November 1, 2024 | By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service

Christian Eckes wins at Martinsville

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Christian Eckes wasn’t about to lose a race he had dominated, even if it meant using the front bumper on his No. 19 Chevrolet—twice.

After a restart with five laps left in Friday night’s Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 at Martinsville Speedway, Eckes first moved the Toyota of Taylor Gray and then the Ford of Ben Rhodes—both of which were rolling on 40-lap fresher tires—to win the race and earn a spot in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series’ Championship 4 Race.

Six-time winner Corey Heim ran seventh and Ty Majeski came home 11th, as both earned berths in the Championship 4 on points, eliminating Gray, Nick Sanchez, Tyler Ankrum and Rajah Caruth in the final event of the Playoffs’ Round of 8.

Eckes, Heim, Majeski and Grant Enfinger will race for the title next Friday at Phoenix Raceway (8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

After the restart on Lap 196 of 200, Gray used his better tires to squeeze past Eckes to the inside. Eckes regained the top spot by moving Gray up the track. A lap later, Rhodes passed Eckes, who completed the fourth lead change in the final five laps by shoving the No. 99 Ford on Lap 198.

Free of his competitors, Eckes crossed the finish line two laps later, 1.191 seconds ahead of Rhodes. Chase Purdy and Gray were third and fourth, followed by Sanchez.

“Like I told everybody, I wasn’t going to lose this race—this truck was too good,” Eckes said. “The 17 (Gray) was hard racing. I feel bad about the 99 (Rhodes). I just got way too loose entering the corner.

“(Hearing boos from the crowd). Everybody’s really happy with me—but I don’t really care. I’m proud of everybody for working hard, and we’re going to Phoenix.”

The victory was Eckes’ fourth of the season, his second at Martinsville and the ninth of his career, but it came with a price.

After climbing from his truck, Gray walked angrily toward Eckes and expressed his displeasure in no uncertain terms.

A victory would have landed Gray in the Championship 4 at the expense of Majeski, who instead claimed the last spot by 28 points over Gray.

“I got sent to the fence when I raced him perfectly clean in (Turns) 1 and 2,” Gray said. “What goes around comes around. I have to race him next year all year long (when both move up to the NASCAR Xfinity Series).

“The 19 (Eckes) was the class of the field, right? But it’s not my fault we had better strategy than he did. We came out on tires; we drove through the field and we drove to him. I raced him clean, and he drove me in the fence. I guess the only thing I could have done is wreck him like he wrecked me.”

Eckes swept the first two stages, his series-best 10th and 11th of the season and led 187 of the 200 laps. He held a substantial lead before a six-car accident in Turn 2 on Lap 190 caused the sixth and final caution and set up the frenetic finish.

For practical purposes, Gray, Sanchez, Ankrum and Caruth entered the race in must-win situations. Ankrum finished eighth, and Caruth came home 31st after losing 21 laps in the garage as his team repaired a brake issue on his No. 71 Chevrolet.

Despite finishing third in each of the first two stages, Sanchez was 39 points out of a Championship 4 position when the race ended.



NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race Number 22
Race Results for the Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 - Friday, November 1, 2024
Martinsville Speedway - Martinsville, VA - 0.526 - Mile Paved

Total Race Length - 200 Laps - 105.2 Miles

Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Friday, 11/1/2024 @ 08:09 PM Eastern

