Eckes Rules Martinsville Trucks, Moves to Championship Four
(MARTINSVILLE, VA – NOV 1, 2024 – RIS) Christian Eckes, after taking the pole position in qualifying for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200, went on to lead 188 of the 200 laps in the race before using a restart bump and run to move Taylor Gray up the track and out of the lead with fewer than five laps left in the race.
The victory is Eckes’ fourth win in the 2024 season and his 21st top-ten for the year. The win locks him into the championship playoffs along with Grant Enfinger, Corey Heim and Ty Majeski. If Gray had won the race, he would have been locked into the championship four next weekend at Phoenix. Following the checkered flag, Gray strode to Victory Lane to confront Eckes verbally, expressing his displeasure at the contact. Eckes later said that they would have to race each other all next season in the Xfinity series.
Unofficial Results: Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200, November 1, 2024 - Martinsville Speedway
Fin, Str, Driver, Truck, Laps, Stage 1 Pos, Stage 2 Pos, Pts, Status, Tms, Laps, Playoff Pts
1) 1, Christian Eckes (P), No. 19 Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet, 200, 1, 1, 60, Running, 4, 187, 7
2) 6, Ben Rhodes, No. 99 Kubota Ford, 200, , 7, 39, Running, 2, 12,
3) 8, Chase Purdy, No. 77 Bama Buggies Chevrolet, 200, 8, , 37, Running, , ,
4) 3, Taylor Gray (P), No. 17 JBL Toyota, 200, 4, , 40, Running, 1, 1,
5) 4, Nick Sanchez (P), No. 2 Gainbridge Chevrolet, 200, 3, 3, 48, Running, , ,
6) 5, Layne Riggs #, No. 38 Infinity Communications Group Ford, 200, 5, , 37, Running, , ,
7) 7, Corey Heim (P), No. 11 Safelite Toyota, 200, 6, 4, 42, Running, , ,
8) 23, Tyler Ankrum (P), No. 18 LiUNA! Chevrolet, 200, , 9, 31, Running, , ,
9) 33, Grant Enfinger (P), No. 9 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet, 200, , 10, 29, Running, , ,
10) 20, Stewart Friesen, No. 52 Halmar International Toyota, 200, , 6, 32, Running, , ,
11) 2, Ty Majeski (P), No. 98 Road Ranger Ford, 200, 2, 2, 44, Running, , ,
12) 27, Connor Zilisch(i), No. 7 Austin Hatcher Foundation Chevrolet, 200, 10, , 0, Running, , ,
13) 16, Matt Crafton, No. 88 Pasiode/Menards Ford, 200, , , 24, Running, , ,
14) 12, William Sawalich, No. 1 Starkey/Soundgear Toyota, 200, 9, 5, 31, Running, , ,
15) 24, Dawson Sutton, No. 25 Rackley Roofing Chevrolet, 200, , , 22, Running, , ,
16) 25, Bayley Currey, No. 41 DQS Chevrolet, 200, , , 21, Running, , ,
17) 17, Dean Thompson, No. 5 Thompson Pipe Group Toyota, 200, , , 20, Running, , ,
18) 31, Corey Day, No. 81 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 200, , , 19, Running, , ,
19) 21, Matt Mills, No. 42 J.F. Electric/Utilitra Chevrolet, 200, , , 18, Running, , ,
20) 26, Jake Garcia, No. 13 Quanta Services Ford, 199, , , 17, Running, , ,
21) 19, Timmy Hill, No. 56 UNITS/Toys for Tots Toyota, 198, , , 16, Running, , ,
22) 32, Spencer Boyd, No. 76 Amthor International Chevrolet, 198, , , 15, Running, , ,
23) 30, Lawless Alan, No. 33 AUTODockit Ford, 198, , , 14, Running, , ,
24) 35, Clayton Green, No. 22 Royal Vista Inc Ford, 197, , , 13, Running, , ,
25) 36, Justin Carroll, No. 90 Carroll's Automotive/Duratain Toyota, 197, , , 12, Running, , ,
26) 10, Jack Wood, No. 91 Alpha Vision Chevrolet, 196, , , 11, Running, , ,
27) 22, Matthew Gould, No. 44 Niece Chevrolet, 195, , , 10, Running, , ,
28) 13, Johnny Sauter, No. 66 TSPORT Ford, 194, , , 9, Accident, , ,
29) 15, Tanner Gray, No. 15 Dead On Tools Toyota, 182, , , 8, Accident, , ,
30) 28, Brett Moffitt, No. 4 Victory Custom Trailers Chevrolet, 181, , , 7, Accident, , ,
31) 11, Rajah Caruth (P), No. 71 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 179, , , 6, Running, , ,
32) 18, Daniel Dye, No. 43 Champion Container Chevrolet, 166, , , 5, Brakes, , ,
33) 9, Kaden Honeycutt, No. 45 Moore's Venture Foods Chevrolet, 162, 7, 8, 11, Accident, , ,
34) 29, Dylan Lupton(i), No. 02 RANDCO Chevrolet, 96, , , 0, Accident, , ,
35) 14, Landen Lewis, No. 16 Toyota Tsusho Toyota, 82, , , 2, Brakes, , ,
36) 34, Norm Benning, No. 6 MDIA Inc Chevrolet, 17, , , 1, Brakes, , ,
(i) Ineligible for driver points, (#) Rookie, (P) Playoffs
Race Length: 200 Laps, 105.2 Miles
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
Comments: Christian Eckes won the Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 at Martinsville Speedway, his ninth NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series victory.
