According to Corey Heim, Eckes wasn’t ‘courteous‘

In the race that unfolded at the Indianapolis Raceway, Ty Majeski took his first win of the season. This was his second consecutive victory on the track and the fourth of his career. Christian Eckes finished behind Majeski after dominating both stages 1 and 2. Grant Enfinger, who had a great start to the race, ended up finishing in P3, and Tyler Ankrum and Layne Riggs finished in P4 and P5.

The drama unfolded in the second stage when Heim and Eckes found themselves in a tight squeeze on the backstretch. Eckes gave Heim a little nudge from the outside, leaving the #11 with a damaged left front. Sparks flew as Heim continued to lap the track, but luck was on his side—sort of.

The caution flag waved, but not because of Heim. Conor Daly, coincidentally, had a flat tire at the same time, also causing sparks to fly. While Heim went a lap down on pit road for fresh tires, he caught a break and got the free pass since the caution wasn’t his fault. Despite the break, Heim struggled to regain his momentum and couldn’t pick up the pace towards the end, ultimately finishing in a disappointing P17.

Post-race, a furious Heim went over to the #19’s car to talk about the incident. They had a mild argument where, defending himself, Eckes said, “I didn’t mean to do it, Corey. It’s not like I went straight to the wall Corey. An unconvinced Corey promptly replied, “You pretty much did! I was nose into the wall, jammed the wheel after getting hit.” However, later, both backed away peacefully.

At a post race interview, #19 apologized and realized that he’d be furious too if it happened to him. Heim also talked about how he knew it was unintentional. However, he said that Eckes should be more courteous: “I always feel he is racing pretty tight. I told him to have some common courtesy next time. So it’s okay, we move on.”

What likely irked Heim even more than the contact was seeing Eckes take P2 while he had to settle for a frustrating P17. To add insult to injury, Eckes snagged both stage wins, racking up a hefty 50-point lead over Heim in the standings. Those 15 playoff points that Heim had his eye on now seem to be slipping further out of reach for #11.

As for Eckes, he came heartbreakingly close to clinching the win. For the longest time, it looked like he’d be the one to take the checkered flag, but fate had other plans.

A big Deja Vu as Eckes misses out

The 2024 Indianapolis race was strangely similar to the 2023 one. Ty Majeski took P1, and Heim took P2 for the second consecutive time on this track. The result was the same in the 2023 race. After a restart error by Majeski, Heim led the race for 73 laps. Because of the restart error, Majeski was pushed to the back of the pack, from where he climbed back to the top.

After winning the race, Majeski was delighted by his victory; he told NASCAR, “It was huge!” It was surprising to see Eckes give up the lead in the last part of the race. A P1 for Eckes would have made him score the highest points any racer has scored in the race. The points would have made his grip on the playoff points even stronger.

After the race, Eckes talked about the #98’s performance and how it was similar to last year’s race, “I think the 98 was just that much better, they were good. Kind of the same thing as last year, so congrats to them. I think we were a P2 truck with some different handling characteristics this year. Same result, same distance back. We have a little bit of homework to do to try to get better.”

As a result, Ty Majeski has secured his spot in the playoffs with this win. Corey Heim And Eckes sits on top comfortably, as Eckes said he’s just focused on Richmond next. Who will take the last spot? Only time will tell. Who do you think will qualify, and who wouldn’t? Tell us in the comments below.