Eckes Contends at Richmond, Banks Podium Finish

Christian Eckes asserted himself as a contender for victory in the second half of Saturday’s matinee at Richmond Raceway and came away with a third-place finish. The driver of the No. 91 CRC Brakleen Chevrolet Silverado RST collected 45 points on the afternoon, his seventh race of 40 or more points this season, and pocketed his sixth top-five result of the campaign. The effort and execution allowed Eckes to put a stranglehold on the fourth position in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series standings with one regular season race remaining.

Persistent thunderstorms on Friday night pushed the event to Saturday afternoon under humid conditions. Eckes and the CRC Brakleen team brought the heat as well and quickly became a formidable force in the first 70-lap segment. The No. 91 team’s long run speed was one of the early stories as Eckes climbed from 12th to eighth by lap 36 and collected four points in seventh position at the end of Stage 1.

Crew chief Dave Elenz and the NAPA team gave Eckes fresh tires, fuel, and air pressure adjustments to improve his tight balance in the center of the corners and increase his forward drive on exit. Quick pit work and positive adjustments netted Eckes sixth for the lap 81 restart and allowed him to crack the top-five by lap 87. As the segment featured a long green run, Eckes claimed the fourth position on lap 139 to collected five points one lap later at the end of Stage 2.

After a second four-tire pit stop under the stage caution, Eckes took third position on the lap 151 restart and became a true contender for the race victory. A round of green flag pit stops commenced on lap 192, which included Eckes pitting on lap 197. Shortly after cycling back to the lead lap in fourth position, a caution flag flew and set up a final showdown on pit road. The CRC Brakleen team held serve with a four-tire stop as Eckes lined up in the second row for the final restart of the afternoon on lap 223. After briefly falling to fifth, Eckes wheeled his Chevrolet back into third on lap 232 and ultimately tallied his third podium finish of the season.

“We just needed a little more grip to start the run out,” Eckes said. “Started off way too tight. Proud of the effort. I thought our CRC Brakleen, NAPA Chevy was pretty solid all day, just didn’t fire off good enough. Got a little bit of work to do on that, but we’re definitely getting closer to where we need to be.”

Start / Finish: 12 / 3
Points Standing / Total: 4th / 541 pts. (-212)

Next Race: Saturday, August 22, New Hampshire Motor Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1 or SiriusXM

NAPA: @NAPARacing
Christian Eckes: @christianeckes
Bill McAnally Racing: @BMR_NASCAR