Christian Eckes claims Truck pole position for Round of 8 finale at Martinsville

Christian Eckes struck first in his quest to contend for his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship by winning the pole position for the Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 at Martinsville Speedway on Friday, November 1.

The 23-year-old Eckes from Greenville, New York, who was the fastest during Friday’s practice session, turned in his best qualifying lap at 96.830 mph in 19.556 seconds. The result was enough for him to claim the top-starting spot over Playoff contender Ty Majeski, who clocked in his best lap at 96.805 mph in 19.561 seconds.

With the pole position, Eckes, who is in his second consecutive season piloting the No. 19 Chevrolet Silverado RST for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, notched his fourth Truck Series pole of the 2024 season, his 10th of his career and his first since claiming the top-starting spot at Richmond Raceway in August. With Friday night’s Truck event at Martinsville marking the third and final event in this year’s Playoff’s Round of 8, Eckes, who won at Martinsville earlier in April and enters the event 38 points above the top-four cutline to the Championship 4 round, strives to achieve a strong result that will net him a spot in next weekend’s finale at Phoenix Raceway and contend for the series’ championship.

Playoff contender Ty Majeski, who finished second to Eckes in the spring Martinsville event and currently occupies the final transfer spot to the Championship 4 round by 22 points, will share the front row with Eckes. They will be followed by Playoff contenders Taylor Gray and Nick Sanchez, both of whom are currently scored below the cutline as they occupy the second starting row.

Rookie Layne Riggs will start in fifth place while Ben Rhodes, Playoff contender Corey Heim (who is above the Playoff cutline), Chase Purdy, Kaden Honeycutt and Jack Wood complete the top-10 starting grid.

With five of eight Playoff contenders starting in the top 10 for Friday’s main event, Playoff contender Rajah Caruth and Tyler Ankrum, both of whom are scored below the cutline, will start 11th and 23rd, respectively. In addition, Grant Enfinger, who is already guaranteed a spot in the Championship 4 field after winning the previous two Round of 8 events at Talladega Superspeedway and at Martinsville Speedway, respectively, will line up in 33rd place.

Notably, Johnny Sauter, the 2016 Truck Series champion who is filling in for the suspended Conner Jones in ThorSport Racing’s No. 66 Ford F-150 entry, will start in 13th place while Landen Lewis, a three-time race winner across the ARCA Menards Series platform who is piloting the No. 16 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota Tundra TRD Pro in place of Sauter, will start alongside Sauter in 14th place. In addition, Matt Mills, who has been medically cleared to compete at Martinsville following his accident and run-in with Conner Jones last weekend at Homestead, will start in 21st place.

All 36 competitors entered for Friday’s event at Martinsville earned a starting spot.

Qualifying position, best speed, best time:

1. Christian Eckes, 96.830 mph, 19.556 seconds
2. Ty Majeski, 96.805 mph, 19.561 seconds
3. Taylor Gray, 96.755 mph, 19.571 seconds
4. Nick Sanchez, 96.529 mph, 19.617 seconds
5. Layne Riggs, 96.529 mph, 19.617 seconds
6. Ben Rhodes, 96.484 mph, 19.626 seconds
7. Corey Heim, 96.450 mph, 19.633 seconds
8. Chase Purdy, 96.386 mph, 19.646 seconds
9. Kaden Honeycutt, 96.293 mph, 19.665 seconds
10. Jack Wood, 96.097 mph, 19.705 seconds
11. Rajah Caruth, 95.786 mph, 19.769 seconds
12. William Sawalich, 95.636 mph, 19.800 seconds
13. Johnny Sauter, 95.559 mph, 19.816 seconds
14. Landen Lewis, 95.506 mph, 19.827 seconds
15. Tanner Gray, 95.444 mph, 19.840 seconds
16. Matt Crafton, 95.420 mph, 19.845 seconds
17. Dean Thompson, 95.415 mph, 19.846 seconds
18. Daniel Dye, 95.400 mph, 19.849 seconds
19. Timmy Hill, 95.328 mph, 19.864 seconds
20. Stewart Friesen, 95.175 mph, 19.896 seconds
21. Matt Mills, 95.022 mph, 19.928 seconds
22. Matthew Gould, 95.022 mph, 19.928 seconds
23. Tyler Ankrum, 95.003 mph, 19.932 seconds
24. Dawson Sutton, 94.960 mph, 19.941 seconds
25. Bayley Currey, 94.813 mph, 19.972 seconds
26. Jake Garcia, 94.732 mph, 19.989 seconds
27. Connor Zilisch, 94.590 mph, 20.019 seconds
28. Brett Moffitt, 94.125 mph, 20.118 seconds
29. Dylan Lupton, 94.064 mph, 20.131 seconds
30. Lawless Alan, 93.989 mph, 20.147 seconds
31. Corey Day, 93.905 mph, 20.165 seconds
32. Spencer Boyd, Owner Points
33. Grant Enfinger, Owner Points
34. Norm Benning, Owner Points
35. Clayton Green, Owner Points
36. Justin Carroll, Owner Points

The 2024 Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 at Martinsville Speedway is set to occur on Friday, November 1, and air at 6 p.m. ET on FS1.