Friday night, Christian Eckes claims a masterful NASCAR Truck Series victory at Martinsville Speedway in the Long John Silver’s 200.
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — It was a special night for NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series driver Christian Eckes, who dominated Friday night’s Long John Silver’s 200 at Martinsville Speedway.
Christian Eckes Claims a Masterul NASCAR Truck Series Victory at Martinsville
Eschewing a trip to pit road between the first and second stages at the 0.526-mile short track, Eckes led the first 104 laps, swept the stages, and worked his way back through the field from 19th after pitting at the Stage 2 break.
Undeterred by the chaos that produced 11 cautions for 81 laps, Eckes took the lead for the final time on lap 172 in a side-by-side battle against pole winner Ty Majeski, who regained the top spot when Eckes came to pit road for the only time during the 200-lap event.
“Something really special,” Eckes said of the effort of his No. 19 McAnally Hilgemann Racing team and the quality of his Chevrolet. “We came here last year, and we weren’t really that great… we were maybe a sixth-place truck (started sixth and finished 15th).
“And we worked really hard on it, and here we are in Victory Lane. So just super proud of this entire team.”
The victory was the second of the season for Eckes, who won from the pole at Bristol last month. It was his first triumph at Martinsville and the seventh of his career.
The Polesitter, Ty Majeski is Over Powered by Eckes on the First Lap
Starting from the top spot on the grid, Majeski gave up the lead on the first lap as Eckes powered past him.
“The 19 (Eckes) was tough tonight,” Majeski said. “He was just a little but better than us. He had better tires (in the final stage), and I just could not launch on restarts…
“But I think we left here with the points lead today. Really solid day. Obviously, you want to win. I wanted that grandfather clock (trophy), but I’m super proud of this team. We’ve been working hard at getting our trucks better, and just a little but short tonight.”
The NASCAR Truck Series Point Standings
Majeski leaves Martinsville as the series leader, with a seven-point edge over Corey Heim and Tyler Ankrum.
The Long John Silver’s 200 Results
Chase Purdy ran third to post his fourth top-five finish in 81 Truck Series starts. Nick Sanchez was fourth, followed by Ankrum, Taylor Gray, Rajah Caruth, Sammy Smith, Kaden Honeycutt and Heim.
Australian Supercars star Cam Waters finished 30th in his NASCAR debut. His No. 66 ThorSport machine was a casualty of a chain-reaction collision on lap 177 that left his Ford truck spewing hot vapor like a geyser.
“I had so much fun tonight and all day today,” Waters said. “It is totally different racing from what I usually do, and I just wanted to learn. I learned so much.
“There at the end I just had nowhere to go and knocked the radiator out of it. It is a shame, but I was having fun and learning and had some awesome battles, too.”
Next Up
The NASCAR Truck Series’ next race is the SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway at 8:30 pm ET on Friday, April 12th. Coverage is available on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The 2023 winner at Texas Motor Speedway is Carson Hocevar.