2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series IRP Preview
Photo: Justin Casterline/Getty Images
With just two races to go until the Playoffs, it’s all hands on deck for the Craftsman Truck Series drivers as they head to Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Coverage for the ‘TSport 200’ begins at 8:30PM EST on FS1.
Last year’s race was dominated by Ty Majeski, leading 179 of 200 laps. It would be Majeski’s only win of the 2023 season.
Best Bets for Trucks
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Best Bets for Trucks |
Corey Heim +180
It should be a surprise to no one that Corey Heim has entered this weekend as the favroite to win. His win last weekend at Pocono marked his fifth win of the season and 10th career Truck win, the youngest driver to accomplish that feat at 22 years and 7 days old. Heim finished 5th in 2022 and 8th in last year’s race, all things are smooth sailing for the championship favorite.
Ty Majeski +350
There’s no denying that Ty Majeski has a better feel for the shorter, flatter tracks than the bigger, more banked tracks. Two of his three Truck wins came on tracks less than a mile in length, including last year’s race at IRP. Despite his +125 points margin to the cutoff, he doesn’t have a lot of Playoff points to fall back on like Heim and Eckes. Those five bonus points for winning add up towards the end of the season, expect Majeski to put on a clinic on Friday night.
Christian Eckes +450
No worries ahead for Christian Eckes this weekend, as he looks to keep his Top 10 streak alive. For the last twelve races, Eckes has finished 10th or better AND has led a lap in every Truck race this season. After the move to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing last year, Eckes finished 2nd at IRP, finishing 16th the year prior with Thorsport Motorsports. He’ll have to climb a big obstacle in Ty Majeski after last year’s race, but Eckes has proven time and time again this season that he can wheel it to victory lane.
Grant Enfinger +1400
After two Top 10s in the first nine races of the season, Grant Enfinger has turned it up a notch, finishing inside the Top 10 in four of his last five Truck starts. It also shows how diverse CR7 Motorsports has been over the last five weeks, with a 2nd place finish at North Wilkesboro and Pocono, 3rd place at Charlotte, and 6th place at Nashville. All four of those finishes came at a short track, a concrete speedway, a normal speedeway, and a triangle with three completely different turns. Look for Enfinger to build his +46 point gap to the cutoff this weekend.
Layne Riggs +2200
Short tracks are like peanut butter and jelly for Layne Riggs, they just go together. IT’s evident that while still in his rookie season, Riggs comes from a short track background as he’s shown his struggles on the bigger tracks. But short tracks are different, with his worst finish this season being 15th. Not to mention he’s finished 7th in ‘22 and 3rd in last year’s race at IRP. Riggs has a groove at IRP and with the Playoffs around the corner, his only way to get in is with a win, very possible for him this weekend.
Daniel Dye +8000
Daniel Dye’s confidence has gone up dramatically over the last couple of weeks, and really it’s shown signs over the season. In his first fourteen races last season, his best finish was 11th, this year he’s recorded one Top 5 and five Top 10s. Not to mention he’s racing for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, teammates with Christian Eckes and a rejuvenated Tyler Ankrum. Dye was knocking on the door for another Top 5 finish at Pocono had it not been for a penalty on pit road. The speed is there, and with Dye only +1 point to the cutoff, he’ll need to have a solid showing at IRP this weekend to show he’s worthy of making the Playoffs.