Christian Eckes is going to compete for a Craftsman Truck Series championship for the first time after dominating at Martinsville Speedway.
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The McAnally-Hilgemann Racing driver led 187 laps during the Friday evening race and swept the stage wins. He lost the lead twice during the closing laps, but he used the bumper of his truck to ship both Taylor Gray and Ben Rhodes.
Eckes went on to win his fourth race of the season while Rhodes finished second. Chase Purdy, Gray, and Nick Sanchez rounded out the top five.
MORE: Eckes wins, full results
This win clinched Eckes's spot in the Championship 4. He joined fellow race winner Grant Enfinger, who clinched his spot with a win at Talladega Superspeedway. Ty Majeski and Corey Heim pointed their way into the season finale to finalize the lineup.
Rajah Caruth, Gray, Tyler Ankrum, and Sanchez all failed to advance in the playoffs.
Repost to congratulate Christian Eckes on his NASCAR Truck Series WIN at Martinsville! He will race for a championship next weekend. #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/C3eIQ26YE0
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) November 2, 2024
Stage 1: Christian Eckes won stage 1, Ty Majeski, Nick Sanchez, Taylor Gray, Layne Riggs, Corey Heim, Kaden Honeycutt, Chase Purdy, William Sawalich, and Connor Zilisch were top 10.
Grant Enfinger in 14th, Tyler Ankrum in 17th, and Rajah Caruth in 28th all missed out on stage points. Caruth had a brake issue on the final lap of the stage that dropped him off the pace.
Stage 2: Christian Eckes won stage 2 under caution after Dylan Lupton hit the wall. Ty Majeski, Nick Sanchez, Corey Heim, William Sawalich, Stewart Friesen, Ben Rhodes, Kaden Honeycutt, Tyler Ankrum, and Grant Enfinger were top 10.
Rajah Caruth had to make a trip to the garage to change the brake rotor. He fell 20 laps behind the leaders and out of contention for the win he needed to reach the Championship 4.
Next: The Truck Series season comes down to one final race. The four Championship 4 drivers will battle for the season title on Friday, Nov. 8, at Phoenix Raceway.
