Ty Majeski took the lead on a restart with eight laps remaining within the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Sequence common season finale Clear Harbors 250 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway to hoist his second consecutive race trophy.
Majeski’s No. 98 ThorSport Racing Ford led Christian Eckes’ No. 19 Chevy throughout the end line by a slight 0.936s to earn the win and vindicate a gut-wrenching loss on the three-quarter mile Richmond observe from a yr in the past when he dominated the race solely to lose the lead with 4 laps remaining.
That robust loss was nonetheless very a lot on the thoughts of the 29-year previous Wisconsin native this weekend. And he almost gave this one away too after receiving a pit street penalty when a tire obtained free on his first pit cease throughout the Stage 1 break.
“This feels good. We’ve had nice ThorSport vehicles right here at Richmond the final two years, however discovered other ways to lose them (races) and tried to do this once more tonight ’’ stated Majeski, who now has 5 profession wins within the sequence.
“We actually want to wash that stuff up.’’
Eckes, driver of the No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Chevrolet formally claimed the common season championship in successful Saturday night time’s opening stage – his sequence finest eighth stage victory of the season.
“Confidence is excessive for positive,’’ stated Eckes, a three-race winner in 2024. “I really feel like we’re in a greater place than we have been final yr and I assumed we have been in a fairly good place final yr too. Actual happy with the staff. We didn’t have fairly what we wanted right this moment however happy with all people and able to get these subsequent seven races underway.”
For the primary time within the fashionable Playoff format, a driver raced his method into championship rivalry within the final cutoff race. Daniel Dye, 20, completed eighth within the No. 43 McAnally-Hilgemann Chevrolet – adequate to place him within the Playoffs by 12-points over TRICON Storage Racing’s Tanner Grey, who completed twelfth.
“Simply all of the onerous work these guys have put in and it’s actually good to validate myself and the work I’ve put in to vary up what I’ve been doing,’’ Dye stated. “It’s so cool to have our No. 43 within the Playoffs.”
Tanner Grey stood by his automotive, understandably annoyed with the night time.
“We simply weren’t adequate,’’ Tanner Grey stated. “Didn’t have the velocity, didn’t have the steadiness and I didn’t do a adequate job, so I’m actually annoyed.”
His youthful brother Taylor Grey completed third Saturday night time, adopted by veteran Grant Enfinger and rookie Layne Riggs. The third-place end was sufficient to safe Grey’s place within the 10-driver Playoff area and is available in his first full-time season. Fourth-place finisher Enfinger led probably the most laps – 98 of the 250 – and earned the Stage 2 win; his first stage victory since final season.
Not so quick, says @GrantEnfinger! pic.twitter.com/FjOzAOXckc
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Vehicles (@NASCAR_Trucks) August 11, 2024
Tyler Ankrum, defending sequence champion Ben Rhodes, Dye, Ty Dillon and rookie Connor Corridor rounded out the top-10 in Saturday’s race.
The ten-driver Playoff area will embrace TRICON Storage’s Corey Heim, a five-race winner who holds a three-point benefit on Eckes to start out the seven-race Playoff run. Majeski goes into the Playoff run ranked third, adopted by fellow race winners this season, Nick Sanchez and Rajah Caruth.
Enfinger is seeded sixth adopted by Ankrum, Taylor Grey, Rhodes and Dye.
The Playoff opener, the LiUNA 175, is Aug. 25 on the Milwaukee Mile (4 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“These are my first two wins outdoors of the Playoffs they usually’re proper on the cusp of the Playoffs, so this staff simply appears to click on proper round Playoff time,’’ Majeski stated. “Between that and quite a lot of these racetracks are simply our bread and butter. [Crew chief] Joe [Shear] and I, I really feel like we’re fairly good at these final two racetracks and we’re going to a different acquainted one in Milwaukee and the best way that this Playoff schedule lays out is fairly good for our staff. I’m excited to get going.”
