Eckes Overcomes Battery Woes to Nab Top-10 in Texas

Christian Eckes delivered a resilient performance on Friday night at Texas Motor Speedway to post a top-10 result after enduring constant voltage issues throughout the event. The driver of the No. 91 Columbia Bank Chevrolet Silverado RST was a victim to low voltage for the majority of the race and had to respond from multiple battery changes throughout the night to finish eighth. Despite the constant setbacks, Eckes, crew chief Dave Elenz, and the No. 91 crew were able to record their fourth top-10 finish in seven races.

Eckes led the MHR squadron in Friday afternoon’s qualifying session by timing in 12th-fastest. Once the green flag dropped under cool, overcast skies, Eckes had has hands full with a violently loose handling condition. By lap 19, Eckes radioed the team saying the balance was “wrecking loose” while simultaneously keeping position inside the top 20. He pitted during the first caution on lap 24 for chassis adjustments and began to notice low voltage during the balance of Stage 1.

After running 19th to close the first stage, Eckes came to Elenz’s attention on pit road to evaluate the electrical issue and four tires. He restarted 29th on lap 48 but the volt meter continued to plummet. A caution on lap 51 allowed the Columbia Bank team to change batteries but surrendered a lap to the leaders. Another yellow flag 23 laps later allowed Eckes to get the Lucky Dog award and rejoin the lead lap. He closed the second stage in 27th and pitted under the subsequent caution to stay on sequence with the race leaders.

He restarted 22nd on lap 87 and quickly moved up the leaderboard, thanks to a significantly improved handling condition. Eckes ran as high as 12th before a green-flag pit sequence began on lap 127. Eckes took four tires on lap 130 and cycled to 15th and noticed the voltage began to sink once again. A caution on lap 144, 23 circuits shy of the finish, allowed the Columbia Bank team to insert a third battery. The No. 91 team completed the sway in time to keep Eckes on the lead lap, which allowed him to restart 19th on lap 149. Two cautions in the closing laps allowed Eckes to capitalize on restarts and hoist himself into the top 10. A green-white-checkered finish capped a tumultuous evening and saw Eckes advance from ninth to pick up an eighth-place result.

“Our team had quite an eventful night, for sure,” Eckes said. “That was anything but smooth, but shows the character of this team to stick with it and grind out a top-10. We definitely have some work to do on our balance. We started way too loose tonight, but Dave [Elenz] and they guys got our Columbia Bank Chevrolet a lot better. The balance was pretty decent the second half of the night, but we were just playing catch-up all night with the voltage issues. Happy to survive this with a top-10, avoided a disaster. Just looking forward to making the most of Watkins Glen next week.”

Start / Finish: 12 / 8
Points Standing / Total: 6th / 220 pts. (-37)

Next Race: Friday, May 8, Watkins Glen International
How to Watch or Listen: 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1 or SiriusXM

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