Eckert Steals Darlington Win in Overtime

The second of four playoff races for the TNR Grand National Series sponsored by Schue Lawn Service was Darlington. The Boston Hot Sauce Festival 155 presented by Tabletop Trio seemed to be the calm race many playoff drivers wanted. But in the last two laps of the race, it became the chaotic race many playoff drivers needed.

The race was dominated by Tristan Maher and Jason Gracias. They combined to lead 74 laps in a race that would run 99 laps (only 90 were scheduled). With two laps to go in the race, Maher looked as if he would drive away to a five second win over Gracias, but that would not be the case. Contact on the front straightaway between Mike Tellier and James Lorello resulted in a caution that would send the race into overtime. Shane Ewing stayed out on old tires and jumped out to a massive lead on the first overtime restart, but another caution involving Jason Gracias and Philip Scott put the race back under yellow. On the second and final restart, Maher and Ewing made contact battling for the lead in turn three, allowing Johnny Eckert to slide by and win the race. Mike Tellier won the Tabletop Trio 90's throwback paint scheme contest.

Tristan Maher led the most laps with 38, followed closely by Jason Gracias with 34 laps led. Shane Ewing picked up 16 laps led, Chuck Sweeting led three, Jake Bustos and Philip Scott two, and race winner Johnny Eckert led four laps. Philip Scott maintains his points lead over Bill Edwards now by 11 points. With his win, Johnny Eckert jumped from 9th to 3rd in the playoff points, now 25 points behind Scott. With only two races remaining, Bristol and Las Vegas, all eyes shift to the Dunay Jewelers 200 to see who will set themselves up to win a championship as the season heads to a conclusion.