Chasing the Championship: Breaking Down the 2024 Truck Series Title Fight

By David Morgan, Associate Editor

AVONDALE, Ariz. – The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will be the first title fight of the weekend to be settled, as the four remaining drivers in the Playoffs will duke it out Friday night at Phoenix Raceway for the right to hoist the championship trophy when the checkered flag falls.

Eight drivers started the Playoffs with a berth in the championship race in mind, but half of them fell by the wayside, leaving Grant Enfinger, Christian Eckes, Corey Heim, and Ty Majeski as the four drivers to battle for supremacy and bring home the Truck Series title.

By the Numbers

What: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship, Race No. 22 of 22

Where: Phoenix Raceway – Avondale, Arizona

When: Friday, November 8

TV/Radio: FOX Sports 1, 8:00 pm ET / MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Channel 90

Track Size: 1.0-mile oval

Banking: Eight to nine degrees in Turns 1-2, 10 to 11 degrees in Turns 3-4 and frontstretch dogleg

Race Length: 150 laps, 150 miles

Stage Lengths: Stage One/Two – 45 laps each, Final stage – 60 laps

November 2023 Race Winner: Christian Eckes – No. 19 Chevrolet Silverado (Started eighth, 36 laps led)

Tale of the Tape – How the Championship 4 Stacks Up:

Christian Eckes – No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet

2024 Stats: Four wins (Bristol, Nashville, Martinsville x 2), 14 top-five finishes, 21 top-10 finishes, 1050 laps led, five poles, 5.5 average finish

Phoenix Specific Stats: Five starts, one win, two top-five finishes, four top-10 finishes, 36 laps led, 10.0 average finish.

How He Got Here: Eckes banked three of his four wins in the regular season to set himself up well for the Playoffs and his extremely consistent run throughout the season, where he has only finished outside the top-10 once has made him a strong contender for being able to bring the No. 19 team a championship.

However, Eckes has ruffled some feathers along the way, namely last week at Martinsville where he roughed up both Taylor Gray and Ben Rhodes en route to the win to secure his place in the championship race. He’ll have to avoid any retaliatory strikes Friday night if he wants to end the season on top.

What the Driver Says: “It’s been a great year for us. Regardless of the outcome on Friday, you know, 21 top-10’s in 22 races is pretty incredible. And the one race we didn’t finish in the top 10, we were leading when we broke. Just very proud of how far this team has come.

“When I first showed up, there was zero top fives, I wanna say, for the entire organization over two teams. And we’ve turned it into a championship contending organization. I remember the day December 6th, 2022 when I first came to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing. I said my bar’s here, my bar is a championship, and finally have a chance to achieve that this weekend. That’s our number one priority.”

Grant Enfinger – No. 9 CR7 Motorsports Chevrolet

2024 Stats: Two wins (Talladega, Homestead), seven top-five finishes, 12 top-10 finishes, 263 laps led, 10.8 average finish

Phoenix Specific Stats: Seven starts, no wins, two top-five finishes, four top-10 finishes, 12 laps led, 10.1 average finish.

How He Got Here: After moving over to CR7 Motorsports for the 2024 Truck Series season, it wasn’t the smoothest of transitions for Enfinger, but he was able to make it into the Playoffs and through the first round of the postseason to give his team the chance they needed.

In the Round of 8 is where Enfinger came alive, winning back-to-back at Talladega and Homestead to punch his ticket into the championship race where he will hope to deliver his team a championship in their first season together.

What the Driver Says: “We definitely expected to be here. We did not expect to have as many struggles as we did at the beginning of the year. But yeah, it’s a huge accomplishment for everybody at CR7 Motorsports,” Enfinger said of the expectations of moving to a new team and making it in the Playoffs their first year out.

“I think regardless of the outcome [Friday] night, we’re gonna look back and say, Hey, this has been a good year. But I feel like Jeff has been smelling blood in the water since Talladega. He’s been on kill and I’ve been on kill. And I feel like just from a preparation standpoint and really just from how everything’s lined up, I feel like we’ve actually got a small advantage now and I feel like we’re in a good situation for [Friday] night.”

Corey Heim – No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota

2024 Stats: Six wins (Austin, Kansas x 2, North Wilkesboro, Gateway, Pocono), 13 top-five finishes, 17 top-10 finishes, 666 laps led, 7.4 average finish

Phoenix Specific Stats: Two starts, no wins, one top-10 finish, one pole, 52 laps led, 12.5 average finish

How He Got Here: Heim has been the winningest driver this season in the Truck Series, having banked six wins in his return to the championship race, where he will look for redemption from last season’s disappointing result after crashing out in the late race chaos.

What the Driver Says: “I feel good about it. I feel like throughout the year, we’ve done well at similar style of race tracks like Gateway and maybe a (North) Wilkesboro or something like that, closer to a mile long race track with fresher pavement. Anything can happen, and the points are reset so, I’ve got to beat these three guys to my left, but I feel really good about it. We’ve been good all year and can’t wait to keep it going.

“I feel like any new opportunity and new race, is a new chance for me to go out and improve myself and win. I don’t feel like this is any different. I don’t flash back to last year as a redemption for any means, but I’m as motivated as anyone in the room to go and win the championship.”

Ty Majeski – No. 98 ThorSport Racing Ford

2024 Stats: Two wins (Richmond, Indianapolis Raceway Park), nine top-five finishes, 13 top-10 finishes, 468 laps led, 11.1 average finish

Phoenix Specific Stats: Three starts, no wins, no top-10 finishes, 48 laps led, 15.0 average finish.

How He Got Here: The short track ace did exactly what was expected of him on the tracks less than a mile this season, putting himself in contention for the win and capturing victories at Richmond and Indianapolis Raceway Park to close out the regular season.

Majeski was able to bank enough points at Martinsville a week ago to punch his ticket to Phoenix and now has a chance to deliver ThorSport Racing another Truck Series title.

What the Driver Says: “I think this is our type of racetrack.  Anytime Joe and I show up to a flat short track, I feel like we’re a threat to win.  I feel like we’ve all kind of had our parts of the season where we’ve been dominant and I really feel like the Championship 4 that are here really are probably the four that deserve to be here the most. 

“That doesn’t happen all the time with this format, so it’s good to see that.  I think that’s good for the sport, good for everybody involved to have us four here.  It’s gonna be an interesting race for sure.  I feel like we have as good a chance as anybody.  Like I said, being on a short track I feel really good about our chances.”