It seems like Christian Eckes is a marked man. Despite dominating the penultimate race of the Truck Series season at Martinsville Speedway, the 23-year-old racing driver clinched his spot in the Championship 4 under controversial circumstances. Even though he wasn’t in a must-win scenario, the McAnally-Hilgemann Racing driver went all-out to enter Victory Lane, despite it coming at the expense of Ben Rhodes and Taylor Gray, costing the latter a place at Phoenix Raceway.

With the stakes higher than ever, two-time Truck Series winner Ben Rhodes believes Eckes is playing a risky game. The No. 19 Chevy driver forced Gray to miss out on the championship, which might prompt his rival to take revenge. Will Christian Eckes have a target on his back in the final race of the season?

Christian Eckes’ aggressive move may come back to haunt him

Short track, even shorter tempers. When the checkered flag was waved at Martinsville Speedway, the underlying feeling was that Christian Eckes may have won the battle, but his actions could cost him the war. The New Yorker had an utterly dominant weekend, finishing on pole at the 0.526-mile short track and winning the opening two stages. He also led 187 out of 200 laps, highlighting just how quick his Chevrolet Silverado can be. However, his attempt to secure a sweep at ‘The Paperclip’ came at a heavy cost, especially for Taylor Gray.

Reflecting on how Christian Eckes secured his victory, Ben Rhodes highlighted the repercussions of his actions by drawing parallels with Carson Hocevar’s championship race last year. The two-time Truck Series winner said, “We saw last year Hocevar and Corey Heim ruined each other’s chances of the championship. When you’re locked in and you’re running really rough and making enemies like Taylor Gray, that’s really a big deal because he’s not going to Phoenix now. I think Christian was going to make it on points but he’s at Taylor’s mercy next week.”

Taylor Gray had everything to fight for at Martinsville Speedway. The Tricon Garage driver knew that nothing but a victory would suffice to keep his championship hopes alive at the 2024 Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200. During the final restart of the race, the 19-year-old was lined up alongside Christian Eckes and had fresher tires, which helped him take the lead going Turn 1 and 2. Just when victory was appearing in sight, the No. 19 Chevy made contact with Gray’s Toyota, forcing him up the track and out of contention.

Naturally, the New Mexico native was infuriated by his action and confronted him after the checkered flag was waved. While Christian Eckes was nonchalant about his actions, saying, “The #17 was just hard racing”, the sentiment wasn’t shared by Gray, who vowed to take revenge by saying, “What comes around goes around. I have to race him next year all year long. So, I guess he’s got that one for him.” With the championship race taking place at Phoenix Raceway next week, could Taylor Gray get payback at the biggest race of the Truck Series calendar? Time will tell.

Taylor Gray rues missed opportunity at Martinsville

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A fourth-place finish at Martinsville Speedway was not what Taylor Gray deserved, but what he was forced to settle for in the penultimate race of the season. The Tricon Garage driver was in contention for a potential victory all weekend, finishing third during qualifying and remaining in the top five at the end of Stage 1. Despite taking the lead with just three laps remaining, the 19-year-old’s truck was body-slammed by Christian Eckes, which eliminated his championship hopes.

Recalling the incident, a visibly upset Taylor Gray said in the post-race interview, “I chose the outside to race clean. We got to 1 and 2 fine, I cleared him off 2 and he just drove through me. I don’t know. I can’t thank all my guys enough. Everyone at Toyota, TPC, Tricon for bringing fast trucks to the racetracks. We had a really fast Toyota Tundra. It s–ks but it is what it is.”

When Christian Eckes was performing his cooldown lap after the race, Taylor Gray showed his frustration towards the McAnally-Hilgemann Racing driver by making contact with him on the racetrack. He was then seen being escorted by security on the pit road, as he made his way to Eckes to share some harsh words. Last year, Corey Heim intentionally wrecked Carson Hocevar during the championship race at Phoenix and was subsequently fined $12,500 and docked 25 points for the move. Could Taylor Gray follow suit and punish Eckes next week?