Prior to the start, the following trucks dropped to the rear for the reasons indicated: Nos. 18, 15, 22, 90 (unapproved adjustments).
Cautions: 6 for 46 laps;
Laps: 37-42 (No. 44 stalled on track [4]);
52-60 (Stage 1 Conclusion [15]);
99-110 (No. 02 incident turn 2 / Stage 2 Conclusion [42]);
164-171 (No. 45 incident turn 2 [5]);
183-188 (No. 5, 15, 4 incident turn 3 [41]);
191-195 (No. 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.
Unofficial Points: Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200, Martinsville Speedway
Rank, Driver, Car, Starts, GL, Points, Ldr, Nxt, Race Wins, Stage Wins, Playoff Pts
1) Grant Enfinger (P), 9, 22, 1, 4000, 0, 0, 2, 3, 7
2) Christian Eckes (P), 19, 22, 1, 4000, 0, 0, 4, 11, 39
3) Ty Majeski (P), 98, 22, 1, 4000, 0, 0, 2, 6, 24
4) Corey Heim (P), 11, 22, -3, 4000, 0, 0, 6, 9, 48
5) Nick Sanchez (P), 2, 22, 3, 2233, -1767, 1767, 2, 1, 18
6) Taylor Gray (P), 17, 22, 0, 2213, -1787, 20, 0, 0, 3
7) Rajah Caruth (P), 71, 22, -2, 2189, -1811, 24, 1, 1, 10
8) Tyler Ankrum (P), 18, 22, -1, 2179, -1821, 10, 0, 2, 7
9) Daniel Dye, 43, 22, 0, 2128, -1872, 51, 0, 0, 0
10) Ben Rhodes, 99, 22, 0, 2121, -1879, 7, 0, 0, 0
11) Layne Riggs #, 38, 22, 0, 557, -3443, 1564, 2, 0, 0
12) Stewart Friesen, 52, 22, 1, 535, -3465, 22, 0, 0, 0
13) Tanner Gray, 15, 22, -1, 524, -3476, 11, 0, 1, 0
14) Matt Crafton, 88, 22, 0, 506, -3494, 18, 0, 0, 0
15) Chase Purdy, 77, 22, 0, 488, -3512, 18, 0, 0, 0
16) Dean Thompson, 5, 22, 0, 442, -3558, 46, 0, 0, 0
17) Jake Garcia, 13, 22, 0, 436, -3564, 6, 0, 0, 0
18) Bayley Currey, 41, 22, 1, 376, -3624, 60, 0, 0, 0
19) Bret Holmes, , 20, -1, 360, -3640, 16, 0, 0, 0
20) Kaden Honeycutt, 45, 13, 0, 354, -3646, 6, 0, 1, 0
21) Timmy Hill, 56, 21, 1, 334, -3666, 20, 0, 0, 0
22) Ty Dillon, , 18, -1, 334, -3666, 0, 0, 1, 0
23) Matt Mills, 42, 22, 0, 316, -3684, 18, 0, 1, 0
24) Lawless Alan, 33, 22, 0, 299, -3701, 17, 0, 0, 0
25) Spencer Boyd, 76, 22, 0, 258, -3742, 41, 0, 0, 0
26) Jack Wood, 91, 12, 1, 226, -3774, 32, 0, 0, 0
27) Stefan Parsons, , 10, -1, 215, -3785, 11, 0, 0, 0
28) Mason Massey, , 16, 0, 207, -3793, 8, 0, 0, 0
29) William Sawalich, 1, 9, 2, 192, -3808, 15, 0, 0, 0
30) Connor Mosack, , 8, -1, 189, -3811, 3, 0, 0, 0
31) Conner Jones, , 12, -1, 169, -3831, 20, 0, 0, 0
32) Thad Moffitt, , 16, 0, 128, -3872, 41, 0, 0, 0
33) Dawson Sutton, 25, 6, 1, 113, -3887, 15, 0, 0, 0
34) Mason Maggio, , 11, -1, 105, -3895, 8, 0, 0, 0
35) Keith Mcgee, , 10, 0, 77, -3923, 28, 0, 0, 0
36) Luke Fenhaus, , 3, 0, 72, -3928, 5, 0, 0, 0
37) Brenden Queen, , 3, 0, 68, -3932, 4, 0, 0, 0
38) Brett Moffitt, 4, 3, 0, 66, -3934, 2, 0, 0, 0
39) Johnny Sauter, 66, 5, 0, 65, -3935, 1, 0, 1, 0
40) Corey Day, 81, 4, 1, 64, -3936, 1, 0, 0, 0
41) Colby Howard, , 3, -1, 55, -3945, 9, 0, 0, 0
42) Jason White, , 2, 0, 42, -3958, 13, 0, 0, 0
43) Justin Carroll, 90, 6, 5, 40, -3960, 2, 0, 0, 0
44) Cory Roper, , 2, -1, 36, -3964, 4, 0, 0, 0
45) Marco Andretti, , 5, -1, 34, -3966, 2, 0, 0, 0
