"Not what this team deserves": Christian Eckes defends his havoc-wreaking Martinsville move that 'pissed off' people

After a dramatic Truck Series win at the Martinsville Speedway, Christian Eckes defended his late-race move that kicked out Taylor Gray from a potential Championship 4 spot. The latter entered the Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 Race in a must-win situation and was a few laps away from tasting victory; however, the McAnally-Hilgemann Racing rival didn't let that happen.

Following the Lap 196 restart, Tricon Garage's Gray, with 40 laps fresher tires than Eckes, drove past the latter. The lead was shortlived as the #19 Chevy driver retook the front spot by nudging the former up the track, resulting in multiple track positions lost. Gray finished in fourth and got kicked out of the playoffs.

On the other hand, by sidelining Gray and then Ben Rhodes on Lap 198, Christian Eckes cleared the path for his fourth NASCAR victory this season. He led 187 laps and cherished a comfortable margin of 1.191 over Rhodes, who settled for second.

Following the explosive race, the winner was asked about his closing lap move, which saw Taylor Gray and Ben Rhodes get wrecked out of the way. Eckes replied (via SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

"I couldn't lose there, the truck was so good that I wasn't gonna let these guys down. He (Gray) had a tire advantage obviously and that was the reason that he was there. Like I said I wasn't gonna lose because that's not what this team deserves. Definitely some pissed off people after today but at the same time you know, just happy to be in the victory lane, and hopefully they understand that it's just Martinsville here sooner or later," Eckes said (0:39).

Gray confronted Eckes about his move on track and went to warn his rival of repercussions for the same moving forward.

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"What goes around comes around": Taylor Gray slammed Christian Eckes for robbing him of a potential win

Taylor Gray started third and finished the first stage in fourth place. He kept himself among the frontrunners but drastically fell in the second stage, finishing 13th. He was in a must-win situation, Gray and Tricon Garage devised a new strategy to keep the #17 Toyota upfront.

The decision paid off massively and Gray found himself battling for the lead against Christian Eckes. However, moments after taking the lead, the unwanted happened and the former lost his title fight before the race was completed.

Frustrated by the rival's acts, Gray, who will race for JGR next season, bumped into Christian Eckes' rear during the cooldown lap and blasted McAnally-Hilgemann Racing for driving him into the fence.

"I got sent to the fence when I raced him perfectly clean in (Turns) 1 and 2. What goes around comes around. I have to race him next year all year long. The 19 (Eckes) was the class of the field, right? But it’s not my fault we had better strategy than he did. We came out on tires; we drove through the field and we drove to him. I raced him clean, and he drove me in the fence. I guess the only thing I could have done is wreck him like he wrecked me,” Gray said via NASCAR.

It's worth mentioning that Taylor Gray doesn't have a title to lose, and considering his harsh words against Christian Eckes, things could take an unexpected turn at the finale at Phoenix Raceway.