Majeski is Majestic at IRP

Pictured here at Charlotte in May, Ty Majeski dominated the Craftsman Truck Series race at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
(RIS photo by John Davison)

(BROWNSBURG, IN – AUG 11, 2023 – RIS) Ty Majeski scored the first win of the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series playoffs in dominant fashion, leading 179 of the 200 laps on Indianapolis Raceway Park’s .686-mile oval. Only Christian Eckes and Corey Heim led any other laps in the TSport 200. “That was awesome,” said Majeski after the race. “This is just the start of our playoff run.”

Christian Eckes moved out to the lead but soon, Ty Majeski and Corey Heim got around to first and second in the TSport 200. A three-truck incident involving Hailie Deegan, Greg Van Alst and Tyler Ankrum caused the first caution to slow the race. Van Alst had to park his truck with only 14 laps scored.

Majeski and Heim led the field to the restart with Heim trying to use the outside lane to hold off Majeski’s challenges on the inside. Majeski eventually took the lead and moved out to a lead of over three seconds in just over a dozen laps, taking the first stage by just over four seconds ahead of Heim. Eckes, Layne Riggs and rookie Jake Garcia held the top five positions after the 60-lap stage.

On the restart, Majeski and Heim led the field with Majeski quickly building his lead over Heim to almost two seconds.

Grant Enfinger closed to within a truck length of second place Corey Heim and spent several laps looking for a passing opportunity.

Chris Hacker’s spin on the back straight brought out the caution with just a handful of laps left in the second stage, handing Majeski the second stage under caution. Majeski left the pits in the led, followed by Heim. Shane Van Gisbergen gained the wave-around back to the lead lap. Grant Enfinger had to serve a drive-through penalty when one of his crew fell across the pit wall trying to catch a loose wheel.

Just after the restart, Dean Thompson and Spencer Boyd collided heavily on the back straight when Thompson spun and Boyd blowed into the stopped truck.

Majeski picked the outside lane for the restart, with Eckes moving to the inside lane. Majeski jumped to a half-seond lead in the forst lap but Hailie Deegan spun and backed into the wall on the second green flag lap, the spin possibly caused by contact with Landen Lewis’ truck.

Majeski and Eckes remained the lead pair, followed by Hocevar and Riggs with Zane Smith in fifth place.

Van Gisbergen, playing rim-rider, had moved to 16th, challenging Chase Purdy for the 15th spot before the high line cost the Australian SuperCar champion positions as he faded to 18th with 30 laps left in the race.

