner-up position behind Eckes. By the lap 100 mark, Majeski had made his way back into the top five after his earlier penalty, while Heim made his way back into the top ten in the same timeframe.
The remainder of stage two was run without incident, with Eckes able to cruise to his third stage sweep of the season. Heim and Majeski continued their recoveries to finish second and third in the stage respectively. Enfinger, who had restarted on the front row, finished the stage outside the top ten.
Eckes and Heim brought the field to green to start stage three. Eckes pulled away from the rest of the pack while Majeski made quick work of Heim to reclaim second place. Shortly after, the No. 13 of Jake Garcia received a pass-through penalty for a restart violation, making Garcia the second ThorSport Racing driver on the evening to have to serve one.
Majeski was able to reel in Eckes on the ensuing run and passed the No. 19 for the lead with 56 laps remaining. The rest of the race would run caution-free, with Majeski never looking back en route to his first victory on the season.
Heim, who faded back late in the race to finish 17th, trails Eckes by 50 points for the regular season championship with one race remaining in the regular season. Tanner Gray holds the tenth and final playoff spot by five points over Daniel Dye and 16 points over Stewart Friesen. The next Craftsman Truck Series race will take place at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, August 10, and will be broadcast on FS1.
