NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – The short track ace delivered. Ty Majeski has had Phoenix Raceway circled on the calendar for months, knowing that if he and his No. 98 ThorSport Racing team made it to the season finale as one of the four NASCAR Truck Series championship contenders, the title would have to go through them. With all but one of his now six career wins coming on short tracks, Majeski had the skillset necessary to get the job done on the one-mile Phoenix oval and fromRead More

By Kirby Arnold, Special Contributor  AVONDALE, Ariz. — Corey Heim knew he would need to drive a near-perfect race to snag the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship Friday night at Phoenix Raceway.  In the end, even that wasn’t enough to beat Ty Majeski, who dominated from the start to win the race and capture his first series championship. Majeski led 132 of the 150 laps and controlled the final 26 laps after a late caution flag.  Heim, clearly the best of the rest and the only real challenger to Majeski,Read More

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 driversRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – Is Ty Majeski the early favorite heading into Friday night’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway? His record on short tracks throughout his career would certainly point that way. The 30-year-old Wisconsin native counts those types of tracks as his bread and butter and with the title race being held on the 1.0-mile oval in the Arizona desert, that short track prowess could be the advantage he and his No. 98 ThorSport Racing team to be able to hoist theRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Christian Eckes wasn’t about to lose a race he had dominated, even if it meant using the front bumper on his No. 19 Chevrolet—twice. After a restart with five laps left in Friday night’s Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 at Martinsville Speedway, Eckes first moved the Toyota of Taylor Gray and then the Ford of Ben Rhodes—both of which were rolling on 40-lap fresher tires—to win the race and earn a spot in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series’ Championship 4Read More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service HOMESTEAD, Fla. – A strategy call from the pit box coupled with a patient move forward landed veteran Grant Enfinger his second consecutive NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoff race win in Saturday’s Baptist Health 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway while his closest competitors ran out of fuel behind him in the closing laps. Enfinger, who won the opening race in this Playoff round at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway three weeks ago denied the other seven Playoff racers a chance at an automatic bid into championship contention. So nowRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. – The home crowd favorite, Grant Enfinger claimed the victory in Friday afternoon’s Love’s RV Stop 225 Playoff race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway – the Alabama native’s second NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win at the big track and the most important, as the victory delivers an automatic entry into the season championship finale next month. Enfinger’s No. 9 CR7 Motorsports Chevrolet led a race best 34 of the 85 laps, won Stage 2 and held the point on the final lap whenRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service KANSAS City, Kan.— Corey Heim won Friday night’s Kubota Tractor 200 in the fastest truck, but he needed help from fellow Playoff driver Ty Majeski to secure the victory in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Round of 10 elimination race at Kansas Speedway. Majeski ran out of fuel approaching the white flag while leading, allowing Heim to surge past in his No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota and claim his sixth victory of the season in a race that saw reigning series champion Ben RhodesRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor BRISTOL, Tenn. – The Layne Train keeps rolling on. For the second race in a row, Layne Riggs played spoiler in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs, bringing home the win in Thursday night’s UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Piloting the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford, Riggs rolled off from 18th in the 200-lap event, but didn’t stay there for long, advancing up to eighth by the end of the first stage and fourth at the end of the second. Riggs would continue hisRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – It may have taken four overtimes to get there, but for the second time in the last three years, Ben Rhodes is a champion in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. As the laps wound down in regulation, it was shaping up to be a race between Grant Enfinger and Rhodes to see which of the two would walk away with the title, but with three laps to go, everything changed. Corey Heim and Carson Hocevar, who had been involved in an incident earlierRead More