Eckes Secures Truck Series’ Regular Season Title
Christian Eckes earned the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular season champion for the first time this year. (Nigel Kinrade/NKP photo)
RICHMOND, Va. – Christian Eckes clinched the regular season championship in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Saturday night with a steady and powerful showing.
After winning the first stage of the Clean Harbors 250 at Richmond Raceway, Eckes went on to finish second at the three-quarter-mile oval behind race winner Ty Majeski.
Coming in with a 50-point lead against chief rival Corey Heim, all Eckes needed was 10 stage points throughout the race to ensure the regular season title was his. He accomplished that right away.
“I didn’t even know [we clinched] until I got out [of the truck],” said Eckes of claiming the regular season laurels. “We really weren’t focused on that too much; we were focused on putting together a good race and having a solid result.
“We made the best of what we could and finished second.”
The 23-year-old Middletown, N.Y., native is in his seventh season of competition in NASCAR’s third-highest series, contesting his second year under the McAnally-Hilgemann Racing banner.
Eckes is on pace to have his best statistical season to date, boasting three wins, nine top-fives, 14 top-10s, and two poles, all of which are within one notch of his personal bests set just last season. The top-10 mark, in fact, is a new career high for Eckes with seven races still to go.
All of those combined efforts led to the regular season crown and rewarded Eckes and the No. 19 NAPA Auto Parts Chevy Silverado RST team with an additional 15 playoff points - the equivalent to three race wins - heading into the Round of 10.
That places him as the No. 2 seeded driver in the playoff field, just three points back of Heim in the reset standings.
It’s a strong position, even if the single-race result Saturday was a bit short of what Eckes had hoped for, but he knows that the job of completing a championship run is only just beginning.
“That was a lot of fun. It was pretty gnarly how all that unfolded, but hats off to these Instacoat guys. We got the truck better, just [were] too tight all night,” Eckes noted. “[I] didn’t have enough for the No. 98 or a couple others that were up there. Proud of the fight, but wish we’d had a little more.
“We were focused on putting together a solid race, and we did that,” he added. “It’s exciting to be the regular season champion, but it doesn't mean a thing without the ring. We still have a lot to do to get to our ultimate goal, but [this is] a good start, for sure.”
The regular season championship is the first for both Eckes and McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, which becomes the seventh organization to earn the honor in the eight years of the playoff era.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series postseason kicks off on Aug. 25 at the Milwaukee (Wis.) Mile with the LiUNA 175. Broadcast coverage is slated for 4 p.m. ET on FS1, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
