Eckes Secures Another Bristol Truck Series Pole

Christian Eckes with the pole flag at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday. (Jacob Seelman photo)

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Christian Eckes is working on a sweep of the day in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Bristol Motor Speedway.

After topping the practice charts to start the afternoon, Eckes rolled to his seventh career Cometic Gasket Pole Award during qualifying at the World’s Fastest Half Mile.

Eckes turned a lap of 15.122 seconds (126.888 mph) around the .533-mile concrete high banks with his No. 19 NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet Silverado RST.

It marked his second Bristol pole in a row. Eckes was the runner-up in last September’s Bristol Truck race.

“I told all my guys, [winning the pole] is great, but it doesn’t really mean anything,” Eckes tipped after qualifying. “Last year obviously sucked pretty bad, finishing second and losing that race … and then ultimately not making it to the Championship 4 because of it. This is a big redemption race for us, not only for the racetrack, but because our first three races really didn’t go according to plan.

“There’s a lot more work to do still. At the end of the day, we want the trophy.”

Joining Eckes on the front row is Daytona winner Nick Sanchez, whose time of 15.203 seconds (126.212 mph) with the No. 2 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado RST was roughly a tenth off the pole-winning lap.

TRICON Garage’s Taylor Gray and all-time Truck Series winner Kyle Busch, in his third of five scheduled races with Spire Motorsports, start third and fourth, respectively.

ThorSport Racing’s Ty Majeski was the fastest Ford driver on the grid in fifth, with Rajah Caruth, Zane Smith, Kaden Honeycutt, Tyler Ankrum, and Daniel Dye closing the top-10 starters.

Gridded deeper in the field are notables including Grant Enfinger (13th), Corey Heim (15th), multi-time Truck Series champions Ben Rhodes (16th) and Matt Crafton (20th), and rookie Layne Riggs (28th).

With 36 trucks on the property for 36 starting spots, all drivers in attendance made the show.

Broadcast coverage of the 250-lap WEATHER GUARD Truck Race at Bristol Motor Speedway is slated for 8 p.m. ET, live on FS1, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.