Fin Str Trk Driver Team Laps Stage 1 Pos Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 1 19 Christian Eckes (P) Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet 200 1 1 60 Running 4 187 7
2 6 99 Ben Rhodes Kubota Ford 200  7 39 Running 2 12
3 8 77 Chase Purdy Bama Buggies Chevrolet 200 8  37 Running  
4 3 17 Taylor Gray (P) JBL Toyota 200 4  40 Running 1 1
5 4 2 Nick Sanchez (P) Gainbridge Chevrolet 200 3 3 48 Running  
6 5 38 Layne Riggs # Infinity Communications Group Ford 200 5  37 Running  
7 7 11 Corey Heim (P) Safelite Toyota 200 6 4 42 Running  
8 23 18 Tyler Ankrum (P) LiUNA! Chevrolet 200  9 31 Running  
9 33 9 Grant Enfinger (P) Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet 200  10 29 Running  
10 20 52 Stewart Friesen Halmar International Toyota 200  6 32 Running  
11 2 98 Ty Majeski (P) Road Ranger Ford 200 2 2 44 Running  
12 27 7 Connor Zilisch(i) Austin Hatcher Foundation Chevrolet 200 10  0 Running  
13 16 88 Matt Crafton Pasiode/Menards Ford 200   24 Running  
14 12 1 William Sawalich Starkey/Soundgear Toyota 200 9 5 31 Running  
15 24 25 Dawson Sutton Rackley Roofing Chevrolet 200   22 Running  
16 25 41 Bayley Currey DQS Chevrolet 200   21 Running  
17 17 5 Dean Thompson Thompson Pipe Group Toyota 200   20 Running  
18 31 81 Corey Day HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 200   19 Running  
19 21 42 Matt Mills J.F. Electric/Utilitra Chevrolet 200   18 Running  
20 26 13 Jake Garcia Quanta Services Ford 199   17 Running  
21 19 56 Timmy Hill UNITS/Toys for Tots Toyota 198   16 Running  
22 32 76 Spencer Boyd Amthor International Chevrolet 198   15 Running  
23 30 33 Lawless Alan AUTODockit Ford 198   14 Running  
24 35 22 Clayton Green Royal Vista Inc Ford 197   13 Running  
25 36 90 Justin Carroll Carroll's Automotive/Duratain Toyota 197   12 Running  
26 10 91 Jack Wood Alpha Vision Chevrolet 196   11 Running  
27 22 44 Matthew Gould Niece Chevrolet 195   10 Running  
28 13 66 Johnny Sauter TSPORT Ford 194   9 Accident  
29 15 15 Tanner Gray Dead On Tools Toyota 182   8 Accident  
30 28 4 Brett Moffitt Victory Custom Trailers Chevrolet 181   7 Accident  
31 11 71 Rajah Caruth (P) HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 179   6 Running  
32 18 43 Daniel Dye Champion Container Chevrolet 166   5 Brakes  
33 9 45 Kaden Honeycutt Moore's Venture Foods Chevrolet 162 7 8 11 Accident  
34 29 02 Dylan Lupton(i) RANDCO Chevrolet 96   0 Accident  
35 14 16 Landen Lewis Toyota Tsusho Toyota 82   2 Brakes  
36 34 6 Norm Benning MDIA Inc Chevrolet 17   1 Brakes  

Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 36 Mins, 12 Secs. Average Speed: 65.613 MPH Margin of Victory: 1.191 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 19, 98, 2, 17, 38, 11, 45, 77, 1, 7
Stage 2 Top 10: 19, 98, 2, 11, 1, 52, 99, 45, 18, 9

Failed to Qualify: None.

Caution Flags: 6 for 46 laps; Laps: 37-42 (#44 stalled on track [4]); 52-60 (Stage 1 Conclusion [15]); 99-110 (#02 incident turn 2 / Stage 2 Conclusion [42]); 164-171 (#45 incident turn 2 [5]); 183-188 (#5, 15, 4 incident turn 3 [41]); 191-195 (#52, 9, 66, 18, 7, 38 incident turn 2 [42]).

Lead Changes: 6 among 3 drivers; C. Eckes (P) 1-104; B. Rhodes 105-115; C. Eckes (P) 116-194; T. Gray (P) 195; C. Eckes (P) 196; B. Rhodes 197; C. Eckes (P) 198-200.

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Next Race: November 8, 2024 - Phoenix Raceway

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NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES FINAL FOUR

POS NO. DRIVER MFR +/-

1 9 Grant Enfinger Chevrolet +1767
2 19 Christian EckesChevrolet +1767
3 98 TyMajeskiFord +1767
4 11Corey Heim Toyota +1767