Tag: Christian Eckes

Christian Eckes wins the Truck Series race at Martinsville, full results and race recap

Christian Eckes wins the NASCAR Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway. Check out the full results and race recap from Martinsville!

The NASCAR Truck Series arrived at Martinsville Speedway for its second short-track race of the 2024 season. Corey Heim recently won at Circuit of the Americas and figured to be one of the favorites to win at Martinsville. However, it was a McAnally-Hilgemann Racing driver that stole the show on Friday night,

[autotag]Christian Eckes[/autotag] won the Truck Series race at Martinsville on Friday night. It was Eckes’ second win of the 2024 season, and he became the first driver with more than one victory. The driver of the No. 19 truck not only won the event, he swept it. Eckes won Stages 1 and 2 and drove through the field on fresher tires at night’s end.

No one was beating Eckes at Martinsville, as he firmly established himself as the best short track driver in the Truck Series. Now, Eckes will look to make it three wins as the Truck Series goes to Texas Motor Speedway next weekend.

Long John Silver’s 200 finishing order:

  1. No. 19 Christian Eckes
  2. No. 98 Ty Majeski
  3. No. 77 Chase Purdy
  4. No. 2 Nick Sanchez
  5. No. 18 Tyler Ankrum
  6. No. 17 Taylor Gray
  7. No. 71 Rajah Caruth
  8. No. 7 Sammy Smith
  9. No. 45 Kaden Honeycutt
  10. No. 11 Corey Heim
  11. No. 02 Mason Massey
  12. No. 88 Matt Crafton
  13. No. 43 Daniel Dye
  14. No. 99 Ben Rhodes
  15. No. 38 Layne Riggs
  16. No. 15 Tanner Gray
  17. No. 41 Bayley Currey
  18. No. 91 Jack Wood
  19. No. 52 Stewart Friesen
  20. No. 56 Timmy Hill
  21. No. 13 Jake Garcia
  22. No. 9 Grant Enfinger
  23. No. 25 Ty Dillon
  24. No. 32 Bret Holmes
  25. No. 76 Spencer Boyd
  26. No. 1 William Sawalich
  27. No. 46 Thad Moffitt
  28. No. 22 Stephen Mallozzi
  29. No. 42 Matt Mills
  30. No. 66 Cam Waters
  31. No. 33 Lawless Alan
  32. No. 90 Justin S Carroll
  33. No. 33 Dean Thompson
  34. No. 20 Blake Lothian

Christian Eckes wins the Truck Series race at Bristol, full results and race recap

Christian Eckes wins the NASCAR Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Check out the full results and race recap from Bristol!

The NASCAR Truck Series arrived at Bristol Motor Speedway for its first short track race of the 2024 season after Nick Sanchez, Kyle Busch, and Rajah Caruth started the new campaign with victories. It was a fun and exciting night at Bristol; however, the race was about redemption for one specific driver.

[autotag]Christian Eckes[/autotag] held off a hard-charging Busch in the final laps to secure the victory in the Truck Series race at Bristol. Eckes’ victory is redemption after he lost the race to Corey Heim in the closing laps at Bristol in 2023. The McAnally-Hilgemann Racing driver’s loss meant he eventually missed the Championship 4. Busch won Stages 1 and 2 but didn’t have enough.

It is an accomplishment to beat Busch at Bristol, and Eckes needed it after a rough start to the 2024 season. The No. 19 team has shown speed, but unfortunate luck has plagued the organization. Now, Eckes can focus on winning races and earning playoff points until the playoffs.

Weather Guard Truck Race finishing order:

  1. No. 19 Christian Eckes
  2. No. 7 Kyle Busch
  3. No. 91 Zane Smith
  4. No. 88 Matt Crafton
  5. No. 18 Tyler Ankrum
  6. No. 11 Corey Heim
  7. No. 17 Taylor Gray
  8. No. 71 Rajah Caruth
  9. No. 9 Grant Enfinger
  10. No. 38 Layne Riggs
  11. No. 41 Bayley Currey
  12. No. 45 Kaden Honeycutt
  13. No. 43 Daniel Dye
  14. No. 13 Jake Garcia
  15. No. 15 Tanner Gray
  16. No. 99 Ben Rhodes
  17. No. 2 Nick Sanchez
  18. No. 75 Stefan Parsons
  19. No. 66 Conner Jones
  20. No. 25 Ty Dillon
  21. No. 1 William Sawalich
  22. No. 52 Stewart Friesen
  23. No. 5 Dean Thompson
  24. No. 56 Timmy Hill
  25. No. 42 Matt Mills
  26. No. 46 Thad Moffitt
  27. No. 33 Lawless Alan
  28. No. 02 Mason Massey
  29. No. 21 Mason Maggio
  30. No. 76 Spencer Boyd
  31. No. 32 Bret Holmes
  32. No. 22 Keith McGee
  33. No. 77 Chase Purdy
  34. No. 98 Ty Majeski
  35. No. 14 Trey Hutchens III
  36. No. 90 Justin S Carroll

