Eckes Scores Big Points Day and Stage Win at Charlotte

Christian Eckes flexed his muscle on Sunday morning at Charlotte Motor Speedway by capturing his third stage win and leading 33 laps en route to a sixth-place finish. The driver of the No. 91 Motion Industries Chevrolet Silverado RST scored 51 points, his highest of the season and the second-most in the field, to jump to third in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series standings after 10 events.

Eckes took the green flag from seventh position on Sunday afternoon after consistent showers postponed the race from Friday evening. The red-and-black Motion Industries Chevrolet was on a mission from the start as Eckes rocketed to second position by lap four. An early caution and restart on lap 12 allowed him to make a move for the lead on lap 14. A caution on lap 22 brought most of the field to pit road for a four-tire stop, including Eckes, and he lined up third for a restart to close Stage 1. On lap 29, Eckes made swift work to claim the lead and earn his third stage victory of the season on lap 30.

Crew chief Dave Elenz kept Eckes on track during the stage caution as he restarted as the race leader on lap 36. He held the lead until a restart on lap 46 where the outside lane overtook him with momentum from the top of the banking. Eckes reclaimed second on a restart on lap 54 despite his increasingly tight balance and collected nine points at the end of Stage 2 on lap 60.

A variety of strategies unfolded during the second stage caution, but Elenz stayed committed to arming Eckes with four fresh tires. That call paid off on the ensuing restart when he went from 10th to seventh. Another immediate yellow allowed Eckes to drive from sixth to second on lap 73 and into contention for the victory. A yellow on lap 77 allowed the field to pit for the final time to reach the end of the race, which would ultimately be determined by the preannounced limit of 12:00 p.m. ET. Eckes restarted ninth on lap 83 and found himself second by lap 86. He briefly reclaimed the lead on the lap 94 restart before falling to second shortly thereafter. While he restarted second for the final restart on lap 104, he was put in the middle, three-wide off Turn 2, losing momentum and kicked back to sixth before the race’s final caution flew on lap 105. Eckes took the checkered flag in sixth under yellow as the event reached the time limit after 110 of 134 scheduled laps.

“We had race winning capability today and unfortunately got put in the middle on that restart,” Eckes said. “I was expecting to have a little more momentum in the middle lane to race the No. 34 into three but unfortunately didn’t work out. Proud of these guys bringing a fast Motion Industries Chevrolet. Appreciate Gates Hydraulics, NAPA Auto Care, Columbia Bank, everyone on this team. We lost a couple spots on that last caution when I checked up for the No. 38 spinning and they held the caution. Not sure what else you’re supposed to do there. Either way, good points day for us, and really proud of the speed we had. Definitely a good direction for our team, for sure.”

Start / Finish: 7 / 6
Points Standing / Total: 3rd / 322 pts. (-71)

Next Race: Friday, May 29, Nashville Superspeedway
How to Watch or Listen: 8:00 p.m. ET on FS1 or SiriusXM

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