Eckes Gains Position in Standings with Resilient St. Pete Effort
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By NAPA
Christian Eckes vaulted himself back into championship contention with a stout effort at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday night. The driver of the No. 91 Columbia Bank Chevrolet Silverado RST finished fifth, earned a stage victory and scored the most points of all drivers with 48. Eckes paced the field for 132 of the 250 circuits which helped him advance to fifth in the championship standings, just 17 markers out of the lead.
The Columbia Bank Chevrolet started second after Eckes delivered his best qualifying effort of the year, narrowly missing out on the pole by 0.02 seconds. On lap three, Eckes swiftly claimed control of the event by hooking the bottom of the speedway and held a comfortable lead for 62 of 65 laps in Stage 1. He efficiently navigated lapped traffic to secure his second stage victory of the season and pocketed 10 championship points on lap 65.
In an effort to preserve critical track position, crew chief Dave Elenz elected to keep Eckes on track during the stage caution, along with most lead-lap competitors. When the race restarted on lap 79, Eckes jumped out to another lead and reported his handling had moderately improved from the first segment. He held the lead until a caution on lap 118 flipped the race’s script. Eckes pitted for four tires, as did the majority of the field, but restarted eighth on lap 128 after multiple trucks stayed out on older tires. He was able to regain two positions to run sixth by the end of Stage 2 on lap 130 and tally five points.
Eckes stayed on track to begin the final segment and restarted third on lap 142. A sequence of three cautions over the next 25 laps featured mad scrambles on restarts amongst the top four as Eckes vied to retake the lead. After briefly claiming the lead on the lap-179 restart, Eckes and the No. 1 truck made contact racing for the lead, sparking a multi-truck incident in Turn 1, which he narrowly escaped. He restarted as the leader on lap 179, but a loose balance would eventually hamper his pace over the final 27 laps. Eckes took the checkered flag in fifth for his third top-five result of the year and his second-highest point total of the season.
“It was a step in the right direction for sure,” Eckes said. “I think we led the most laps, had the fastest lap, so we’re bringing fast trucks. Qualified second. Qualifying has been kind of an issue for us for the last couple weeks. I feel like we’re heading in the right direction on there. Just need to clean up a lot of mistakes on my end. I lost the handling a little bit and track position is so important. I just screwed up the restart pretty bad and screwed up the restart before then. Lot of mental decisions I got to make better and we’ll make them at Texas.”
Start / Finish: 2 / 5
Points Standing / Total: 5th / 191 pts. (-17)
Next Race: Friday, May 1, Texas Motor Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 8:00 p.m. ET on FS1 or SiriusXM
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By NAPA
Hailie Deegan moved up to third in the points standings with a seventh-place finish in the ARCA Menards Series West 150 at Tucson Speedway. Deegan opened the ARCA Menards Series West event with the second-fastest time in practice, then backed it up with a sixth-place qualifying effort, immediately placing herself near the front of the field.
Once the race settled into extended runs on Tucson’s abrasive surface, Deegan became part of the tightly packed group navigating heavy tire wear. The field frequently ran multiple rows deep and three-wide, with minimal separation as drivers worked to balance conserving tires with maintaining track position. Early in the race, Deegan remained inside the top-10 as the pace fluctuated throughout the field.
She briefly slipped outside the top-10 while adjusting to changing balance and the evolving tire falloff, but her pace remained competitive amidst the tire conservation.
In the final segment, Deegan’s speed began to show through more clearly. After the caution with 37 laps to go, she steadily regained track position in the closing laps, reentering the top-10 and advancing forward in the final run. She ultimately secured a seventh-place finish for her second top-10 result in the first three events. Deegan marked a strong result that reflected improving long-run pace and consistency as she continues to build confidence following time away from stock car racing.
“We started out the day good ending up second in practice in my No.16 Columbia Bank Chevrolet SS,” Deegan said. “In the race, I knew managing tire wear was going to be important, and we decided to fall back to save tire for the end of the race. In the end, I think it was the right move, but we just tried to save our tires a bit too long.”
Start / Finish: 6 / 7
Points Standing / Total: 3rd / 108 pts. (-15)
Next Race: Saturday, May 2, Shasta Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 11:30 p.m. ET on
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By NAPA
Christian Eckes was building towards a top-10 run at Rockingham Speedway on Friday evening before an ill-timed caution crossed up his effort. The driver of the No. 91
link hidden, please login to view / Black’s Tire Chevrolet Silverado RST was credited with a 13th-place finish after post-race technical inspection altered the final results. Eckes sits seventh in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series (NCTS) standings after five of 18 regular season events.
Eckes made his first start at “The Rock” in the NCTS from deep in the field, 22nd, after qualifying was briefly delayed due to weather during the early afternoon. The opening 45-lap stage flew by in a flash as it ran clean and green on the one-mile track’s ultra fast pavement. The quick race pace and narrow groove made passing extraordinarily challenging as Eckes moved to 18th by the end of the first stage.
Crew chief Dave Elenz gave Eckes four tires, fuel, and an adjustment to improve his rear security during the first pit stop. The NAPA Auto Care / Black’s Tire team gained him two positions as he restarted 16th on lap 55. Eckes was able to maneuver his Chevrolet forward in the second stint up to 12th by lap 69 and maintained that position until the end of Stage 2 at lap 90.