Eckes finds redemption with Truck Series win at Bristol

Sometimes a victory tastes sweetest when it comes as a chaser for a bitter defeat. That was certainly the case for pole winner Christian Eckes, who held off Kyle Busch in the closing laps to win Saturday night’s Weather Guard Truck Race at Bristol …

Sometimes a victory tastes sweetest when it comes as a chaser for a bitter defeat.

That was certainly the case for pole winner Christian Eckes, who held off Kyle Busch in the closing laps to win Saturday night’s Weather Guard Truck Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

In last year’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoff race at Bristol, Eckes gave up the lead to Corey Heim with six laps left and finished second by 0.218s.

The loss cost Eckes, who led 150 laps in that event, a berth in the Championship 4 at Phoenix, where his victory in the season finale gave him a consolation prize but not a title.

On Saturday night, Eckes passed Busch for the lead on lap 159 and held it for the final 92 circuits as Busch made a frenetic charge that fell just short. In traffic, Eckes crossed the finish line 0.141s ahead of the career Truck Series victory leader.

“Oh, man, it’s so sweet,” said Eckes, who won for the first time this season, the first time at Bristol and the sixth time in his career. “There’s just so much behind this win from last year, missing out on the Championship 4 and losing the race with [six] to go.

 

“To come back and redeem ourselves was our number one goal, and not only that, but the first three races [of this season], how terribly they’ve gone. We had a lot of issues, and to come back and run really good just shows the resilience of the team.”

By putting his No. 19 McAnally Hilgemann Racing Silverado in Victory Lane, Eckes extended Chevrolet’s 2024 Truck Series winning streak to four races.

Under the sixth and final caution, which slowed Busch’s pursuit for eight laps, Busch radioed to his team, “We’re a second-place truck, maybe third.”

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But that didn’t prevent Busch from charging after Eckes after a restart on lap 227 of 250. As the run progressed, Busch cut into Eckes’ lead, which had grown to more than one second, and closed to his back bumper by the time Eckes crossed the finish line.

“The crazy part about it is, we fought loose all through practice, all through qualifying, all through the beginning part of the race on older date codes,” Busch said. “Then we put on the newer date codes of tires and were instantly tight. So just not being able to prepare and practice on what you expect to race on hurt us.

“We tightened up all day, and obviously I don’t think we were as tight as the 19 (Eckes) at the end but, you know, just track position. I let him go early in that run to just go burn his stuff off and track position at the end, just aero effects… Didn’t have enough rubber on the road to outduel him.”

Zane Smith finished third in the first race of a double-duty weekend. Three-time series champion Matt Crafton was fourth after joining Eckes and Busch in a three-way battle for the lead before the final caution for a shunt involving Stewart Friesen and Nick Sanchez on lap 219.

Series leader Tyler Ankrum was fifth, extending his margin over second-place Corey Heim to 17 points. Heim finished sixth, followed by Taylor Gray, Rajah Caruth, Grant Enfinger and Sunoco rookie Layne Riggs.

RESULTS

Rhodes edges Enfinger for Truck Series title as Eckes wins at Phoenix

Cautions, restarts, retribution, extra laps and high action marked Friday night’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. And that was just the final 50 laps. In the end, ThorSport Racing’s Ben Rhodes claimed his second …

Cautions, restarts, retribution, extra laps and high action marked Friday night’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. And that was just the final 50 laps.

In the end, ThorSport Racing’s Ben Rhodes claimed his second series championship in the last three years with a hard-earned fifth-place finish in the No. 99 Ford while McAnally Hilgemann Racing’s Christian Eckes raced to his fourth win of the season by a slight 0.421s over rookie teammate Jake Garcia in four dramatic overtime periods.

That’s the conclusion to an evening that featured 12 caution periods, 29 laps of overtime competition and plenty of high-stakes racing – especially among the four championship contenders that earned a chance to settle the season title.

