-
Welcome to Auto Parts Forum
Whether you are a veteran automotive parts guru or just someone looking for some quick auto parts advice, register today and start a new topic in our forum. Registration is free and you can even sign up with social network platforms such as Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.
Eckes Seizes Redemption with Dominant Bristol Win
-
Similar Topics
-
By NAPA
Christian Eckes reclaimed the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series points lead with a steady fourth-place result at Darlington Raceway on Friday night. The driver of the No. 19 Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet Silverado RST captured his fourth consecutive top-five finish to lead the championship standings for the second time this season. Eckes delivered a monster points night by earning 50 markers, the most of all drivers in the field, and now holds a 14-point advantage after nine races.
Eckes’ red and yellow Brownie King throwback scheme set the fastest lap in Friday afternoon’s practice session and turned in the seventh-quickest qualifying lap. The 2023 Darlington Raceway winner immediately cracked the top five on lap two when the evening’s first caution flew. He instantly jumped into a podium position on the lap six restart and began to stalk the race lead. While the balance on his Chevrolet swung free in the first segment, Eckes managed to track down the race leader in the first 45 laps. Stage 1 came to a close on lap 45 with Eckes running second and claimed nine points.
Under the first stage caution, crew chief Charles Denike brought Eckes to pit road for four tires, fuel, and a minor adjustment to secure his free balance. Eckes restarted third and took control of the runner-up position by lap 71. While he attempted to reel in the race lead in the waning laps of Stage 2, he surrendered that position to a fellow Chevrolet competitor that had fresher tires with an alternative strategy. Nevertheless, Eckes banked another eight points at the end of Stage 2 on lap 90.
Eckes pitted again under the stage caution for more of the same service, fresh tires and a small adjustment. He restarted third on lap 98 and took the lead for the first time on lap 106. As the final segment progressed, Eckes’ loose handling condition did also. The rear of his Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet progressively lost grip and caused him to lose touch with the lead. However, a caution on lap 143 reset the field for an overtime finish. With fresh tires, Eckes lined up sixth on the final restart and navigated his way through a chaotic conclusion to collect a fourth-place finish.
“At times we were good, times we weren’t,” Eckes said. “Real inconsistent as far as handling, sets of tires, everything was kind of inconsistent for us. Proud of the execution. Proud of a top-five but felt like we were probably a little more capable than that. We kind of let the balance get away from us on our Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet. On to Wilkesboro.”
Start / Finish: 7 / 4
Points Standing / Total: 1st / 387 pts.
Next Race: Saturday, May 18, North Wilkesboro Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN or SiriusXM
NAPA:
link hidden, please login to view
Christian Eckes: link hidden, please login to view
Bill McAnally Racing / McAnally-Hilgemann Racing: link hidden, please login to view The post
link hidden, please login to view appeared first on link hidden, please login to view.
link hidden, please login to view -
By NAPA
Christian Eckes continued his remarkable consistency with a third-place finish on Saturday night at Kansas Speedway for his third-straight top-five result. The driver of the No. 19 Adaptive One Calipers Chevrolet Silverado RST led twice for 11 laps en route to his sixth-straight top-10 and continued his streak of leading laps in all eight events this season. Eckes netted 50 points on the night, second-most, and sits second in what is developing into a two-horse race for the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) regular season crown.
Eckes posted the fourth-fastest single lap in Saturday morning’s practice session and qualified 10th for the 134-lap event. His patented aggression was on full display in the opening lap as he made multiple three-wide maneuvers to take the fifth position. A restart on lap seven after the race’s lone natural caution allowed him to take the fourth position and he advanced to third by lap 24. Eckes was able to pocket eight points at the end of Stage 1 on lap 30.
Crew chief Charles Denike called Eckes to pit road under the first stage caution where the No. 19 team ripped off a lightning four-tire stop to take the race lead. Eckes restarted as the race leader on lap 38 and led the field at the start of the second segment. A tight handling condition hampered Eckes’ pace, but he continued to maintain a podium position through the conclusion of Stage 2 at lap 60 to collect an additional eight points.
Denike and the No. 19 team armed Eckes with another set of tires and track bar adjustments to improve the balance during the second stage caution, and delivered another rapid pit stop to regain the lead. Eckes jumped out to a brief advantage on the lap 68 restart, but ran fourth by lap 82 due to a lingering tight condition. He made his final pit stop of the night under green on lap 96 and was able to cycle to third position by lap 103. He maintained pace with the race leader over the final 20-plus laps and took the checkered flag in third for his fourth top-five finish of the season.
