Hot off his win at Kansas last weekend, Christian Eckes almost wheeled the No. 19 NASCAR Chevy Silverado RST to victory at Bristol on September 14th, 2023, but the win was snatched by Corey Heim’s No. 11 Toyota TRD Tundra when he took the lead with five laps left.
The winning pass saw Heim dive below Eckes’ No. 19 Silverado, going three-wide with a lapped truck on his way to the checkered flag. Said lapped truck was the No. 15 Tundra of Tanner Gray, Heim’s teammate, and the maneuver saw Heim cross the line with .218 seconds over Eckes, securing his spot in the final Playoffs round.
Understandably, Eckes expressed frustration with the move, questioning if teammate loyalty played a role in Gray’s conduct on track that ultimately slowed Eckes’ truck and let Heim get away with the win.
“I just think it’s ironic that the 15 [Gray] is three laps down and waited,” said Eckes after the race. “Whatever. Good truck. I got really tight there at the end. That one stinks, for sure.”
Eckes’ No. 19 NASCAR Chevy finished second after leading 150 of 200 laps. Grant Enfinger’s No. 23 Silverado finished third, followed by Carson Hocevar in the No. 42 Silverado and Taylor Gray’s No. 17 Toyota rounding out the top five at Bristol.
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | 11 | Corey Heim (P) | Safelite Toyota | 200 | 6 | Toyota TRD Tundra |
| 2 | 1 | 19 | Christian Eckes (P) | Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet | 200 | 150 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 3 | 13 | 23 | Grant Enfinger (P) | Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 4 | 2 | 42 | Carson Hocevar (P) | Worldwide Express Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 5 | 8 | 17 | Taylor Gray # | Dead On Tools Toyota | 200 | 0 | Toyota TRD Tundra |
| 6 | 5 | 24 | Rajah Caruth # | Wendell Scott Foundation Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 7 | 18 | 99 | Ben Rhodes (P) | Kubota Ford | 200 | 0 | Ford F-150 |
| 8 | 3 | 4 | Chase Purdy | Bama Buggies Chevrolet | 200 | 1 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 9 | 35 | 2 | Nick Sanchez # (P) | Gainbridge Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 10 | 12 | 25 | Matt DiBenedetto | Rackley Roofing/WAR Shocks Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 11 | 30 | 35 | Jake Garcia # | Quanta Services Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 12 | 27 | 7 | Carson Kvapil(i) | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 13 | 36 | 41 | Bayley Currey | Unishippers Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 14 | 24 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar International Toyota | 200 | 0 | Toyota TRD Tundra |
| 15 | 20 | 66 | Conner Jones | Americas Quarter Horse Congress/TSPORT Ford | 200 | 0 | Ford F-150 |
| 16 | 21 | 88 | Matt Crafton | Black Label Bacon/Menards Ford | 200 | 0 | Ford F-150 |
| 17 | 19 | 13 | Hailie Deegan | America's Navy Ford | 200 | 0 | Ford F-150 |
| 18 | 28 | 75 | Parker Kligerman(i) | Jack Kite Company Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 19 | 4 | 98 | Ty Majeski (P) | Road Ranger Ford | 200 | 0 | Ford F-150 |
| 20 | 15 | 61 | Jake Drew | Cyclum Truck Stops Toyota | 200 | 0 | Toyota TRD Tundra |
| 21 | 16 | 43 | Daniel Dye # | Champion Container Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 22 | 23 | 9 | Colby Howard | Grant County Mulch Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 23 | 25 | 16 | Tyler Ankrum | LiUNA! Toyota | 199 | 0 | Toyota TRD Tundra |
| 24 | 10 | 38 | Zane Smith (P) | Speedco/Delo Ford | 199 | 43 | Ford F-150 |
| 25 | 17 | 02 | Kaden Honeycutt | RANDCO Industries Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 26 | 26 | 56 | Timmy Hill | Southern Freight Services Toyota | 199 | 0 | Toyota TRD Tundra |
| 27 | 29 | 32 | Bret Holmes # | David's Electric Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 28 | 22 | 45 | Lawless Alan | AUTOChargit Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 29 | 6 | 15 | Tanner Gray | ShopTRICON.com Toyota | 198 | 0 | Toyota TRD Tundra |
| 30 | 9 | 1 | William Sawalich | Starkey/Soundgear Toyota | 197 | 0 | Toyota TRD Tundra |
| 31 | 31 | 12 | Spencer Boyd | Twang Chevrolet | 196 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 32 | 34 | 22 | Stephen Mallozzi | Outback Steakhouse Ford | 192 | 0 | Ford F-150 |
| 33 | 33 | 33 | Memphis Villarreal | Laredo Trailer Supply Ford | 191 | 0 | Ford F-150 |
| 34 | 32 | 20 | Greg Van Alst | CB Fabricating Chevrolet | 140 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 35 | 14 | 5 | Dean Thompson | Thompson Pipe Group Toyota | 14 | 0 | Toyota TRD Tundra |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
P – Playoffs eligible
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