By David Morgan, Associate Editor
AVONDALE, Ariz. – The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will be the first title fight of the weekend to be settled, as the four remaining drivers in the Playoffs will duke it out Friday night at Phoenix Raceway for the right to hoist the championship trophy when the checkered flag falls.
Eight drivers started the Playoffs with a berth in the championship race in mind, but half of them fell by the wayside, leaving Grant Enfinger, Christian Eckes, Corey Heim, and Ty Majeski as the four drivers to battle for supremacy and bring home the Truck Series title.
By the Numbers
What: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship, Race No. 22 of 22
Where: Phoenix Raceway – Avondale, Arizona
When: Friday, November 8
TV/Radio: FOX Sports 1, 8:00 pm ET / MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Channel 90
Track Size: 1.0-mile oval
Banking: Eight to nine degrees in Turns 1-2, 10 to 11 degrees in Turns 3-4 and frontstretch dogleg
Race Length: 150 laps, 150 miles
Stage Lengths: Stage One/Two – 45 laps each, Final stage – 60 laps
November 2023 Race Winner: Christian Eckes – No. 19 Chevrolet Silverado (Started eighth, 36 laps led)
Tale of the Tape – How the Championship 4 Stacks Up:
Christian Eckes – No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet
2024 Stats: Four wins (Bristol, Nashville, Martinsville x 2), 14 top-five finishes, 21 top-10 finishes, 1050 laps led, five poles, 5.5 average finish
Phoenix Specific Stats: Five starts, one win, two top-five finishes, four top-10 finishes, 36 laps led, 10.0 average finish.
How He Got Here: Eckes banked three of his four wins in the regular season to set himself up well for the Playoffs and his extremely consistent run throughout the season, where he has only finished outside the top-10 once has made him a strong contender for being able to bring the No. 19 team a championship.
However, Eckes has ruffled some feathers along the way, namely last week at Martinsville where he roughed up both Taylor Gray and Ben Rhodes en route to the win to secure his place in the championship race. He’ll have to avoid any retaliatory strikes Friday night if he wants to end the season on top.
What the Driver Says: “It’s been a great year for us. Regardless of the outcome on Friday, you know, 21 top-10’s in 22 races is pretty incredible. And the one race we didn’t finish in the top 10, we were leading when we…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Motorsports Tribune…