The LiUNA! 175
The first race of the playoffs for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series took place at the the Milwaukee Mile. The LiUNA! 175 saw beautiful weather that had Ty Majeski on pole with Tanner Gray beside him. The stage lengths were 55 laps for the first and second stage, and 65 laps for the final stage. Christian Eckes was the regular season champion and looked to start the playoffs looking to add to his lead.
Green Flag
Majeski was first to turn one with a great start. Eckes was able to slide into second. Layne Riggs moved up the track and into Grant Enfinger. That allowed Taylor Gray to get by but not without clipping the bumper of Riggs.
Bayley Currey got a flat tire when Tay. Gray forced him into the wall. Currey was forced to make an unscheduled pitstop to put on a new set of tires.
Dangerous Duo
Majeski and Eckes pulled away from the rest of the field, putting a gap of more than five seconds over Heim in third. With Eckes staying within half of a second of the leader, Majeski could not relax and had to keep pushing.
Majeski began lapping trucks as the field spread out. Those lapped trucks did not slow the leader down at all. Majeski used these trucks to grow his lead over the truck in his wake. Eckes was able to catch up to and pass Majeski for the lead. He passed the leader on the outside using some slower cars for help.
The first caution came out when Jayson Alexander got into the wall. Most of the lead lap cars pit for tires and fuel. Eckes was the first truck off of pit road.
Unfortunately, Heim was hit with a speeding penalty while entering the pits. An extra pace lap was added to the caution which ended the stage and gave Ty Dillon the first stage win in The LiUNA! 175. He benefited from not pitting under the caution. Jake Garcia also stayed out, so he finished the stage in second.
Quick Stage
Eckes and Majeski restarted the race on the front row. Eckes snatched the lead right off the bat. Riggs was able to grab second coming out of turn two. Heim was able to overcome the penalty pretty quickly. He moved back inside the top 15 early in the second stage. Majeski used a lapped truck to get back into second place.
The field stretched out across the track as Eckes pulled away from second place. Eckes got his ninth stage win of the season after he won Stage 2! He led every lap of the stage and did not look back.
A Needed Adjustment
Eckes and Riggs began the final stage on the front row. Majeski came from the second row and took the lead on the first lap while Eckes fell to third. Heim got back into the top five and then, into forth. Riggs took shot after shot on Majeski for the lead. He took it going into turn three and pulled away out of turn four. The cream rose to the top as ten out of the top twelve trucks were playoff drivers. Riggs maintained his lead for most of the final stage. His crew made adjustments on the previous pitstop that freed his truck up a bit.
Ben Rhodes complained of a problem, noting something was not right. With 23 to go his crew got ready just incase they needed to pit. Riggs maintained his lead of about a second. Riggs caught up to lapped traffic which slowed him down. However, Majeski did not give up. He shortened his deficit to just over half a second but did not hold it long. Riggs was able to pull back away. With no traffic in front, he was able to set it to cruise control. Riggs dominated the final stage and got his first truck series win in The LiUNA! 175! He has had speed all season and finally got the job done.
Marvin’s Moment
If you have watched most of the series, like I have, it should come as no surprise that Layne Riggs won. He has been ridiculously fast all season. The fact that he beat every playoff driver speaks to the speed they had. He should be in the playoffs but will use this win as a stepping stone to many more wins. Riggs played the long game. He was not the fastest truck early in the race, but they made adjustments and got the job done!
