Christian Eckes grabbed the lead on the final restart and stole a victory in Friday night’s Kansas Lottery 200, the Round of 10 elimination race in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.
In a three-wide battle for the lead against Corey Heim and Zane Smith, Eckes led only the final two laps to secure his third victory of the season, his first at Kansas Speedway and the fourth of his career.
In a last-lap scramble that saw Smith get loose, turn sideways and fade to fifth, Taylor Gray finished second, 0.363s behind Eckes. Matt DiBenedetto ran third in a valiant effort to earn a berth in the Round of 8.
But with Ben Rhodes finishing 25th after securing a total of 11 points in the first two stages, Rhodes claimed the final spot in the next round by five points over DiBenedetto.
DiBenedetto is out of his ride at the end of the year, too, having announced that he has decided not to return to the No. 25 Rackley W.A.R. Chevrolet next season. DiBenedetto added that he is looking for opportunities in all three of NASCAR’s national series.
Also eliminated from the Playoffs was Matt Crafton, who had to go to a backup truck after running over debris and wrecking in practice earlier in the day. Crafton’s No. 88 Ford slapped the wall on lap 69 of Friday’s race, and after attempted repairs, he finished 33rd, nine laps down and 11 points out of the Round of 8.
Heim, who finished fourth, had the lead when the trucks of Rajah Caruth and Tanner Gray collided on the frontstretch on lap 127 to cause the fifth and final caution.