Unofficial Results: TSport 200, August 11, 2023 - Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park
Fin, Str, Driver, Truck, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 2, Ty Majeski (P), No. 98 Road Ranger Ford, 200, 1, 1, 2, 179, 7, 60, Running
2) 1, Christian Eckes (P), No. 19 NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet, 200, 3, 4, 1, 3, , 50, Running
3) 12, Layne Riggs, No. 7 Infinity Communications Group Chevrolet, 200, 4, 9, , , , 43, Running
4) 5, Carson Hocevar (P), No. 42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet, 200, 6, 5, , , , 44, Running
5) 8, Zane Smith (P), No. 38 Boot Barn Ford, 200, 10, 7, , , , 37, Running
6) 10, William Sawalich, No. 1 Starkey/Soundgear Toyota, 200, , 6, , , , 36, Running
7) 4, Rajah Caruth #, No. 24 Wendell Scott Foundation Chevrolet, 200, 8, , , , , 33, Running
8) 3, Corey Heim (P), No. 11 Safelite Toyota, 200, 2, 2, 1, 18, , 47, Running
9) 13, Matt Crafton (P), No. 88 Generac/Menards Ford, 200, , , , , , 28, Running
10) 24, Matt DiBenedetto (P), No. 25 Rackley Roofing Chevrolet, 200, , , , , , 27, Running
11) 9, Nick Sanchez # (P), No. 2 Gainbridge Chevrolet, 200, , 10, , , , 27, Running
12) 6, Grant Enfinger (P), No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet, 200, 7, 3, , , , 37, Running
13) 7, Jake Garcia #, No. 35 Quanta Services Chevrolet, 200, 5, , , , , 30, Running
14) 22, Chase Purdy, No. 4 Bama Buggies Chevrolet, 200, , , , , , 23, Running
15) 19, Tanner Gray, No. 15 DSM Precision Manufacturing Toyota, 200, 9, 8, , , , 27, Running
16) 21, Ben Rhodes (P), No. 99 Farm Paint Ford, 200, , , , , , 21, Running
17) 20, Jake Drew, No. 61 AISIN Toyota, 200, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 23, Jack Wood (P), No. 51 Rowdy Manufacturing Chevrolet, 200, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 28, Shane Van Gisbergen, No. 41 Worldwide Express Chevrolet, 199, , , , , , 18, Running
20) 34, Taylor Gray #, No. 17 JBL Toyota, 199, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 26, Logan Bearden, No. 22 Bearden Automotive Ford, 199, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 15, Daniel Dye #, No. 43 Bettenhausenauto.com Chevrolet, 199, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 17, Matt Mills, No. 02 J.F. Electric Chevrolet, 198, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 36, Lawless Alan, No. 45 AUTOChargit Chevrolet, 198, , , , , , 13, Running
25) 32, Bret Holmes #, No. 32 Precision Garage Doors Chevrolet, 197, , , , , , 12, Running
26) 30, Tyler Hill, No. 56 HairClub Toyota, 197, , , , , , 11, Running
27) 18, Conner Jones, No. 66 TSPORT Ford, 196, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 29, Landen Lewis, No. 04 CarQuest Chevrolet, 196, , , , , , 9, Running
29) 33, Chris Hacker, No. 30 UBPN/Morgan & Morgan Toyota, 195, , , , , , 8, Running
30) 14, Stewart Friesen, No. 52 Halmar International Toyota, 183, , , , , , 7, Running
31) 25, Hailie Deegan, No. 13 Ford Performance Ford, 140, , , , , , 6, Accident
32) 11, Dean Thompson, No. 5 Thompson Pipe Group Toyota, 130, , , , , , 5, Accident
33) 31, Spencer Boyd, No. 12 Freedom Warranty Chevrolet, 128, , , , , , 4, Accident
34) 35, Tyler Ankrum, No. 16 LiUNA! Toyota, 127, , , , , , 3, Electrical
35) 16, Colby Howard, No. 9 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet, 79, , , , , , 2, Suspension
36) 27, Greg Van Alst, No. 20 CB Fabricating Chevrolet, 14, , , , , , 1, Accident
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie, (P) Playoffs

Total Race Length: 200 Laps - 137.2 Miles
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 49 Mins, 39 Secs.
Average Speed: 75.075 MPH
Margin of Victory: 3.422 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 98, 11, 19, 7, 35, 42, 23, 24, 15, 38
Stage 2 Top 10: 98, 11, 23, 19, 42, 1, 38, 15, 7, 2

Comments: Ty Majeski has won the TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, his third career victory in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.

Prior to the start, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reason(s) indicated: Nos. 45, 02, 22 & 38 (Unapproved adjustments) No. 16 (Backup car)

Failed to Qualify: (3) 33 Josh Reaume, 44 Chad Chastain, 46 Armani Williams.

Cautions: 5 for 41 laps;
Laps: 16-21 (Nos.  04, 13, & 20 Incident Turn 3 [None]);
62-70 (Stage 1 Conclusion [43]);
117-127 (No. 30 Spin Backstretch  [41]);
132-140 (No. 5 & 12 Incident Backstretch [17]);
143-148 (No. 04 & 13 Incident Turn 1 [43]).

Lead Changes: 3 among 3 drivers;
C. Eckes (P) 1-3;
T. Majeski (P) 4-21;
C. Heim (P) 22-39;
T. Majeski (P) 40-200.