Cautions, restarts, retribution, further laps and excessive motion marked Friday evening’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Collection Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. And that was simply the ultimate 50 laps.

Ultimately, ThorSport Racing’s Ben Rhodes claimed his second sequence championship within the final three years with a hard-earned fifth-place end within the No. 99 Ford whereas McAnally Hilgemann Racing’s Christian Eckes raced to his fourth win of the season by a slight 0.421s over rookie teammate Jake Garcia in 4 dramatic additional time intervals.

That’s the conclusion to a night that featured 12 warning intervals, 29 laps of additional time competitors and loads of high-stakes racing – particularly among the many 4 championship contenders that earned an opportunity to settle the season title.

Maybe indicative of the evening, Rhodes’ end and supreme trophy haul wasn’t safe till the checkered flag with championship runner-up Grant Enfinger giving it his all within the No. 23 GMS Racing Chevrolet coming off Flip 4 in an all-out pursuit to the very finish.

Each Rhodes and Enfinger had survived shut calls within the additional time laps. Rhodes collided with Zane Smith racing for the lead – hitting Smith’s truck when it appeared Smith missed a shift out entrance within the second additional time restart. Enfinger had shut calls in two of the 4 extra-lap intervals and nonetheless was in a position to pull off that ultimate push ahead; finally ending one place behind Rhodes within the standings.

The championship comes all the way down to the ultimate nook! @benrhodes holds off @GrantEnfinger to win all of it! pic.twitter.com/d42WlXJ9SD

— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Vans (@NASCAR_Trucks) November 4, 2023

The common season champion and race polesitter Corey Heim completed 18th after contact from fellow Championship 4 driver Carson Hocevar with 30 laps of regulation remaining within the scheduled 150-lap race.

“I can’t even imagine it,” the 26-year-old Kentucky native Rhodes stated of his dramatic title win. “It’s simply so superior, man. To go 25 laps into additional time, have you learnt what that appears like? It’s loopy. I didn’t assume we have been going to make it. I believed we have been going to pop a tire, that something that might have gone incorrect was going to go incorrect.

“Grant virtually received me. However hats off to him, he ran an incredible race. I wouldn’t need to race towards anyone else for the championship. He raced me clear, and I respect the heck out of him for it.”

“I noticed him,” Rhodes stated of Enfinger’s ultimate push ahead within the final nook. “He went for every thing, however he ran me clear, and I thank him for that. That’s what these championships are all about.”

Enfinger, whose GMS Racing group is closing store on the finish of the season, was particularly gutted to come back so very near his first championship.

“I don’t know,” Enfinger stated of doing something in a different way on that final lap.

“Clearly we received unfastened there on the finish,” he continued. “Possibly if he didn’t have such run down the backstretch, we’d be capable of make that go. It’s a disgrace the championship got here all the way down to a race like that with 15 green-white-checkers or no matter it was. I really feel like we did every thing we might to win this and simply received used up.”

The opposite two championship contenders, Heim and Hocevar had a extra contentious state of affairs on-track. Heim, whose 47 laps out entrance within the No. 11 TRICON Storage Toyota have been second most laps led on the evening, was truly main the championship-eligible drivers when Hocevar hit him going into Flip 2 with 30 laps remaining. The contact despatched Heim’s Toyota into Stewart Friesen’s Toyota which hit the wall and introduced out a warning. Hocevar continued on and Heim needed to pit for repairs and went down a lap.

Heim considered the hit as intentional and later within the race, collided with Hocevar, bringing out one other warning interval. Heim insisted his automobile simply wasn’t steering correctly on the time, whereas Hocevar stated he had totally anticipated the payback. It was sufficient to sideline Hocevar’s No. 42 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet which was credited with a Twenty ninth-place end from the storage.

“My solely purpose was to strive sluggish him down,” Hocevar stated. “I didn’t need to do this in any respect. With my observe file, I can’t sit right here and say I didn’t imply to. I simply tousled. I used to be attempting actually onerous to sluggish him up and simply messed it up.

“I really feel dangerous I robbed him of that and really feel sorry for that,” an apologetic Hocevar added of Heim’s championship probabilities. “I simply tousled.”

The 21-year-old Heim had a streak of 15 consecutive top-10 finishes coming into the race and was thought of the favourite by many. He had three wins on the season in solely his first fulltime yr of competitors.

“It was an incredible yr, an exceptional yr for us and our worst end in like six months,” a disillusioned Heim stated. “Actually put collectively race and actually hoped the fellows would race clear. I had a variety of respect for everyone within the discipline, however clearly I don’t anymore. It’s what it’s; it’s a part of racing.”

As for the later contact with Hocevar, Heim stated it was purely coincidental.

“It wasn’t retaliation,” he stated. “I had no facet pressure; he put it on my door, and I wrecked [into him].

“I’ve been racing Carson for a very long time. Racing since I used to be eight or 9 years previous,” Heim stated later. “That’s sort of simply what he does. He’ll wreck you and apologize and do it once more the subsequent week. In order that’s not going to be the final time he does it and definitely [wasn’t] the primary time he’d performed it. I’ve recognized him for a very long time. … it’s what it’s. I fully anticipated it.”

As for his victory, the 22-year-old Eckes tried to reconcile the championship race win with having simply been eradicated from Playoff competition. He had a win (at Kansas) and a pair of runner-up finishes (Indianapolis Raceway Park and Bristol, Tenn.) throughout the Playoff stretch however was eradicated after completed of nineteenth and twentieth within the two races main into the championship finale.

“These two races that killed the entire Playoffs just about and that’s simply sort of the character of it,” Eckes stated. “I didn’t do my job final week and actually the week earlier than both.

“That will get us out and that places us on this state of affairs, however it’s motivating for subsequent yr and it was motivating for this race too.

“This one sort of stings, I do know it’s a win, however the silly errors the final two weeks of a close to excellent Playoffs value us a championship,” Eckes added.

“It’s sort of onerous to be completely happy proper now, however total, simply tremendous pleased with everyone for the yr that we’ve had and simply prepared for 2024.

Chase Purdy, Jesse Love and Rhodes rounded out the highest 5. Enfinger, Dean Thompson, Kaden Honeycutt, Tanner Grey and Nick Sanchez accomplished the highest 10. It was a profession greatest end for the runner-up Garcia in addition to Love and Honeycutt.

RESULTS