It’s finally here.
The 2024 Craftsman Truck Series playoffs are upon us.
The 10-driver field was set in the regular-season finale at Richmond Raceway and contains a mix of playoff newbies and playoff regulars.
Four drivers represent the McAnally-Hilgemann Racing fold (counting the technically-aligned CR7 Motorsports), two represent ThorSport Racing, two represent TRICON Garage and two represent the Spire Motorsports fold (counting the technically-aligned Rev Racing).
As a reminder, the Truck Series playoffs is contested throughout seven races – after three races, the bottom two in points will be eliminated, forming the Round of 8. Four more drivers will be eliminated in the next three races; the four remaining will make up the Championship 4.
The highest finisher of those four at Phoenix Raceway will be crowned the 2024 champion.
Want to know who to watch for over the next seven races? You’ve come to the right place. Fortunately, the Truck Series has an off-week before playoff opener at the Milwaukee Mile on Aug. 25. Over the next two weeks, Frontstretch will get you ready for the Truck Series by introducing the 10 candidates for the championship.
This week, let’s meet the top five drivers in order of playoff seeding – coincidentally, these five drivers are the only full-time drivers to win thus far this season.
No. 1 – Corey Heim
Points: 2041
Wins: 5
Best points finish: 4th (2023)
For the second year in a row, Corey Heim enters the playoffs as the top seed and as one of the championship favorites. While he was unable to capture the regular-season championship like last year, his season-leading five wins and multiple stage wins allowed him to accrue tons of playoff points in the first 16 races.
Heim enters the 2024 playoffs looking to close out the championship this time after being spun from the lead last year by Carson Hocevar. A retaliation attempt at the end of the race resulted in a penalty from NASCAR that relegated him to fourth in the final standings, a result not indicative of the incredible season the No. 11 team had.
Heim has had just as good of a season — if not better than last — and is more than capable of avenging his title loss one year ago. However, there is one driver that stands in his way more than most other playoff contenders.
No. 2 – Christian Eckes
Points: 2038
Wins: 3
Best points finish: 5th (2023)
If there is one person who could spoil the party once again for Heim (though cleanly), it’s Christian Eckes.
Though he only has three wins to Heim’s five, a combination of more stage wins plus better consistency than Heim allowed Eckes to secure the regular-season championship by a wide margin.
Much like Heim, Eckes is also seeking a little bit of redemption from 2023.
Eckes was a few laps away from a dominating win at Bristol Motor Speedway last year before lapped traffic allowed Heim to steal the win from under him. The lapped traffic, in question, was Heim’s teammate Tanner Gray, which led to a minor controversy over the question of team orders.
That win would have secured Eckes a spot in the Championship 4, but unfortunately he found himself eliminated without the win. But it doesn’t end there, as Eckes went on to win the championship race at Phoenix Raceway.
Had Eckes won the race at Bristol, the Phoenix win would have given him the championship.
But Eckes and the No. 19 team used his surge in momentum late in 2023 to catapult into a great 2024, and looks to go all the way this season. It’s no secret that Eckes and Heim are the two favorites, and if their clash at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park said anything, it’s that it will be a hard-fought battle to the end.
No. 3 – Ty Majeski
Points: 2023
Wins: 2
Best points finish: 4th (2022)
While Heim has gone a little cold entering the playoffs, and Eckes has maintained status quo, Ty Majeski has all the momentum in the world heading to his home track of Milwaukee.
The No. 98 team went to victory lane back-to-back in the final two races leading up to the playoffs. Talk about getting hot at the right time, as now Majeski looks to make this championship fight between the “Big Three” instead of the top two.
Man, I guess the top three are all entering this year’s playoffs with chips on their shoulders, as Majeski is also seeking redemption. Entering Milwaukee last year, the No. 98 team was investigated and later penalized heavily for a tire infraction that resulted in the downfall of the team’s playoff chances before they could really get going.
