MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Christian Eckes wasn’t about to lose a race he had dominated, even if it meant using the front bumper of his No. 19 Chevrolet twice.
After a restart with five laps remaining in Friday night’s Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 at Martinsville Speedway, Eckes displaced first Taylor Gray’s Toyota and then Ben Rhodes’ Ford – both running on fresher 40-lap tires – to win the race and earn a spot in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ Championship 4 race next week.
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Six-time 2024 winner Corey Heim finished seventh and Ty Majeski came home 11th as both earned a place in the Championship 4 on points, with Gray, Nick Sanchez, Tyler Ankrum and Rajah Caruth eliminated in the final event of the eighth round of the play-offs.
Eckes, Heim, Majeski and Grant Enfinger will race for the title on November 8 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 push past Eckes. Eckes regained first place by advancing Gray onto the track. A lap later, Rhodes passed Eckes, who completed the fourth lead change in the last five laps by pushing the No. 99 Ford on lap 198.
Free from 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 everyone, I wasn’t going to lose this race; this truck was too good,” Eckes said. “The 17 (Gray) was a tough race. I feel bad about the 99 (Rhodes). I just got way too loose going into the corner.
“(I hear boos from the crowd). Everyone is very happy with me, but that doesn’t really matter to me. I’m proud of everyone who worked hard, and we’re going to Phoenix.”
The win was Eckes’ fourth of the season, his second at Martinsville and ninth of his career, but it came at a price.
After climbing out of his truck, Gray angrily walked up to Eckes and expressed his displeasure in no uncertain terms.
A win would have put Gray into Championship 4 at the expense of Majeski, who instead claimed the final spot 28 points ahead of Gray.
“I was sent to the fence when I rode it perfectly clean in (Turns) 1 and 2,” Gray said. “What goes around, comes around. I’ll have to race him all year next year (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 a better strategy than he did. We ended up with tapes; we drove through the field and we drove to him. I raced him clean, and he rode me into the fence. I think the only thing I could have done is destroyed him, just like he destroyed me.”
Eckes won the first two stages, his best 10th and 11th of the season, and led 187 of the 200 laps. He had a significant lead before a six-car accident in Turn 2 on lap 190 triggered the sixth and final caution and made for a frantic 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 while his team repaired a brake problem on his No. 71 Chevrolet.
Despite finishing third on each of the first two stages, Sanchez was 39 points ahead of a Championship 4 position when the race ended.
REMARK: The post-race inspection was completed without incident, with Eckes and his No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing team confirmed as winners.
