NCTS Race Recap: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship race at Phoenix was finally here. After a dominant season for Corey Heim, he still had to race Ty Majeski, Tyler Ankrum, and Kaden Honeycutt for the trophy in a winner-takes-all race.

Honeycutt started the race in fifth with Heim next to him in sixth. Majeski started in eighth, while Ankrum started the race in 21st. Layne Riggs was the fastest truck in qualifying, so he got the pole; however, he was then issued a pre-race inspection penalty and had to start the race in the rear of the field. The stage lengths were 45 laps for the first and second stages, with the final stage being 60 laps.

Early Yellow

Chandler Smith and Brent Crews started the race from the front row. The field fanned out through the front stretch and into turn one. Honeycutt got around Crews and took the runner-up position. In turn one, Daniel Hemric drove up and into Dawson Sutton. They both hit the outside wall. That incident brought out the first caution of the evening.

Honeycutt was issued a penalty for a restart violation. He pulled out of line before the start/finish line, which warranted the penalty.

Smith and Crews brought the field back to green. Crews drove to the inside wall on the restart. Smith pulled away to take the lead. Rajah Caruth split the top two and was able to get by Crews to take second.

Layne Riggs served a pass-through penalty for the pre-race issue.

Heim got to the inside of Caruth and completed the pass out of turn two. Crews was the next driver to pass Caruth and take third.

Honeycutt began to slice through the field, making up for his mistake at the start. He got back to 18th easily.

Majeski took his time passing Caruth. He drove behind him for several laps before driving underneath Caruth to complete the pass for fourth.

Tick

Heim caught the rear bumper of Smith to challenge for the lead. Heim could not pass Smith for the lead, which allowed Crews to catch him. The top three were separated by just over half a second. Heim used a huge run off turn four to get alongside the leader. He drove deeper into one and was able to snatch the lead from Smith.

As soon as Smith was passed, he had an issue with his right rear tire and had to pit.

With 12 to go, Heim had pulled away from Crews by over a second and a half. He was fast but was not the fastest truck on the track.

Honeycutt continued to gain spots after his penalty. He drove his way into the top ten and battled Gio Ruggiero for seventh. He easily made the pass through turns three and four.

Heim caught some lapped traffic that slowed him down a bit. The lead shrank to under a second. It was too late for Crews. Heim took the green checkered flag to win stage one in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship!

Caruth won the race off of pit road with Heim behind him.

Tock

Caruth and Heim restarted the race on the front row. Heim retook the lead out of turn two. Majeski battled Caruth for the second spot. Heim pulled away from Caruth by almost a second.

Majeski completed the pass on Caruth, who immediately dropped another spot to Crews. Then, Majeski went to work on the gap to Heim in the lead, which had ballooned to over a second and a half.

Honeycutt continued his drive to the front. He passed Caruth to take fourth. Caruth tried to stay close to Honeycutt.

Heim began to pull away from Majeski. With 20 to go, he had an almost two-second lead.

With 10 to go, Majeski began to close the gap. Heim struggled to get through the lapped traffic, while Majeski had an easier time. The lead Heim had built was quickly cut in half. As soon as Heim cleared all of the lappers, he began to pull away again. The lead immediately got back up to over a second and a half.

Heim would lead the field to another green checkered flag, winning stage two in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship. Majeski, Crews, Honeycutt, and Caruth rounded out the top five.

Seeing Red

Heim and Majeski brought the field back to green. Majeski got the better restart and took the lead out of turn two. But Heim did not give up. He drove deeper into turn three and took the lead out of turn four. Crews caught the rear of Majeski and battled for the spot. Honeycutt closed the gap to Crews.

Layne Riggs joined the picture after catching the rear of Caruth, who was in fifth. Riggs cut the dogleg to take the spot.

Clayton Green got turned around, but managed to keep it off the wall. That brought out the fourth caution of the night.

Heim and Crews led the field to the restart. Majeski pushed Heim out into the lead. Crews seemed to stall and fell all the way to the back.

A huge crash brought out the fifth caution of the race. Andres Perez got loose in turn three and shot up the track. He made contact with Bayley Currey and Ben Rhodes. They all hit the outside wall. Gio Ruggiero was also involved in the incident. The field was red-flagged to allow NASCAR to clean up the track.

Riggs With Fresh Rubber

When the race restarted, Heim and Majeski were out front. Majeski got a better restart, but Heim took the lead out of turn two. With Riggs on fresh tires, he took third from Honeycutt. He then caught the back of Heim to challenge for the lead. He easily made the pass on the outside.

Majeski began to run the top two down. He was the fastest truck on the track. He could not get to the rear bumper of Heim.

Riggs built his lead over Heim to over half a second.

With four to go, Connor Mosack began to smoke out of his left front. He stayed on the track and hit the wall. That brought out the sixth caution. All of the leaders pitted for fresh tires.  Majeski, Ankrum, and Honeycutt took two tires, while Heim took four. That brought out NASCAR overtime.

Heim Time

Chandler Parsons and Cole Butcher restarted the race on the front row. Majeski restarted in third, Honeycutt in fifth, Ankrum in eighth, and Heim in tenth. Majesi took the lead out of turn one and two. Heim drove all the way to the inside wall and drove out of turn two in second.

Grant Enfinger got into the side of Ankrum going into turn three. Enfinger and Ankrum tried to take the same spot on the track, but turned Butcher around. That brought out the seventh caution. Matt Crafton and Tanner Gray were also involved. The race was red-flagged to allow for another clean-up.

After the short cleanup, Majeski and Heim restarted on the front row. Majeski got a better restart. Heim did not go away. He drove deep into turn one and snatched the lead out of two. He took the white flag in the lead. Heim would go on to take the checkered flag and win the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship!

Majeski finished the race in second with Honeycutt in third.

Marvin’s Minute:

He did it. Corey Heim was the truck to beat when the lights were the brightest. He was the fastest truck all season and earned the well-deserved championship. Dominating the season in every aspect, Heim capped off a historic one. He will move on from the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series next season.

Thank you for tuning in to the recaps all season. I look forward to another wonderful next season!