Eckes Looks to Better His Playoff Position at Pocono
Down to the Wire … As the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) regular season comes down to the wire, Christian Eckes looks to finish strong and bolster his position on the playoff grid. The driver of the No. 19 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Silverado RST currently has 14 playoff points to his credit and is positioned third in the provisional playoff standings after 14 races. Eckes has excelled at Pocono Raceway in his previous experience and has shown the capability to tame “The Tricky Triangle”. He’ll need another stellar performance as he and the NAPA Auto Care team look to stockpile points before the stretch run in the championship battle.
Pocono History … Three years ago, Eckes was within 12 laps of taking the win at Pocono Raceway before a flat tire disrupted his drive to victory lane. Now with two wins under his belt in 2023, Eckes hopes to avenge that previous heartbreak and stack another victory on the most successful season of his young career. He’s made four previous NCTS starts at Pocono and has two top-10 results to his credit. He finished fourth in his Pennsylvania debut in 2019, recorded an eighth-place result last season after leading five circuits, and won an ARCA Menards Series event at Pocono in 2019. Eckes has solidified himself as one of the strongest forces on tour with three results of sixth or better in the last four races, and three podium runs in the last six events.
Season to Date … Eckes returns to Pocono Raceway sixth in the NCTS championship standings after 14 of the 16 regular season events. Two race wins and four stage wins along with five top-five and seven top-10 results have kept Eckes near the top five in the standings. He’s improved his average finish to 13.6 over the last four races.
Chassis Selection … Chassis No. 353 will make its first appearance of the season on Saturday afternoon. Crew chief Charles Denike and the No. 19 NAPA Auto Care team have purpose-built this Silverado RST to debut at Pocono Raceway.
Tune In … FOX Sports 1 has live coverage from the “Tricky Triangle” starting at 1:30 p.m. ET on Friday afternoon with practice and qualifying. Race coverage begins Saturday at 11:00 a.m. ET with NASCAR Raceday on FS1 followed by the green flag at Noon ET. Stay connected with the No. 19 NAPA Auto Care team by following @BMR_NASCAR on Twitter, @bmrnascar on Instagram, and Bill McAnally Racing on Facebook.
Christian Eckes Quote:
On racing at Pocono:
“Pocono is such a short race for us that the aggression level is pretty high right from the start. I’ve run well there in the past, but we’d like to close the deal with our NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet this weekend. Everybody at MHR is focused on starting the playoffs strong in a couple weeks, and we’d love to get another win to put ourselves in an even better position. Our team has done a good job recently of being a little more consistent and finishing up front. We’ll definitely need to do that during the playoffs, so hopefully we can keep it going on Saturday.”