Eckes Notches Top-Five, Gains Position in Points at Lime Rock

Christian Eckes notched a gritty fifth-place finish on Saturday afternoon at Lime Rock Park to advance to fourth in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series standings. The driver of the No. 91 NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet Silverado RST muscled through an injured ankle to record his fourth top-five result of the year in his first appearance at Connecticut’s 1.47-mile road course. Eckes tallied 32 points on the day to gain one position in the standings and closed to within one marker of third position.

The road into the top-five was an arduous battle which began from the 13th position. The first stage of the afternoon ran entirely under the green flag without incident. Through the first 30 laps, Eckes reported his balance was too free, lacking rear grip, and requested the truck to change directions better on the circuit’s tight confines. He was scored 15th at the first stage caution and came to the attention of crew chief Dave Elenz during the day’s first controlled pit stop.

Eckes restarted on lap 36 and advanced to 13th after productive adjustments by the NAPA Auto Care team. However, an incident during the lap 51 restart required Eckes to drive through the frontstretch grass to avoid a multi-truck mishap. Although he avoided damage, Eckes was forced to pit three times to clear the grille of grass and cycle cool water through the system. After running 21st at the end of Stage 2, Eckes took on further adjustments and tires during the final scheduled break.

On lap 65, Eckes made inadvertent contact with teammate Kris Wright, which cut down the left front tire and forced him to pit road as the caution flag flew. The race resumed on lap 75, and from that point forward, Eckes was on a mission to the front of the field. In four laps, he advanced to 12th as a rash of late yellows began to unfold, starting at lap 79. He cracked the top-10 on lap 88 and ran seventh when the final caution waved at lap 91. After lining up ninth on lap 98, Eckes masterfully negotiated traffic and multiple trucks going off course to find himself sixth at the white flag. He claimed fifth position on the final lap to record his fourth top-five result of the campaign.

“Yeah, it was a good day overall,” Eckes said after the race. “For sure, that did not feel great the last 20 [laps]. Super proud of the NAPA Auto Care team. We had a really rough day between pitting because the grille was full, a bunch of stuff happened. I can’t even remember all the stuff that happened. Just overall proud of the effort. Proud of the McAnally-Hilgemann team as a whole for coming back but definitely need to be better.”

Start / Finish: 13 / 5
Points Standing / Total: 4th/ 440 pts. (-155)

Next Race: Saturday, July 18, North Wilkesboro Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 12:30 p.m. ET on FS1 or SiriusXM

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