Christian Eckes took home the win in Friday’s Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 at Martinsville to advance to the Championship Four, but it did not come without controversy. Eckes, who dominated the race and looked untouchable for the majority of it, gave a big bump to Taylor Gray upon losing the lead late in the event, which caused Gray to be eliminated from championship contention. An irate Gray marched down pit road after the race to victory lane to confront Eckes, who was very nonchalant in his post-race interview.
“It feels great. Like I told everybody, I wasn’t going to let us lose this race, the truck was too good”, Eckes said. “The 17 [Taylor Gray] was just hard racing, but I feel bad about the 99 [Ben Rhodes]. I just got way too loose entering the corner, uh, everybody’s really happy with me, but I don’t care. Thanks to everybody for working hard and we’ll go on to Phoenix.”
Eckes won the pole, swept the two stages, led 187 out of the race’s 200 laps, and also swept the season’s two Martinsville events.
Defending champion Ben Rhodes finished second in his No. 99 Ford. Rhodes led 12 laps and scored his best finish of the season.
Chase Purdy, another non-playoff driver, came home third in his No. 77 Chevrolet. Purdy picked up his second straight third place finish at Martinsville and his sixth career top five.
Taylor Gray, despite the contact from Eckes at the end of the race, managed a fourth place finish. Gray led the one lap that Eckes and Rhodes did not and was one of four drivers eliminated from championship contention. Fellow playoff driver Nick Sanchez completed the top five and was eliminated alongside Gray.
Layne Riggs, Corey Heim, Tyler Ankrum, Grant Enfinger, and Stewart Friesen rounded out the top ten. Heim advanced to the Championship Four along with Eckes and Enfinger, while Ankrum was eliminated.
Ty Majeski, who finished 11th, was the fourth and final driver to advance, while Rajah Caruth’s 31st place finish left him below the cutline and out of title contention.
RELATED: Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 at Martinsville Results
Eckes and Ty Majeski brought the field to the green flag, with Eckes getting a much better launch and clearing Majeski by the entrance of turn one. Eckes’ lead increased to about one second by lap 20, and further increased it to two seconds by lap 30. Not long after, Eckes started to approach the rear of the pack and put multiple trucks one lap down, including teammate Corey Day.
Day would be saved, however, by a caution on lap 36. Matthew Gould’s No. 44 Chevrolet lost power on the frontstretch and he was unable to make it to pit road, as his truck finally came to a stop on the backstretch near the pit road entrance. Multiple trucks hit pit road during the caution period, including playoff drivers Grant Enfinger and Tyler Ankrum.
Gould lost four laps as his crew made repairs to his truck but he was able to rejoin the race.
Eckes and Majeski took the green flag first with eight laps remaining in stage one. Eckes, like on the initial start, swiftly pulled away from Majeski as multiple trucks made contact for position further in the field.
On lap 43, Landen Lewis, who was a last-minute replacement for Hattori Racing Enterprises’ No. 16, entry, took his truck to the garage due to a mechanical issue. He would later rejoin the race 16 laps down to the leaders.
Coming to the last lap of stage one, Rajah Caruth had a tire go flat on his No. 71 Chevrolet, costing him valuable stage points. Eckes won the stage with ease, while Caruth fell outside the top 20.
Eckes and Majeski once again paced the field to green to begin stage two, with Eckes again prevailing on the bottom side. His lead over Majeski grew to over two seconds by the halfway point in the stage.
During the following run, Eckes eclipsed 500 laps led on short tracks on the season, becoming the first driver to accomplish the feat in the Truck Series since 1997.
Caruth’s struggles from the end of stage one followed him into stage two, and he was put a lap down by Eckes prior to the end of the stage. Caruth, who finished the stage in 25th, was the only playoff driver to finish the stage outside the top 15.
With two laps to go in stage two, the caution flew for a crash involving Dylan Lupton. Lupton, who was making his first Truck Series start of the season, spun his No. 02 Chevrolet in turn one and backed his truck into the wall hard, leaving him with substantial rear end damage. Lupton would be unable to continue in the race, leaving him with his third straight Truck Series DNF dating back to 2021.
Significant damage for Dylan Lupton at the end of Stage 2 in Martinsville. https://t.co/5ACf0XRTYh pic.twitter.com/bSolovJhCv
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) November 1, 2024
The caution caused the stage to end under yellow flag conditions, handing Eckes a sweep of the race’s stages. Eckes’s sweep marks the fifth time he has accomplished the feat. During the caution, Landen Lewis took his truck to the garage for a second time. Caruth would follow suit, effectively ending his chances of advancing to the Championship Four.
