Eckes Hunting Consecutive Martinsville Wins and Final 4 Berth
Venue: Martinsville Speedway
Event: Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200
Date: Friday, November 1st
Location: Ridegeway, VA
Track Description: 0.526-mile oval
Distance: 200 laps, 105.2 miles (6:00 p.m. ET, FOX, Motor Racing Network)
Champ 4 Spot on the Line … The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) Championship 4 field will be decided at Martinsville Speedway on Friday night and Christian Eckes currently possesses one of the best seats at the table. The driver of the No. 19 Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet Silverado RST sits third on the playoff grid with a 38-point buffer on the cut line. Eckes has been a model of consistency through five playoff events with an average finish of 5.0, but is looking for his first victory in the championship chase. The regular season champ earned two playoff victories in 2023 and drove to a dominating victory at “The Paperclip” on April 5th after leading 133 of the 200 laps. Another clutch playoff performance would give Eckes his first-career berth into the title round.
The Perfect Place … Of all the venues on the NCTS schedule for Eckes and the NAPA Auto Care team to race with a title on the line, the short track confines of Martinsville Speedway is the perfect place. Eckes has excelled above the competition all season at short tracks and has been borderline dominant with two victories and has six top-five’s and seven top-10 finishes in the seven races at tracks one mile and shorter. He and MHR teammate Tyler Ankrum are the only drivers to tally top-10 results in every short track outing and has led 547 laps in those events.
Season to Date … Eckes has constructed a jewel of a campaign in 2024 worthy of a championship bid. His 13 top-five’s and 20 top-10 finishes in 21 races are career-highs and lead all NCTS competitors. His mark of 20 top-10 results is one shy of the NCTS record in a 23-race season, behind Christopher Bell’s 2017 season. Eckes has finished in the top-10 in 95.2% of the races this season, and is currently the second-best top-10 percentage in NCTS history, only trailing Ron Hornaday Jr.’s 1996 season when he earned 23 top-10’s in 24 races. Eckes has led the most laps (863) and has the best average finish (5.7) of all NCTS drivers.
Tune In … Friday’s action from “The Paperclip” gets underway at 1:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 2 with practice and qualifying followed by the green flag at 6:00 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. on Stay connected with the No. 19 NAPA Auto Care team by following @BMR_NASCAR on Twitter, @bmrnascar on Instagram, and Bill McAnally Racing on Facebook.
Christian Eckes Quote:
On the Round of 8 cut off at Martinsville:
“Martinsville was obviously good for us earlier this year, but anything can happen there. Our Gates Hydraulics team is in a good position points-wise, but that can always change throughout the night. We’re prepared to race for the win and control our own destiny on Friday night and I know we can get the job done if we execute how we did back in the spring. All of our goals are in front of us in these last two weeks, so our whole team is excited about the opportunity and ready to get it done.”