Ty Majeski dominated another short track yet again. This time, he emerged victorious.
After a heartbreaking runner-up finish at Richmond Raceway, Majeski finally closed the deal to take home his first win of the season at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. It was a perfect night in fact, as he also swept both stages, earning the maximum 60 points available in a given race.
With the win, Majeski locks himself into the Round of 8 of the Truck Series playoffs.
The Top Truckers at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park
Winner: Ty Majeski
Polesitter: Christian Eckes
Stage 1 and 2 Winner: Ty Majeski
Most Laps Led: Ty Majeski (179 of 200 laps)
Rookie of the Race: Layne Riggs
Top Storylines of the Race
- Shane van Gisbergen made his first career Truck Series start, driving the No. 41 for Niece Motorsports. After starting 28th, van Gisbergen ended up finishing 19th, one lap down. Trackhouse Racing team owner Justin Marks as well as teammate Ross Chastain were in attendance as van Gisbergen’s cheerleaders.
- Greg Van Alst was the unfortunate victim of a three-truck crash that also collected Hailie Deegan and Landen Lewis. Van Alst was unable to continue and finished dead last. Now all three premier series starts he has made have ended in last-place finishes (he finished dead last in both of his Xfinity Series starts so far).
- Tanner Gray was hit with a restart violation on lap 130 that killed his night. He was running eighth at the time and had to serve a pass-through penalty after changing lanes before reaching the start-finish line. He ended up 15th.
- Eckes (who finished second) and Corey Heim (who finished eighth) were the only other lap leaders besides Majeski. Heim led 18 laps, while Eckes led just three from the pole before getting passed by the No. 98.
- Dean Thompson had another hard crash after getting turned into the outside wall in turn 3. He was then piledriven by Spencer Boyd, destroying both trucks.
- Laps after the Thompson/Boyd accident, Lewis retaliated on Deegan, ending her night early. Lewis finished 28th.
The Winning Move
It’s hard to list the winning move when the driver who won completely stomped the field.
Heim was arguably Majeski’s biggest competitor, but during a pit stop under caution after stage two, the No. 11 team was hit with a safety violation that forced Heim to the rear of the field. Despite rallying to eighth, Heim could never fully recover, which allowed Majeski to absolutely run away with the win.
Championship Rundown
Majeski locks himself into the Round of 8 with the win. Meanwhile, all but three of the 10 playoff drivers earned valuable stage points on the night. The three that didn’t – Matt DiBenedetto, Matt Crafton, and Ben Rhodes – were not threats all night, yet DiBenedetto somehow still rallied to finish 10th.
Here’s how the playoff standings look after race one of the Round of 8. First through sixth seem to be okay for now, but then it gets real chaotic from Rhodes on back.
1. Ty Majeski (1 Win)
2. Corey Heim (+47)
3. Christian Eckes (+39)
4. Carson Hocevar (+35)
5. Zane Smith (+29)
6. Grant Enfinger (+24)
7. Ben Rhodes (+4)
8. Nick Sanchez (+2)
—Cutline—
9. Matt Crafton (-2)
10. Matt DiBenedetto (-3)
Rookie Report
Layne Riggs may not have won, but he came into IRP and straight up beat several Truck Series regulars and playoff drivers. He finished a career-best third (the highest non-playoff driver) at the track he made his series debut at one year prior. He is far and away the Rookie of the Race.
However, an extremely quiet night from William Sawalich earned him a career-best sixth, so he deserves a shoutout for his performance.
No. 1 – William Sawalich (sixth)
No. 2 – Nick Sanchez (11th)
No. 04 – Landen Lewis (28th)
No. 7 – Layne Riggs (third)
No. 17 – Taylor Gray (20th)
No. 20 – Greg Van Alst (36th)
No. 22 – Logan Bearden (21st)
No. 24 – Rajah Caruth (seventh)
No. 32 – Bret Holmes (25th)
No. 35 – Jake Garcia (13th)
No. 41 – Shane van Gisbergen (19th)
No. 43 – Daniel Dye (22nd)
No. 61 – Jake Drew (17th)
No. 66 – Conner Jones (27th)
One Thought About This Race
Is Majeski due for a tear?
Last year, Majeski notched his first career Truck Series win at Bristol Motor Speedway to lock himself into the Championship 4. Two races later, he won again at Homestead-Miami Speedway, cementing himself as a favorite to take the championship.
Majeski’s win at IRP is his first since Homestead, and the series gears up to go to Majeski’s home state of Wisconsin in two weeks, where he will likely perform well for the hometown crowd. Majeski’s in a position similar to Enfinger last year – Enfinger hadn’t won the whole season until the first race of the playoffs (at IRP, as a reminder) and suddenly became a dark horse threat for the championship.
It seems as if Majeski could be in a position to do the same. The only difference is, Majeski has been a threat all year, he and his No. 98 team just haven’t been able to close the deal. Now that he has a win under his belt, Majeski has the opportunity to get hot, and if that happens, it may be his championship to lose come Phoenix Raceway in November.
Talkin’ Truckers
Majeski says ThorSport Racing brought the same truck to IRP that it had at Richmond:
“That kind of sucked not to win”: Eckes on runner-up finish after starting on pole:
“I’ve proven every time in the Truck Series that I deserve to be here”: Riggs on his career night:
“All I can say is watch out”: Rajah Caruth finishes seventh in confidence-boosting race:
Shane van Gisbergen learned a lot in his oval debut:
David Gilliland: “A lot of mixed emotions” after TRICON Garage finishes all over the board:
Paint Scheme of the Race
Rookie Bret Holmes debuted a slick green paint job at IRP, supported by sponsorship from Precision Garage Door.
The small, family-owned team hasn’t had the season Holmes would have hoped for, but the team did not miss on this paint scheme.
On Deck
Say cheese – we’re going back to Wisconsin.
For the first time since 2009, the Craftsman Truck Series will return to The Milwaukee Mile, located at the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisc. There will be a new winner at the track, as every Truck Series winner at Milwaukee to date is no longer racing in the series. Ron Hornaday won the last race back in 2009.
The Truck Series drivers have another off-week beforehand, but then will have to prepare for not only a new racetrack, but a foreign concept to most Truckers: Racing on a Sunday. Also unlike the previous iteration of the race from 1995-2009, the race has been shortened from 200 miles/laps to 175.
The Clean Harbors 175 will take place on Sunday, Aug. 27 at 4 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.
About the author
Anthony Damcott joined Frontstretch in March 2022. Currently, he is an editor and co-authors Fire on Fridays (Fridays); he is also the primary Truck Series reporter/writer and secondary short track writer. He also serves as an at-track reporter and assists with social media when he can. A proud West Virginia Wesleyan College alum from Akron, Ohio, Anthony is now a grad student. He is a theatre actor and fight-choreographer-in-training in his free time.
You can keep up with Anthony by following @AnthonyDamcott on X.
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