AVONDALE, Ariz. — The 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season has been one long heavyweight bout between Christian Eckes and Corey Heim.
Eckes, the driver of the No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet, and Heim, pilot of the No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota, have dominated the first 22 races of the 23-race slate. Eckes has scored four victories for the second straight season, matching his career high. Heim is a six-time winner this year, doubling his previous best of three a year ago.
Their yearlong battle culminates in a Truck Series title-bout showdown at Phoenix Raceway Friday night (8 ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) as part of a Championship 4 that also includes two-time 2024 winner Grant Enfinger and fellow double victor Ty Majeski.
MORE: Phoenix schedule | Full Truck Series standings
“Obviously, have a ton of respect for Corey and the whole 11 team,” Eckes said at Thursday’s Champ 4 media day from the 1-mile track. “Battling all year long has been super fun. I really haven’t had that a couple years, a very fierce rival like that. So, it’s pushed us to be better. I’m sure it’s pushed him to be better, too. So, yeah, I’m looking forward to this weekend. I’m sure we’re gonna have to battle him just like the other two. It’s Phoenix, so nothing’s really guaranteed as far as what’s going to happen this weekend. You never know what’s going to happen till the last green-white-checkered.”
Heim, the 22-year-old returning to the Championship 4 for the second consecutive year, has a similar appreciation for the caliber of competition his No. 11 team and Eckes’ No. 19 program have established. Eckes, the 23-year-old making his title-fight debut, enters having scored 21 top 10s in 22 races, including a streak of 20 straight — unbroken since a 32nd-place DNF at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February.
“Yeah, it’s been fun racing with Christian this year,” Heim said. “He’s been on top of his game pretty much every week. I think he’s got, like, a pretty crazy top-10 streak or something going on right now. I’ve raced with him for a long time, ever since I started out in late models. And it’s been seven, eight years since I’ve been racing against him. And it’s cool to see us having the success we are this year.
“But like you said, there’s definitely gonna be some other trucks to worry about. I mean, it is the Championship 4, after all, so it just matters who peaks at the right time, and I guess we’ll see. I think we’ve just got to be on top of our game, and we’ll be there at the end.”
Eckes takes pride in that “crazy” top-10 streak — and the 14 top fives that have come with them. In the 109 combined starts made by a McAnally-entered truck ahead of Eckes’ 2023 debut with the organization, 30 of those ended in top 10s — and only five in the top five.
“We’ve turned it into a championship-contending organization,” Eckes said. “I remember the day — Dec. 6, 2022 — when I first came to McAnally-Hillgemann Racing, and I said, ‘My bar’s here. My bar is a championship.’ I finally have a chance to achieve that this weekend, so that’s our number one priority.”
And while Enfinger and Majeski may be listed as the “also” duo above, neither should be overlooked in Friday’s title race.
Both of Enfinger’s 2024 wins came within the past three races, scoring Round of 8 victories at Talladega Superspeedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway to secure his spot in the Championship 4 for the second straight season and third appearance in the past five years.
Enfinger, now driving the No. 9 CR7 Motorsports Chevrolet, was also in position to earn the 2023 championship at Phoenix until a late caution erased that opportunity.
“Grant’s capable of anything, right?” Eckes said. “I mean, he won two races in the last round alone. Like I said earlier, it comes down to one race, and the 9’s been super clutch. That’s our kind of co-teammate, I guess. He’s got an alliance with MHR. So we’ve worked hard this week, both teams. So I’m confident in them to have a chance.”
Enfinger’s season began dreadfully short of his expectations. Though he led 25 laps across the opening two events, Enfinger finished 16th or worse in five of the opening nine races, mustering a best finish of ninth twice. But a runner-up effort at North Wilkesboro Speedway sparked a far better future for the No. 9 team in which Enfinger scored 10 top 10s in the past 13 starts.
“There’s been three or four races this year that we’ve had race-contending speed anyway — even if it wasn’t a dominant truck, we had a truck capable of winning a number of races,” Enfinger said. “And how I see it is us at our best, we’re able to contend and beat these guys when they’re at their best. Where we faltered some this year is our consistency. But we’ve got a really, really good pit crew. We’ve got what I feel like is the best guys on pit road. Got a really, really good spotter in Tim Fedewa. He’s racing for a championship in the Cup Series this weekend with Ryan Blaney. It’s a spot that I’ve been here before at this championship race. Jeff (Stankiewicz, crew chief) has been here. He’s been able to win a championship with Sheldon (Creed) four years ago.
“So think from personnel, from our parts and pieces, the trucks we have and our extra preparation that we’ve had to have here, I think maybe we aren’t looked at as a favorite. I don’t know. But I definitely don’t know how you automatically bet against us. Maybe if we were performing how we did at the beginning of the year and all we did was win Talladega, maybe I can buy into that. But nobody on our team feels that way.”
MORE: Ranking all 12 Championship 4 drivers
Majeski’s two wins this year have come at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park at Richmond Raceway, respectively — both of which are flat short tracks that share similarities with the 1-mile track at Phoenix.
“I think this is our type of race track,” Majeski said. “Anytime Joe (Shear Jr., crew chief) and I show up to a flat short track, I feel like we’re a threat to win. I feel like we’ve all had our parts of the season where we’ve been dominant. And I really feel like the Championship 4 that are here really are probably the four that deserve to be here the most. That doesn’t happen all the time with this format, so it’s good to see that. I think that’s good for the sport, good for everybody involved to have us four here.
“It’s going to be an interesting race, for sure. I feel like we have as good a chance as anybody. Like I said, being on a short track, I feel really good about our chances.”
His competition knows Majeski’s strengths will likely come into focus Friday night, particularly after Majeski led 48 laps in the 2023 season finale.
“It’s really just gonna come down to whoever’s leading of the four after 150 laps,” Eckes said, “because I’m not really sure how to handicap it right now.”