For many frontrunners, the stage caution would be their first trip down pit road, as they were able to make it through the first two stages on the same set of tires and same tank of fuel.
Ben Rhodes, who stayed out, and Eckes took the green to begin the final stage, with Rhodes becoming only the second leader of the race as a result. Rhodes would not keep the lead for long, as Eckes passed the No. 99 on lap 115 to regain the top spot. Eckes’ lead grew to over two seconds over Nick Sanchez, who passed Rhodes not long after he lost the lead. Rhodes, driving on older tires, lost another spot to Majeski, while Caruth came out of the garage to rejoin the race 20 laps down.
By lap 150, Eckes’ lead ballooned to just under six seconds over Sanchez. In addition to achieving 500 laps led at short tracks this season, he also cleared 1,000 laps led on the entire season. By doing so, Eckes joined Jack Sprague, Kyle Busch, Mike Skinner, and Ron Hornaday Jr as the only drivers to do so in the Truck Series.
Eckes’ massive lead was erased on lap 162, when the No. 45 of Kaden Honeycutt hit the outside wall in turn one. Honeycutt, who had run in the top ten for almost all of the race, suffered race-ending damage and retired from the event. During the caution, Daniel Dye brought his No. 43 Chevrolet down pit road and his crew lifted the hood to repair a mechanical issue, but he would later go behind the wall.
A few drivers elected to come down pit road under the caution, including playoff driver Corey Heim and Ben Rhodes.
The race went back to green with 29 laps remaining, led by Eckes and Sanchez. Within five laps, Eckes increased his lead to over two seconds over Sanchez, continuing a common theme on restarts. A few laps later, Taylor Gray muscled his way past Majeski for third place in a last-ditch effort to win and advance to the Championship Four.
Just as Gray went to pass Sanchez, another crash occurred on lap 181. Brett Moffitt, racing for Hettinger Racing in their team debut, hit the outside wall hard in turn two. Corey Day and Gray’s brother Tanner were also involved in the incident. The initial contact was between Tanner Gray and teammate Dean Thompson, who pushed the No. 15 into turn three, which collected Moffitt and Day. Moffitt’s damage was too severe to continue racing, leaving him with his first Truck Series DNF since Kansas in 2022. Gray also retired from the race as a result of his damage.
Eckes was joined on the front row for the restart by Taylor Gray, as Sanchez elected to restart behind Eckes. Unlike previous restarts, Gray was able to hang with Eckes, but another crash occurred before he could attempt a pass. Coming out of turn two, Chase Purdy got into the left rear of Grant Enfinger, which caused the No. 9 to go up the track and spin the No. 52 of Stewart Friesen. Johnny Sauter, filling in for the suspended Conner Jones, also received damage. Sauter took his truck to the garage, leaving him with a DNF.
Lots of contact and the No. 52 is around! pic.twitter.com/pFWtjPAGUd
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) November 1, 2024
Eckes and Gray took the green with six laps to go, with Gray briefly taking the lead. Eckes gave Gray the bumper into turn three, sending Gray up the track and out of contention. The contact allowed Ben Rhodes to take the lead with a bump to Eckes, but the No. 19 returned the favor to regain the lead. Rhodes was not able to catch back up, as he had to fend off Chase Purdy, allowing Eckes to finish what he started and take the victory.
On the cooldown lap, Gray bumped Eckes’ truck to show his displeasure before getting out of his truck, walking down pit road, and over the wall to victory lane to confront Eckes, with a heated exchange taking place between the two drivers.
Taylor Gray is NOT happy with Christian Eckes in Martinsville. pic.twitter.com/q9erNdaK4O
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) November 2, 2024
Leaving Martinsville, Grant Enfinger and Christian Eckes advanced to the Championship Four with their wins in the Round of Eight. Corey Heim and Ty Majeski also advanced on points. Rajah Caruth, Taylor Gray, Tyler Ankrum, and Nick Sanchez were the four drivers eliminated.
Eckes’ appearance is his first in the Championship Four and it is also the first for his team McAnally Hilgemann Racing.
The 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series finale is scheduled for Friday, November 8, at Phoenix Raceway, and will be broadcast by FS1.