During the second stage caution, Eckes’ team executed another four-tire pit stop with adjustments as the No. 91 restarted 13th on lap 99. Eckes held the 12th position again until a round of green flag pit stops began to unfold with less than 50 laps remaining. Elenz called Eckes to pit road for the final stop on lap 163 but an ominous caution flew on lap 166 and trapped him two laps down. Eckes took the “wave around” after the leaders pitted under the caution and lined up 16th for the day’s final restart on lap 173. He was able to dice his way through a jumbled lineup of lapped trucks to pick off two positions and crossed under the checkers in 14th. As a result of a post-race technical infraction to the No. 38 truck, Eckes was credited with a 13th-place finish.
“Tough day, for sure, Eckes said after the race.” We didn’t qualify well and that put our NAPA Auto Care / Black’s Tire Chevy behind the eight ball to start. We know we need to improve there to not make it hard on ourselves. Our balance was ok, just lacked rear security at times. We had the speed to run a lot higher but it’s so hard to pass here after the repave. We’ll go to Bristol, try to start farther towards the front and get some points back there.”
Start / Finish: 22 / 13
Points Standing / Total: 7th / 143 pts. (-47)
Next Race: Friday, April 10, Bristol Motor Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1 or SiriusXM
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By NAPA
Christian Eckes nailed down his second podium result of the season at Darlington Raceway on Friday night with a third-place finish. The driver of the No. 91 Adaptive One Calipers Chevrolet Silverado RST captured his first stage win of the season and gained three positions in the championship standings with a stellar run throughout the 200-mile event.
Eckes put on a showcase in the first 45-lap stage after taking the green flag from 16th position. He wasted no time charging towards the front, cracking the top-10 by lap nine despite firing off with a snug balance. After restarting 10th on lap 19, Eckes charged up the leaderboard and into the top five by lap 27. He steadily worked the extreme bottom line in Turns 3 and 4 to perfection to chase down the leaders and claimed the lead by lap 42. He held on to capture 10 critical points and his first stage checker of the season.
After making a four-tire pit stop under the first stage caution, Eckes restarted sixth on lap 54 and quickly returned to the top-five. Unlike the first segment, he contended with an exceedingly loose balance and a lack of rear grip. The final 30 laps of the second stage ran under green-flag conditions, and Eckes padded his point total by securing six points in fifth position at lap 90.
Crew chief Dave Elenz made a small chassis adjustment to add rear grip during the No. 91 team’s second four-tire stop of the race. Eckes restarted seventh on lap 99 and returned to pit road shortly thereafter as a quick caution allowed the field to bolt on another set of sticker tires. Eckes restarted 13th on lap 109 but rapidly returned to fifth by lap 120. He took his final set of tires under a lap 120 caution and restarted fourth on lap 128. The night concluded with two frantic, green-white-checker restarts as Eckes briefly grabbed second and took the checkered flag in third position. The result advanced him to sixth in the championship standings as he has scored three top-five finishes in three races at “The Lady in Black” with MHR.
“Just needed a little more pace,” Eckes said after the race. “Really good on a long haul, especially in Stage 1. I just kind of lost the grip level and competitiveness of that stage for the rest of the race. Overall, really proud of these Adaptive One guys. It’s been a rough stretch. To get a stage win and complete all night is definitely good.”
Start / Finish: 16 / 3
Points Standing / Total: 6th / 119 pts. (-53)
Next Race: Friday, April 3, Rockingham Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1 or SiriusXM
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By NAPA
Daniel Hemric breathed a sigh of relief after capturing his first top-10 of the season on the streets of St. Petersburg and made a massive ascent in the standings. The driver of the No. 19 Motion Industries Chevrolet Silverado RST rallied from being involved in an incident on lap 26 and drove from 24th into the top-10 during the final segment to advance 10 spots in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series standings to 19th.
Friday’s qualifying session was washed away in the Florida rain and forced Hemric to start from 34th position on Saturday under bright sunshine. Only one caution slowed the opening 20-lap stage as Hemric methodically worked his way to 21st by the end of the first segment. Kevin Bellicourt and the Motion Industries team armed Hemric with fresh tires and fuel under the subsequent three-minute stage break.
Shortly after restarting 21st, Hemric met adversity when he was pushed into an incident on the exit of Turn 8 which also included his MHR teammate Christian Eckes. Hemric pitted twice to assess damage to the nose and right side of his Chevrolet, restarted 30th on lap 31 and was scored 21st on lap 40 at the end of the segment.
Hemric restarted 20th on lap 44 but took advantage of a caution on lap 53 to pit and utilize fresh tires. The call by Bellicourt and company paid huge dividends down the stretch as the fresh rubber allowed Hemric to blitz through the field after restarting 24th on lap 56. He rapidly climbed inside the top-10 by lap 64 and took the checkered flag in eighth position for his best finish in three races this season.
“It sure feels good to get a top-10, at least get some sort of a good finish to get our season rolling,” Hemric said after the street course race. “Great to have Motion Industries on board today, Gates Hydraulics, Chevrolet. I wasn’t sure what shape we’d be in after getting in that wreck in the second stage, but the balance was pretty good and Kevin [Bellicourt] made a great call to get tires on the second-to-last caution. That really gave us a nice advantage and thought we could get even more had we caught another caution. Overall good day, good response. Glad we could gain some points and we’ll keep working towards Darlington.”
Start / Finish: 34 / 8
Points Standing / Total: 19th / 46 pts. (-106)
Next Race: Friday, March 20, Darlington Raceway
How to Watch or Listen: 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1 or SiriusXM
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