“The Adaptive One Chevy was a little bit tight all day,” Eckes said. “We got it better at times, but just didn’t keep up with the racetrack enough. There’s a lot of race track changes that we just weren’t really anticipating and just couldn’t keep up with the racetrack. But still had a race-winning capable truck if we kept up with the balance. Definitely a lot to look forward to in the future here and just excited for the next couple races.”
Start / Finish: 10 / 3
Points Standing / Total: 2nd / 337 pts. (-7)
Next Race: Friday, May 10, Darlington Raceway
How to Watch or Listen: 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN or SiriusXM
NAPA:
link hidden, please login to view
Christian Eckes: link hidden, please login to view
Bill McAnally Racing / McAnally-Hilgemann Racing: link hidden, please login to view The post
link hidden, please login to view appeared first on link hidden, please login to view.
link hidden, please login to view -
By NAPA
Christian Eckes took the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series points lead on Friday night with a stout fourth-place performance at Texas Motor Speedway. The driver of the No. 19 Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet Silverado RST captured his third top-five finish of the season and scored 50 points on the night, the second-most of all drivers in the field. Eckes led 31 laps, the only driver to have led laps in each race this season, and tallied his third top-five finish in the last four events.
For the second-consecutive weekend, Eckes qualified on the front row and was a mainstay in the top five for the entire event. He settled into second at the drop of the green flag and challenged for the lead near the midway point of the opening stage. The first lead change of the night occurred when Eckes powered his Gates Hydraulics Chevy to the lead on lap 17 and paced the field for 21 circuits. He surrendered the lead on lap 38 and collected nine points at the end of Stage 1 on lap 40 while running second.
Crew chief Charles Denike brought Eckes to pit road under the stage caution for four fresh tires, fuel, and a minor air pressure adjustment to tighten his balance. Eckes restarted second on lap 47 and maintained position inside the top five for the ensuing 35-lap run. An improved handling balance and consistent lap times netted Eckes another eight points at the end of Stage 2 on lap 80 by running in third position.
Eckes was armed with another batch of fresh tires, fuel, and minor adjustments to fine-tune the handling during the second stage caution. After restarting third on lap 87, he waged war for the runner-up position and gained control of it by lap 100. He ran there until a cycle of green flag pit stops began on lap 119. Eckes made his final stop on lap 129 just before a caution waved. He was able to stay on the lead lap in fourth position and in contention for the victory. He made another fierce run for the race lead on a lap 150 and led until lap 158. During the final 10 laps, Eckes fought valiantly for one final charge at the lead but took the checkered flag in fourth position for his third top-five and sixth top-10 of the season.
“Not a bad points night,” Eckes said. “I thought we’d have a pretty good shot at the win there, but just went down into Turns 1 and 2 and got way too tight and slid up the racetrack. It is what it is. I’m proud of the No. 19 Gates Hydraulics team for making the improvements that they did. Our mile-and-a-half stuff has definitely shown a little bit of an improvement. We still have a little bit of a ways to go, but we’ll see how it goes.”
Start / Finish: 2 / 4
Points Standing / Total: 1 / 287 pts. (+2)
Next Race: Saturday, May 4, Kansas Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 8:00 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN or SiriusXM
NAPA:
link hidden, please login to view
Christian Eckes: link hidden, please login to view
Bill McAnally Racing / McAnally-Hilgemann Racing: link hidden, please login to view The post
link hidden, please login to view appeared first on link hidden, please login to view.
link hidden, please login to view -
By NAPA
Christian Eckes orchestrated complete dominance at Martinsville Speedway by sweeping both stages en route to his second victory of the season on Friday night. The driver of the No. 19 Adaptive One Calipers Chevrolet Silverado RST scored the maximum 60 points and pocketed seven playoff points to make a massive swing in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series point standings. He gained two positions to fourth in the standings and is only 11 markers out of the lead.
Eckes displayed considerable pace by positing the third-quickest lap in practice and qualified on the outside of the front row on Friday afternoon. He made a statement at the drop of the green flag by using the outside lane to take the lead on the initial start. During the first 50-lap stage, Eckes methodically paced the field and asserted his dominance. Following a restart on lap 37, Eckes pulled away to comfortably take the Stage 1 win along with 10 points and one playoff bonus point.