Perhaps indicative of the night, Rhodes’ finish and ultimate trophy haul wasn’t secure until the checkered flag with championship runner-up Grant Enfinger giving it his all in the No. 23 GMS Racing Chevrolet coming off Turn 4 in an all-out pursuit to the very end.

Both Rhodes and Enfinger had survived close calls in the overtime laps. Rhodes collided with Zane Smith racing for the lead – hitting Smith’s truck when it appeared Smith missed a shift out front in the second overtime restart. Enfinger had close calls in two of the four extra-lap periods and still was able to pull off that final push forward; ultimately finishing one position behind Rhodes in the standings.

 

The regular season champion and race polesitter Corey Heim finished 18th after contact from fellow Championship 4 driver Carson Hocevar with 30 laps of regulation remaining in the scheduled 150-lap race.

“I can’t even believe it,” the 26-year-old Kentucky native Rhodes said of his dramatic title win. “It’s just so awesome, man. To go 25 laps into overtime, do you know what that feels like? It’s crazy. I didn’t think we were going to make it. I thought we were going to pop a tire, that anything that could have gone wrong was going to go wrong.

“Grant almost got me. But hats off to him, he ran a great race. I wouldn’t want to race against anybody else for the championship. He raced me clean, and I respect the heck out of him for it.”

“I saw him,” Rhodes said of Enfinger’s final push forward in the last corner. “He went for everything, but he ran me clean, and I thank him for that. That’s what these championships are all about.”

Enfinger, whose GMS Racing team is closing shop at the end of the season, was especially gutted to come so very close to his first championship.

“I don’t know,” Enfinger said of doing anything differently on that last lap.

“Obviously we got loose there at the end,” he continued. “Maybe if he didn’t have such a good run down the backstretch, we’d be able to make that pass. It’s a shame the championship came down to a race like that with 15 green-white-checkers or whatever it was. I feel like we did everything we could to win this and just got used up.”

The other two championship contenders, Heim and Hocevar had a more contentious situation on-track. Heim, whose 47 laps out front in the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota were second most laps led on the night, was actually leading the championship-eligible drivers when Hocevar hit him going into Turn 2 with 30 laps remaining. The contact sent Heim’s Toyota into Stewart Friesen’s Toyota which hit the wall and brought out a caution. Hocevar continued on and Heim had to pit for repairs and went down a lap.

Heim viewed the hit as intentional and later in the race, collided with Hocevar, bringing out another caution period. Heim insisted his car just wasn’t steering properly at the time, while Hocevar said he had fully expected the payback. It was enough to sideline Hocevar’s No. 42 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet which was credited with a 29th-place finish from the garage.

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“My only goal was to try slow him down,” Hocevar said. “I didn’t want to do that at all. With my track record, I can’t sit here and say I didn’t mean to. I just messed up. I was trying really hard to slow him up and just messed it up.

“I feel bad I robbed him of that and feel sorry for that,” an apologetic Hocevar added of Heim’s championship chances. “I just messed up.”

The 21-year-old Heim had a streak of 15 consecutive top-10 finishes coming into the race and was considered the favorite by many. He had three wins on the season in only his first fulltime year of competition.

“It was a great year, a phenomenal year for us and our worst finish in like six months,” a disappointed Heim said. “Really put together a good race and really hoped the guys would race clean. I had a lot of respect for everybody in the field, but clearly I don’t anymore. It is what it is; it’s part of racing.”

As for the later contact with Hocevar, Heim said it was purely coincidental.

“It wasn’t retaliation,” he said. “I had no side force; he put it on my door, and I wrecked [into him].

“I’ve been racing Carson for a long time. Racing since I was eight or nine years old,” Heim said later. “That’s kind of just what he does. He’ll wreck you and apologize and do it again the next week. So that’s not going to be the last time he does it and certainly [wasn’t] the first time he’d done it. I’ve known him for a long time. … it is what it is. I completely expected it.”

As for his victory, the 22-year-old Eckes tried to reconcile the championship race win with having just been eliminated from Playoff contention. He had a win (at Kansas) and a pair of runner-up finishes (Indianapolis Raceway Park and Bristol, Tenn.) during the Playoff stretch but was eliminated after finished of 19th and 20th in the two races leading into the championship finale.

“Those two races that killed the whole Playoffs pretty much and that’s just kind of the nature of it,” Eckes said. “I didn’t do my job last week and really the week before either.

“That gets us out and that puts us in this situation, but it’s motivating for next year and it was motivating for this race too.