The penalty was a result of unnecessary testing by the team. Last season, Milwaukee was the second race of the Round of 10, following IRP. Majeski won that race at IRP and was guaranteed a spot in the next round. There was no need to jeopardize the rest of his playoffs, yet it happened. Ultimately, Majeski could be seen as a favorite for the Championship 4 – provided his team can stay out of its own way.
No. 4 – Nick Sanchez
Points: 2018
Wins: 2
Best points finish: 6th (2023)
The last Truck Series regular with multiple wins on the season, Nick Sanchez got the season started on the right foot by taking his first career trophy at the Daytona International Speedway opener. Having been locked in since week one, the No. 2 team has focused its efforts toward figuring out what works and what doesn’t to prepare for the playoffs.
That included a second win at Charlotte Motor Speedway which only solidified his place in the playoffs. With a year of experience under his belt already after making the playoff as a rookie in 2023, Sanchez knows the pressure the playoffs bring and is more prepared to rise to the challenge.
A sixth-place finish is nothing to scoff at for a rookie, but Sanchez is capable of doing more this season, and it’ll be fun to see what he can accomplish.
Just as long as he can keep his nose clean. Literally.
I kid, of course, but obviously Sanchez was less known for his rookie playoff run as he was for his fight with Matt Crafton after Talladega Superspeedway. This year, Sanchez can be a sleeper for the title if he stays out of trouble.
Then he can get a lot more positive publicity this time.
No. 5 – Rajah Caruth
Points: 2009
Wins: 1
Best points finish: 16th (2023)
A breakthrough win early in the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway secures Rajah Caruth his best points finish by at least six positions, if not better, depending on how his playoffs go. However, since that win, Caruth’s season has only been okay.
In the six-race span between Martinsville Speedway and Nashville Superspeedway, the No. 71 couldn’t buy a finish higher than 12th. However, Caruth has found some steam again, as since that stretch he finished in the top 10 three of the last four races, with a best finish of fourth at Nashville.
With intermediate tracks such as Kansas Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway coming up, combined with some success here and there on short tracks (of which comprise four of the seven playoff races), it could be a good playoff run for Caruth. While expectations of a championship might be a little bit far-fetched (at least, given the competition ahead of him), a top-five-or-six points finish is not unreasonable.
Especially when you consider that this team didn’t exist until this season. With GMS Racing shutting down after last year, Caruth was brought into the Spire fold as one of two full-time expansion teams for the team’s Truck Series efforts. To have the success that he’s had in year one of the No. 71 team’s existence only shows promise in the coming years.
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Next week, we’ll take a look at seeds No. 6-10 to round out the playoff field as the series gears up to head to Milwaukee.
Truckin’ Tidbits
- After the Cup Series’ disastrous finish at Richmond Raceway, penalties were announced on Wednesday (Aug. 14). However, it’s worth revisiting Layne Riggs‘ penalty from Nashville, where he was penalized two laps for rough driving. Riggs put Stefan Parsons in the wall after a fierce battle between the two. If that was enough for rough driving then, there’s zero reason Austin Dillon shouldn’t have been penalized for rough driving in the moment at Richmond for something much more egregious than what Riggs did. NASCAR needs to provide more clarity on the rough driving penalty, and even though penalties were levied, it needs to look into enforcing it more fairly – instead of making it seem like it suddenly remembers the rule exists every two years or so.
- Lawless Alan will spend his off week making his Xfinity Series debut at Michigan International Speedway. He will drive the No. 15 for AM Racing, the same ride his former rival Hailie Deegan was released from a few races ago.
- Other Truck Series regulars spending their off-week in the Xfinity race include playoff drivers Daniel Dye and Taylor Gray. Dye returns to Kaulig Racing’s part-time No. 10, while Gray is back behind the wheel of Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19.
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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Didn’t Elton Sawyer say that Riggs was held for two laps because he had a history of rough driving and previously been spoken to about it? Apparently, if, when, and how to penalize a driver for rough driving depends upon not just the severity of the infraction but also whether there is a history of that behavior. This seems to be why Corey LaJoie wasn’t held a couple of laps or penalized after the race. I understand this, especially in the context of developing drivers, but I’m not sure this is the right approach.