Majeski Rallies From Restart Violation To Win At IRP

Ty Majeski celebrates after winning Friday night at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. (John K. Harrelson/NKP Photo)

CLERMONT, Ind. – All it took to put Ty Majeski on the path to victory lane Friday night at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park was an early-race restart violation that served as motivation.

After having to serve a pass-through penalty under green for jumping a lap-50 restart, Majeski hung onto the lead lap and then roared back through the field with his No. 98 Road Ranger Ford F-150.

Majeski came from outside the top 20 to third in 70 laps, then methodically picked his way past Corey Heim and Christian Eckes once the final stage of the TSPORT 200 got underway with 71 to go.

He dispatched Heim for second with an inside charge in turn two on lap 132, then trimmed a second-and-a-half deficit to leader Eckes down to nothing over the next 13 circuits around the .686-mile oval.

Majeski’s winning pass on Eckes came with 56 laps left, using the slower truck of Thad Moffitt as a pick in turn one before using momentum off the top side of the racetrack to clear himself exiting turn four.

From there, the 29-year-old from Seymour, Wis., drove off by 4.129 seconds, leading the remainder of the race unchallenged for his fourth career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory.

It was Majeski’s first triumph since standing in the winner’s circle at IRP one year ago, ending a 20-race drought and making for an emotional and overdue celebration.

“This is huge,” said Majeski. “Obviously, I made a bit of a mistake on that one restart, even if it was probably a close call. From there, I just had to pony up and get it back. I had to drive a little harder to make up for it, but these guys had my back and made it easier with some awesome pit stops.

“It’s been an up-and-down year,” added Majeski, who had already clinched his playoff spot on points prior to winning Friday night. “We’ve had the speed to win but just haven’t been able to put it all together. I’ve had some bad luck – some of it self-inflicted – but I’m so proud of everyone involved with this program and it’s a pleasure to bring a trophy home.”

Friday night also marked ThorSport Racing’s first win of the season in the 15th of 23 races, the latest into a year that the Truck Series’ most tenured team has gone before breaking into victory lane since 2009.

The final stage ran uninterrupted once racing resumed on lap 130. Other than the stage break yellows, the only other caution flags waved for Ty Dillon’s spin at lap 43 and Conor Daly crashing in turn one on lap 86.

Christian Eckes, who led twice for a race-high 73 laps and swept the first two stages, finished second for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing after his No. 19 NAPA AutoCare Chevrolet Silverado RST seemed like the dominant force for the first part of the evening.

“Overall, proud of our team,” Eckes noted. “I think we were a second-place truck tonight, and we finished second. We had good execution … and now we’ll just move on to Richmond and look to close out the regular season championship.”

Grant Enfinger, the only other driver to spend time out front after leading 71 laps, was third for CR7 Motorsports ahead of Eckes’ teammate Tyler Ankrum. Both drivers clinched berths in the Truck Series playoff field with their efforts in the Circle City.

Front Row Motorsports’ Layne Riggs closed the top five, followed by Sammy Smith, Luke Fenhaus, polesitter Rajah Caruth, Dean Thompson, and Nick Sanchez.

NASCAR Cup Series star Ross Chastain ran as high as second at one point in the Niece Motorsports No. 45, but was never a factor down the stretch and finished a distant 11th.

Heim, who rallied back from his own issues after contact with Eckes midway through the second stage led to a flat left-front tire, dropped anchor late and ended up a lap down in 17th.

Speeding penalties for veterans Matt Crafton and Stewart Friesen, as well as an unscheduled green-flag pit stop for Daniel Dye, shifted the playoff bubble heading into the final race of the regular season.

After coming into Indianapolis Raceway Park one point outside the provisional playoff field, Tanner Gray now sits five points up on Dye for the 10th and final postseason spot after a quiet 20th-place finish.

Crafton was 24th, one lap down in the final rundown, with Dye ending up two laps off the pace in 27th and Friesen six laps behind in 33rd when all was said and done.

At the top of the order, Eckes holds a 50-point lead over Eckes in the race for the regular season title.

Following the two-week Olympic break, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series concludes the regular season and confirms its 10-driver playoff field at the three-quarter-mile Richmond (Va.) Raceway.

Broadcast coverage of the Clean Harbors 250 is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 10 at 7:30 p.m. ET, live on FS1, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.