“This one kind of stings, I know it’s a win, but the stupid mistakes the last two weeks of a near perfect Playoffs cost us a championship,” Eckes added.

“It’s kind of hard to be happy right now, but overall, just super proud of everybody for the year that we’ve had and just ready for 2024.

Chase Purdy, Jesse Love and Rhodes rounded out the top five. Enfinger, Dean Thompson, Kaden Honeycutt, Tanner Gray and Nick Sanchez completed the top 10. It was a career best finish for the runner-up Garcia as well as Love and Honeycutt.

RESULTS

Christian Eckes returning to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing in Truck Series for 2024

McAnally-Hilgemann Racing announced on Wednesday morning that Christian Eckes will return to the No. 19 truck for the 2024 NASCAR season.

[autotag]McAnally-Hilgemann Racing[/autotag] announced on Wednesday morning that [autotag]Christian Eckes[/autotag] will return to the No. 19 truck for the 2024 NASCAR Truck Series season. Eckes has experienced a breakthrough season with three victories and currently sits in a position to make the Championship 4 with the Round of 8 finale this weekend.

The driver of the No. 19 truck will have a new teammate as Daniel Dye comes to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing while Jake Garcia will pursue a new opportunity in 2024. Eckes will also have crew chief Charles Denike return as the partnership continues to gain chemistry. The No. 19 truck will continue to be sponsored by NAPA Auto Parts.

Overall, this is a great move for both Eckes and McAnally-Hilgemann Racing as the two pursue their first Truck Series championship. Due to Eckes’ success, he likely won’t be in the Truck Series for the long-term future but another opportunity to build on the 2023 NASCAR season is one that both sides couldn’t refuse.

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3 candidates for Richard Childress Racing in NASCAR Xfinity Series for 2024

Richard Childress Racing needs to replace Sheldon Creed in the No. 2 car so here are three good candidates for the seat in 2024!

It was announced on Wednesday evening that Sheldon Creed won’t return to Richard Childress Racing for the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series season. Creed’s departure is a shocking announcement that creates an opening for one of the best teams in the Xfinity Series. So, which three drivers would make the most sense for Richard Childress Racing next year?

[autotag]Christian Eckes[/autotag] is the obvious choice as he has done very well in the NASCAR Truck Series with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing. Eckes has three wins in 2023 and sits in a position to make the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway. The driver of the No. 19 truck would be the best option for a promotion in the Truck Series and Richard Childress Racing could be the team.

[autotag]Rajah Caruth[/autotag] would be another solid option for Richard Childress Racing as he has turned some heads over the last few years. Caruth runs full-time for GMS Racing in the Truck Series but needs a ride for 2024 with the team ceasing operations. The driver of the No. 24 truck will drive for Hendrick Motorsports in the Xfinity Series at Phoenix so teams certainly recognize his talent.

Finally, [autotag]Parker Retzlaff[/autotag] would be a sleeper in the sweepstakes for the No. 2 car in 2024. Retzlaff currently drives the No. 31 Xfinity car for Jordan Anderson Racing in the Xfinity Series and has six top-10 finishes this season. the 20-year-old driver could receive his best opportunity in NASCAR to this point and he would certainly put his talent on display after an impressive 2023 season.

Eckes, Caruth, and Retzlaff would all be very good options for Richard Childress Racing if the team is focused on replacing Creed with a young talented driver. If not, the organization could shift its focus to a veteran, such as Jeffrey Earnhardt or Ty Dillon. Either way, there should be plenty of options for Richard Childress Racing with its No. 2 Xfinity car.

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Eckes wins after wild three-wide Truck Series battle at Kansas

Christian Eckes grabbed the lead on the final restart and stole a victory in Friday night’s Kansas Lottery 200, the Round of 10 elimination race in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. In a three-wide battle for the lead against Corey Heim and Zane …

Christian Eckes grabbed the lead on the final restart and stole a victory in Friday night’s Kansas Lottery 200, the Round of 10 elimination race in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.

In a three-wide battle for the lead against Corey Heim and Zane Smith, Eckes led only the final two laps to secure his third victory of the season, his first at Kansas Speedway and the fourth of his career.

In a last-lap scramble that saw Smith get loose, turn sideways and fade to fifth, Taylor Gray finished second, 0.363s behind Eckes. Matt DiBenedetto ran third in a valiant effort to earn a berth in the Round of 8.

But with Ben Rhodes finishing 25th after securing a total of 11 points in the first two stages, Rhodes claimed the final spot in the next round by five points over DiBenedetto.