Crew chief Charles Denike kept Eckes on track to maintain the No. 19 team’s track position and set up a one-stop strategy. Eckes picked up where he left off in Stage 1 on the lap 61 restart. He jumped out to another quick lead and cleanly executed two additional restarts during the second stage to tally 10 points and a second playoff bonus point for leading at lap 100. Under the ensuing stage caution, Denike brought Eckes to pit road for his only four-tire pit stop of the evening and made a minor air pressure adjustment.
As several trucks stayed on track with alternative pit strategies, Eckes lined up 19th on lap 110. During the second half of the race, Eckes conducted a masterclass in slicing through traffic. It only took him 11 laps to crack the top-10 and was back inside the top five by lap 142. On lap 165, Eckes arrived on the doorstep of the lead and took the runner-up position. Shortly thereafter, he reclaimed the lead with a power move on the outside for the second time on the night. Two cautions over the final 23 laps forced Eckes to execute crucial restarts to defend the race lead, which he did with complete authority. He led the final three-lap dash to the checkered flag and captured his first Martinsville win and grandfather clock by a margin of 0.64 seconds.
“Something really special,” Eckes said of the victory. “It hasn’t been an easy regular season so far, to say the least. We came here and we weren’t that great last year, maybe a sixth-place truck. We worked really hard on it and here we are in victory lane. So, just super proud of everyone on this team. Huge thanks to Adaptive One Calipers, NAPA Auto Care, Gates Hydraulics, all of our partners, and Chevrolet. It’s a good day to be in victory lane. Can’t wait for that clock!”
Start / Finish: 2 / 1
Points Standing / Total: 4th / 237 pts. (-11)
Next Race: Friday, April 12, Texas Motor Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN or SiriusXM
NAPA:
link hidden, please login to view
Christian Eckes: link hidden, please login to view
Bill McAnally Racing / McAnally-Hilgemann Racing: link hidden, please login to view The post
link hidden, please login to view appeared first on link hidden, please login to view.
link hidden, please login to view 
-
By NAPA
Christian Eckes put on a furious rally on an overtime restart to capture an eighth-place finish on Saturday afternoon at Circuit of the Americas (COTA). The driver of the No. 19
link hidden, please login to view Chevrolet Silverado RST had an eventful, up-and-down afternoon but showcased his resilience by rebounding from two penalties to record his second top-10 result at COTA. After qualifying 10th on Friday afternoon, Eckes was forced to start at the tail of the field after the NAPA Auto Care team changed transmissions before the race. The New Yorker was undeterred by starting shotgun and rocketed to 14th on the opening lap. An early caution on lap three helped Eckes continue his rapid run to the front on a lap six restart when he cracked the top 10. He maintained his top-five position at the end of Stage 1 on lap 12 to collect six points in fifth position.
Crew chief Charles Denike brought Eckes to pit road for four tires, fuel, and a small adjustment under the first stage caution. Eckes restarted 11th on lap 15 as several trucks stayed on track. He immediately climbed into fifth on lap 18 and took advantage of an impending caution to pit on lap 21 before the yellow flag flew. However, Eckes was nabbed with a penalty for exceeding track limits and was sent to the tail of the field. He restarted 23rd on lap 24 and hustled his way to close Stage 2 in 12th on lap 26.
During the second stage caution, Eckes stayed on track to inherit track position and restarted eighth on lap 29. While running sixth on lap 30, Eckes incurred another track limit violation and ran 26th after serving the penalty under green. With the aid of a caution on lap 38, he restarted 10th on lap 40, but spun at the top of Turn 1 on lap 41. Denike and the NAPA Auto Care team gave Eckes four tires for the two-lap overtime as he restarted 22nd on lap 45 with two laps to go. As the OT green flag dropped, Eckes went on an all-out rampage, slicing through the field in the final two laps to take the checkered flag in eighth position.
“We came from the back at least four times today and felt like we were a top-three truck,” Eckes said. “Our NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet was pretty well balanced but just had too many mistakes on my part. Our team did a great job responding from it to get back to eighth at the end.”
Start / Finish: 10 / 8
Points Standing / Total: 6th / 177 pts. (-30)
Next Race: Friday, April 15, Martinsville Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: FS1, MRN or SiriusXM
NAPA:
link hidden, please login to view
Christian Eckes: link hidden, please login to view
Bill McAnally Racing / McAnally-Hilgemann Racing: link hidden, please login to view The post
link hidden, please login to view appeared first on link hidden, please login to view.
link hidden, please login to view
-
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.