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Another Friday night under the lights for the drivers in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series! That’s right, it’s time for America’s favorite truckers to go beatin’ and bangin’ around the paperclip–Martinsville Speedway!
This opening stage was slated to be a total of 50 laps. From the drop of the green flag, we remained that way until, just past the halfway mark, the driver of the Faction 46 No. 46 Chevy spun, bringing out our first caution of the evening. Thad had had issues throughout the day with his brakes and would fail to post a qualifying time. Unfortunately, he was running 2 laps down at the time of caution.
Prior to the caution, Christain Eckes passed polesitter Ty Majeski in the opening laps and never looked back. Eckes would go on to win the opening stage at Martinsville, his second stage win of 2024. This stage win earned Eckes 10 points toward the overall NCTS standings as well as 1 playoff point for the postseason. He led nearly every lap, showing dominant speed early on. In the last NCTS short track race at Bristol, Christain Eckes drove his No. 19 NAPA Chevy to victory lane. He hopes to do the same tonight.
The superstar of this opening stage in Martinsville was obviously Christain Eckes. He led nearly every lap to a dominating stage win at the Paperclip. This is Eckes’ second stage win of 2024 and the Bristol winner is looking to capture his second checkered flag of the year as well.
With the win, Eckes scores 10 points towards his overall place in the standings. The team also captures a bonus playoff point which is oh so valuable.
The top-10 finishers in the opening stage are as follows along with the points they collected. Check it out:
The first caution of the night came at lap 30 when Thad Moffit in the No. 46 Faction 46 Chevy spun around. There was no reported major damage but it has been a tough go to open this 2024 Truck Series season for that bunch. Earlier in the day, the team failed to post a qualifying time due to an issue with their brake rotors. The No. 46 would roll off in the 34th position. He was 2-laps-down at the time of the spin.
One stage down, two to go for the truckers at the paperclip! What do you make of Christain Eckes’ dominance early on? Is he the favorite to win, Daily Downforce readers? Only time will tell. We still have two more stages left in Martinsville!