DiBenedetto is out of his ride at the end of the year, too, having announced that he has decided not to return to the No. 25 Rackley W.A.R. Chevrolet next season. DiBenedetto added that he is looking for opportunities in all three of NASCAR’s national series.

Also eliminated from the Playoffs was Matt Crafton, who had to go to a backup truck after running over debris and wrecking in practice earlier in the day. Crafton’s No. 88 Ford slapped the wall on lap 69 of Friday’s race, and after attempted repairs, he finished 33rd, nine laps down and 11 points out of the Round of 8.

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Heim, who finished fourth, had the lead when the trucks of Rajah Caruth and Tanner Gray collided on the frontstretch on lap 127 to cause the fifth and final caution.

“That was wild,” Eckes said after climbing from his truck. “I didn’t know if I was going to win it or not. We had a sixth-place truck all day, but when that caution came out, I knew we had a shot at it, and here we are.

“We haven’t won in a real long time—so I wanted to set a tone. Went all the way to the Round of 10—second, third, first (in the first three Playoff races). Can’t beat that. Proud of all these guys.”

DiBenedetto would have advanced with a victory but came up two positions short.

“Honestly this team fought so hard, worked their tail off to give me a good-looking truck and a good-handling truck all night,” DiBenedetto said. “Man, we made the most of it, for sure. Just so thankful for these guys and (sponsor) Rackley Roofing.”

Carson Hocevar came home sixth, followed by Stewart Friesen and Nick Sanchez, who took the lead from pole winner Chase Purdy and won the first 30-lap stage wire-to-wire. Hocevar edged Sanches for the Stage 2 win.

Seventeenth-place finisher Grant Enfinger and 18th-place Ty Majeski already had earned spots in the Round of 8 with victories in the first two Playoff races, and Eckes and Heim already were in on points. Hocevar clinched his place in the next round with a ninth-place result in Stage 1, with Smith, Sanchez and Rhodes advancing on points on Friday night.

Sanchez led a race-high 43 laps, followed by Heim with 40 and Hocevar with 32.

RESULTS

Christian Eckes wins Truck Series playoff race at Kansas in thrilling fashion

Christian Eckes wins the NASCAR Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway in thrilling fashion to close out the Round of 10.

The NASCAR Truck Series always puts on a show at Kansas Speedway and Friday night was not any different. It was another race with a late-race restart as the field took the green flag with two laps to go. Zane Smith, Corey Heim, and [autotag]Christian Eckes[/autotag] had a wicked two-lap battle while three wide. Unfortunately for Smith and Heim, they didn’t cross the line first.

Eckes seized the day for his third Truck Series victory of the 2023 NASCAR season. The driver of the No. 19 truck already clinched a spot in the Round of 8 but this solidifies his status as a championship contender. Meanwhile, Matt DiBenedetto and Matt Crafton failed to make the Round of 8 after not earning enough points compared to Ben Rhodes.

The Truck Series now goes to Bristol Motor Speedway next week for the first race of the Round of 8. It will be wild as eight drivers look to clinch a spot in the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway.

Kansas Lottery 200 top-10 finishing order:

  1. No. 19 Christian Eckes
  2. No. 17 Taylor Gray
  3. No. 25 Matt DiBenedetto
  4. No. 11 Corey Heim
  5. No. 38 Zane Smith
  6. No. 42 Carson Hocevar
  7. No. 52 Stewart Friesen
  8. No. 2 Nick Sanchez
  9. No. 1 Jesse Love
  10. No. 16 Tyler Ankrum

JR Motorsports should consider these drivers in the Xfinity Series for 2024

JR Motorsports should be interested in these drivers for the NASCAR Xfinity Series starting in 2024.

[autotag]JR Motorsports[/autotag] is one of the powerhouse organizations in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and their success during the 2022 season is the greatest example. While the race team didn’t win the title, three of its four drivers were in the fight at the Championship 4 event in Phoenix, AZ.

During the 2023 season, JR Motorsports has not been on the same level. Sam Mayer, Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, and Brandon Jones have only combined for two wins. Plus, the organization is set to lose Berry to the NASCAR Cup Series as Stewart-Haas Racing has given him the opportunity to replace Kevin Harvick in the No. 4 car. So, which drivers would be good replacements in the No. 8 car to bring the team back to the top?

