Practice #1 : Martinsville Speedway

• Thursday, October 31st, 2024
• NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer

Grant Enfinger seeks Round of 8 sweep at Martinsville Speedway

Driving for team owner Codie Rohrbaugh, Grant Enfinger punched his ticket to the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Championship Four race with a victory in the Round of 8 opener at Talladega Superspeedway.

Not content to rest on his laurels, Enfinger provided an encore performance last Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, beating runner-up Ty Majeski to the finish line by 17.516 seconds after saving fuel over the final 52-lap green-flag run.

On Friday night at Martinsville Speedway, Enfinger will try to complete a sweep of the round in the Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 (6 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Enfinger’s two victories in the Round of 8 ensures that at least two drivers will qualify for the Championship 4 Round on points. Corey Heim (+49 points), Christian Eckes (+38) and Ty Majeski (+22) enjoy significant margins over four drivers who likely must win on Friday to advance to the title race—Rajah Caruth (-22), Taylor Gray (-24), Tyler Ankrum (-41) and Nick Sanchez (-43).

Heim and Eckes have been frontrunners all season long, with Heim posting a series-high six victories and Eckes scoring top 10s in 20 of 21 races.

“We’ve doubled our win total from last year and, quite frankly, just been the Truck to beat for most weeks and (throughout) the year,” Heim said. “…I’ve definitely had my fair share of bad races this year.

“Last year, we prided ourselves on consistency, and this year has been more of a rocky road. But at the end of the day, it’s going to come down to one race if we can make the Championship Four in Phoenix.”

• Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200
• Pole Winner: Christian Eckes
• Age: 23
• Team : No 19 - Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet
• Owner: Bill McAnally
• Crew Chief: Charles Denike
• Christian Eckes won the Pole Award for the Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 with a lap of 19556 seconds, 96830 mph
• This is his 10th pole in 113 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races
• This is his fourth pole and 19th top-10 start in 2024
• This is his second pole in seven races at Martinsville Speedway
• Ty Majeski (second) posted his 19th top-10 start of 2024 and his second in four races at Martinsville Speedway
• Taylor Gray (third) posted his first top-10 start at Martinsville Speedway It is his 10th in 22 races this season
• Layne Riggs (fifth) was the fastest qualifying rookie

• Friday, November 1st, 2024
• NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer

Christian Eckes wins at Martinsville after drama-filled closing laps

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.

• Drivers Entered: 36
• Laps Scheduled: 200
• Margin of Victory: 01.191 Seconds
• Time of Race: 1 Hours 36 Minutes 12 Seconds
• Average Speed: 65.613
• Cautions: 6 for 46 laps
• Lead Changes: 6
• Green Flag Passes: 751 (4.9 passes per green flag lap)

• Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200
• Race Winner: Christian Eckes
• Age: 23
• Team : No 19 - Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet
• Owner: Bill McAnally
• Crew Chief: Charles Denike
• Christian Eckes won the Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200, his ninth victory in 113 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races
• This is his fourth victory and 21st top-10 finish in 2024
• This is his second victory and fourth top-10 finish in seven races at Martinsville Speedway
• Ben Rhodes (second) posted his ninth top-10 finish in 15 races at Martinsville Speedway It is his eighth top-10 finish in 2024
• Chase Purdy (third) posted his third top-10 finish in six races at Martinsville Speedway
• Layne Riggs (sixth) was the highest finishing rookie
• Christian Eckes, Grant Enfinger, Corey Heim and Ty Majeski have advanced to the Championship 4 next week at Phoenix Raceway