46) Bryan Dauzat, , 2, -1, 31, -3969, 3, 0, 0, 0
47) Ryan Reed, , 1, -1, 30, -3970, 1, 0, 0, 0
48) Andres Perez de Lara, , 1, -1, 28, -3972, 2, 0, 0, 0
49) Connor Hall, , 1, 0, 27, -3973, 1, 0, 0, 0
50) Cam Waters(i), , 2, 0, 25, -3975, 2, 0, 0, 0
51) Justin Mondeik, , 3, 0, 25, -3975, 0, 0, 0, 0
52) Clay Greenfield, , 1, 0, 22, -3978, 3, 0, 0, 0
53) Clint Bowyer, , 1, 0, 22, -3978, 0, 0, 0, 0
54) Danny Bohn, , 1, 0, 20, -3980, 2, 0, 0, 0
55) Kris Wright, , 2, 0, 18, -3982, 2, 0, 0, 0
56) Frankie Muniz, , 3, 0, 18, -3982, 0, 0, 0, 0
57) Dawson Cram, , 1, 0, 17, -3983, 1, 0, 0, 0
58) Norm Benning, 6, 2, 1, 17, -3983, 0, 0, 0, 0
59) Carter Fartuch, , 1, -1, 16, -3984, 1, 0, 0, 0
60) Clayton Green, 22, 2, 12, 16, -3984, 0, 0, 0, 0
61) Vicente Salas, , 2, -1, 15, -3985, 1, 0, 0, 0
62) Codie Rohrbaugh, , 1, -1, 14, -3986, 1, 0, 0, 0
63) Matthew Gould, 44, 2, 7, 14, -3986, 0, 0, 0, 0
64) Memphis Villarreal, , 2, -2, 12, -3988, 2, 0, 0, 0
65) Dale Quarterley, , 1, -2, 11, -3989, 1, 0, 0, 0
66) Stephen Mallozzi, , 2, -2, 11, -3989, 0, 0, 0, 0
67) Jennifer Jo Cobb, , 2, -2, 11, -3989, 0, 0, 0, 0
68) Toni Breidinger, , 1, -2, 10, -3990, 1, 0, 0, 0
69) Tyler Tomassi, , 2, -2, 9, -3991, 1, 0, 0, 0
70) Akinori Ogata, , 1, -2, 7, -3993, 2, 0, 0, 0
71) Josh Reaume, , 1, -2, 4, -3996, 3, 0, 0, 0
72) Blake Lothian, , 1, -1, 3, -3997, 1, 0, 0, 0
73) Trey Hutchens, , 2, 0, 3, -3997, 0, 0, 0, 0
74) Jeffrey Earnhardt, , 1, 0, 2, -3998, 1, 0, 0, 0
75) Landen Lewis, 16, 1, -75, 2, -3998, 0, 0, 0, 0
76) Jerry Bohlman, , 1, -1, 1, -3999, 1, 0, 0, 0
77) Jayson Alexander, , 1, -1, 1, -3999, 0, 0, 0, 0
78) Kyle Busch(i), , 5, -1, 0, -4000, 1, 2, 5, 0
79) Ross Chastain(i), , 5, -1, 0, -4000, 0, 1, 0, 0
80) Zane Smith(i), , 5, -1, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 1, 0
81) Connor Zilisch(i), 7, 6, -1, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
82) Sammy Smith(i), , 4, -1, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
83) Christopher Bell(i), , 1, -1, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
84) Jack Hawksworth, , 0, -1, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
85) Conor Daly(i), , 3, -1, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
86) Nathan Byrd(i), , 2, -1, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
87) Corey Lajoie(i), , 1, -1, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
88) Dexter Bean(i), , 1, -1, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
89) Sage Karam(i), , 1, -1, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
90) Dylan Lupton(i), 02, 1, -90, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
91) Aric Almirola(i), , 0, -2, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
92) Ryan Huff, , 0, -2, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
-Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
John Davison
Long-time RIS staffer, beginning in the mid-80s. Charlotte, NC area local contact.