[autotag]Carson Hocevar[/autotag] is one of the top drivers that people will mention for JR Motorsports; however, Hocevar remains one of the top candidates at Spire Motorsports in the Cup Series. The Michigan native has a relationship with both organizations as JR Motorsports supports Spire Motorsports’ efforts in the Xfinity Series.

Hocevar is clearly ready for the next step and JR Motorsports represents the best opportunity in the Xfinity Series. The only question is whether a ride in the Cup Series will develop with Spire Motorsports, as Ty Dillon has seen a slight improvement in performance with the No. 77 car as of late. Either way, the rising NASCAR talent seems set for a new ride in 2024.

[autotag]Christian Eckes[/autotag] is another talented Truck Series driver that currently drives for Chevrolet. Eckes competes in the No. 19 truck for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing and seems poised to make a run at the 2023 Truck Series title. Both drivers mentioned to this point would make sense for JR Motorsports if the overall goal is to bring the most talented drivers to the team.

The New York native could also be a fit with Richard Childress Racing if Austin Hill decides to depart for the Cup Series. Eckes has opened some eyes during the 2023 season and his good performances are likely to be rewarded in the next few years. If Hocevar makes the jump to the Cup Series with Spire Motorsports, it makes sense for Eckes to be the next target for JR Motorsports.

[autotag]Jeffrey Earnhardt[/autotag] is certainly the most popular driver on this list as he is the nephew of JR Motorsports co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. It has been an up-and-down journey for Earnhardt but this would be his best opportunity yet. Earnhardt Jr. has also named dropped the North Carolina native as a possible replacement for Berry in the No. 8 car.

Earnhardt would be a feel-good story as a full-time ride would finally go his way in the Xfinity Series. He wouldn’t be a young option at 34 years old; however, it would be a full-circle moment for the Earnhardt family to be together at JR Motorsports.

For now, these three drivers make the most sense on the surface but JR Motorsports will have plenty of options moving forward.

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Eckes runs to chaotic overtime Truck Series win at Darlington

After five weeks of frustration, Christian Eckes got the rebound he needed on Friday night at Darlington Raceway. Leading a race-high 82 of 158 laps, Eckes scored a convincing two-overtime victory in the Buckle Up South Carolina 200, the ninth event …

After five weeks of frustration, Christian Eckes got the rebound he needed on Friday night at Darlington Raceway.

Leading a race-high 82 of 158 laps, Eckes scored a convincing two-overtime victory in the Buckle Up South Carolina 200, the ninth event on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule.

The win was Eckes’ second of the season and third of his career. It followed a string of five races in which the driver of the No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet had finished 30th three times and 15th twice.

“I don’t really feel that excited, because the truck was so good it drove itself,” said Eckes, who won the race under caution after Grant Enfinger and Nick Sanchez tangled in the second overtime. “It’s been a really, really rough couple of weeks.

“To come back and win shows the resilience of this team, and how we had to win it just shows the fight in this team… I was really determined. It’s really, really fun to be here, man, and when you have a truck like this, you’ve just got to finish it out.”

A late charge and an excellent restart in the first overtime vaulted Stewart Friesen into second place at the finish. Tanner Gray ran third, followed by full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron and Carson Hocevar.

The early stages of the race rapidly evolved into a contest between Eckes, Byron and pole winner Corey Heim, who led the first 26 laps before Eckes passed him for the Stage 1 victory and led 35 laps in Stage 2 before Byron passed him for the win with three laps left in the stage.

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The first two stages ran caution-free to the breaks, but the complexion of the race changed markedly during the final stage and overtimes, which produced six cautions. Byron would have preferred longer green-flag runs.

“We needed a little bit longer runs, I think,” said Byron, who was driving the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports entry and seeking the 100th victory for that organization. “Our truck was strong on longer runs—we just had too many medium to short runs, and it was hard to get track position there to advance forward…

“Hopefully, we learned some stuff for the (Goodyear 400) Cup race (on Sunday). We usually run really good here, so it’s just a matter of trying to put it all together and learn some nuances with the race track, so hopefully we did that.”

Heim led four times for 66 laps but took himself out of contention by failing to pit with the rest of the lead cars on lap 116. He led the field to the restart on lap 119 of a scheduled 147 but quickly fell back through the field.

Heim, however, pitted for fresh tires before the first overtime and recovered to finish eighth on the new rubber.

Reigning series champion Zane Smith, who was part of a three-car accident on lap 101 and finished 22nd, retained the series lead by nine points over Ty Majeski, who came home 35 laps down in 31st after his crew changed the steering box in his ThorSport Racing Ford.

RESULTS