It’s been a month since the checkered flag came down on the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season. Looking back, it may have been one of the more entertaining seasons in recent memory.
The racing was measuredly more respectful (save for a few run-ins here and there) than it had been in recent years. Only three races were won by NASCAR Cup Series drivers (two of which were by Kyle Busch, so you could make an argument that his win streak is still technically intact, just not solely in the Cup Series). Stars were born one way or another.
With such a great season in the books, there were plenty of storylines to follow throughout the season. Here are the five best stories to come from the 2024 Truck season.
Read all of Frontstretch‘s content looking back on 2024 here
5. Several First-Time Winners Score Breakthrough Victories
There were some new faces and teams in victory lane, some of which were a long time coming. Others were somewhat unexpected for the time of the season in which they won.
But one thing was for certain: all of them were unsurprising.
It started in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway when Nick Sanchez earned career win No. 1 after he arguably should have won at least once during his rookie season. Two races later, his de facto teammate Rajah Caruth won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, becoming the third Black driver to win in one of NASCAR’s premier series.
We’d have to wait until the playoffs to find the next first-time winner, when Layne Riggs won back-to-back races to open the playoffs, despite not making the playoffs himself. The regular season was not kind to the rookie or his team, but once things clicked, the team took off and ended the season strong with a Rookie of the Year title to boot.
Well, everything except Riggs’ shoulder finished strong, that is.
Then finally, Grant Enfinger returned to victory lane after winning back-to-back races at Talladega Superspeedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway. Though Enfinger is a known commodity in victory lane, the bigger story was his team, CR7 Motorsports, which signed Enfinger for 2024 after GMS Racing closed and left Enfinger without a ride.
Owned by driver Codie Rohrbaugh, the team was mediocre at best entering 2024. But with Enfinger, the team went from a 15th- to 25th-place team to championship contender. After several chances to seal the deal didn’t go their way, Enfinger and CR7 finally got it done twice in the Round of 8, solidifying their spot in the Championship 4.
It was a great year for the first timers, and set them up for great 2025 seasons — be it back in the Truck Series or (in the case of Sanchez) in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
4. Butterbean Puts Short Trackers on Map with Impressive Wilkesboro Run
When NASCAR traveled to North Wilkesboro Speedway in May, weather completely took over and marred the entire weekend. The midweek zMAX CARS Tour races were postponed until August, most on-track activity through Saturday was canceled and the Truck race was halted after 81 laps due to biblical flooding.
somebody plz save @christianeckes pic.twitter.com/JZ5F29blz5
— TRICON (@TRICONGarage) May 18, 2024
When the race resumed, Corey Heim ran away with the victory, to no one’s surprise. However, the show became about his teammate Brenden Queen, affectionately known by fans as Butterbean. While Heim set sail on the field, Queen, a fan favorite in the short track and CARS scene, was able to fight in the top five as the laps wound down in his debut.
A former CARS winner at North Wilkesboro, Queen finished an impressive fourth, and while Heim celebrated, fans cheered for Butterbean as he climbed out of the truck.
Queen’s performance opened the door for several more short-track stars to compete in the Truck Series, hoping to replicate what Queen did. Connor Hall, Dawson Sutton, Landen Lewis and Luke Fenhaus, among others, all made Truck starts following Queen’s Wilkesboro run.
He may not have won, but Queen stole the show and proved to the NASCAR world that the grassroots scene can produce some great talent. It’ll be interesting to see just how many CARS Tour, ASA Stars or other grassroots drivers will make the jump to NASCAR in 2025 — whether just for one start or, like Sutton, a full-time effort.
3. Corey Heim, Christian Eckes Take Over Series in Dominating Fashion
Speaking of Heim, he continued to dominate the Truck Series, just like he did in 2023. He doubled his win count from 2023, earning six checkered flags in 2024. He was once again one of the odds-on favorites to win the title.
But this year there was someone who never let the No. 11 out of his sights, and that was the No. 19 of Christian Eckes.
While Eckes only won four races, he was arguably more consistent in race results than Heim and was a better stage racer — both of which propelled him to the regular-season championship over Heim. The two had a run-in just before the playoffs at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park but otherwise had a clean battle for the title.
The two combined to win 10 of the 23 races in 2024, most wins coming from the pole or by leading the most laps — sometimes both. However, they couldn’t find the speed they had all season in the finale at Phoenix Raceway, and despite either driver being listed as favorites for the title, neither came away with it.
2. Conner Jones Suspended After Intentionally Wrecking Matt Mills at Homestead
One of the biggest stories of the season didn’t come until the third-to-final race of the season. Part-time Rookie of the Year contender Conner Jones got frustrated with Matt Mills after he felt that the No. 42 raced him too hard at Homestead. So as Mills went to block Jones into turn 3 on lap 77, Jones sent him hard into the wall in a fiery crash.
Mills was able to exit his truck under his own power but then spent two nights at a local hospital for further evaluation. Jones, meanwhile, was held by NASCAR for two laps, but not before ranting about Mills over the radio following the crash.
Jones, who has also had some notable run-ins in the Truck Series, ARCA Menards Series and the CARS Tour, was later suspended by NASCAR for the following race at Martinsville Speedway. He was replaced by Johnny Sauter for the race before returning and apologizing for his role in the accident at Phoenix Raceway.
1. Ty Majeski Gets Hot at Right Time, Scores ThorSport’s Fourth Title in Six Years
Right before the race at IRP, I said that all Ty Majeski needed was a win.
He got his first of the season that weekend at IRP.
He backed that up with a win the very next race at Richmond Raceway.
That set the No. 98 team up for a great playoff run that involved him quietly advancing all the way to Phoenix — though he almost didn’t had Eckes not driven through Taylor Gray for the win at Martinsville, as a Gray win would have eliminated Majeski.
Then, in the Phoenix desert, Majeski went out and stomped the field, leading 132 of the race’s 150 laps en route to his first championship and ThorSport Racing’s fourth in six years.
Though Heim and Eckes made most of the headlines the entire season, it was the quiet, underrated season of Majeski that got him all the way to glory. That’s the nature of the playoffs. He got hot when he needed to, and it projected him all the way through to what felt like an improbable championship.
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 serves as an at-track reporter. He has also assisted with short track content and social media, among other duties he takes/has taken on for the site. In 2025, he became an official member of the National Motorsports Press Association. A proud West Virginia Wesleyan College alum from Akron, Ohio, Anthony is now a grad student. He is a theatre actor and fight coordinator in his free time.
You can keep up with Anthony by following @AnthonyDamcott on X.