Eckes Has Right Combo for Short Track Success at N. Wilkesboro
Venue: North Wilkesboro Speedway
Events: Faith Fest 250
Date: Saturday, July 18
Location: North Wilkesboro, NC
Track Description: 0.625-mile oval
Distance: 250 laps / 156.25 miles (12:30 p.m. ET – FOX Sports 1, Performance Racing Network, SiriusXM)
Old School Short Tracker … Christian Eckes has built a reputation as being cut from the cloth of old school short track racers and will put that to the test at North Wilkesboro Speedway (NWS). The driver of the No. 91 Adaptive One Calipers Chevrolet Silverado RST has an impressive short track resume that includes three NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series (NCTS) victories and hopes to add his name to NASCAR’s lore in Wilkes County, N.C. While he’s also hunting for his first win of the 2026 season, Eckes has vaulted himself into the championship mix, sitting fourth in the standings with tremendous consistency, including seven top-10’s over the last nine events. North Wilkesboro has impacted numerous championship battles in NASCAR’s history and Eckes hopes an elevator ride to the track’s victory lane would lift his title aspirations.
In His Wheelhouse … The resurrected 0.625 short track beside highway 421 in the North Carolina foothills is right in Eckes’ wheelhouse. The 2024 NCTS regular season titlist captured a pair of wins at Martinsville Speedway two years ago along with a checkered flag at Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS) that season. Since joining MHR in 2023, the short tracks have been a highlight of Eckes’ resume in the series, including nine top-five’s, 10 top-10’s, and two pole awards. In the lone short track event earlier this season, Eckes was one of the main contenders at BMS by leading a race high 132 laps. He finished fifth after a season high second-place qualifying effort and claimed a stage victory. Eckes competed in the first two NCTS events after NWS’ reopening, and led 62 laps en route to a sixth-place finish in 2024 on the current asphalt.
Season to Date … With 14 of 18 regular season races complete before “The Chase”, Eckes currently holds the fourth position in the NCTS standings, one point out of third. He posted his fourth top-five result of the year last weekend at Lime Rock Park and has compiled nine top-10 finishes. He’s led 173 laps, captured three stage wins, and leads the series with a green flag pass differential of +275.
Tune In … Action from the oldest track on the NCTS tour gets underway Friday at 2:00 p.m. on FOX Sports 2 with practice and qualifying. Race coverage begins on Saturday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. Stay connected with the No. 91 Adaptive One Calipers team by following @BMR_NASCAR on Twitter, @bmr_nascar on Instagram, and Bill McAnally Racing on Facebook.
Christian Eckes Quote:
On returning to North Wilkesboro:
“We’ve always been pretty strong at the short tracks over the years and showed that again at Bristol this spring. I feel like we have a pretty good direction for this weekend at North Wilkesboro. It’s a fun place to race, for sure. We didn’t run good on the old pavement but led some laps in ’24 and finished decent. The place seems to have really widened out and I’m sure it’ll change quite a bit over the weekend with so much rubber going down. We’ve had race-winning speed a few times this year, just need to capitalize on it. Just need to qualify and execute better the second half of this year, and we can certainly do that with the Adaptive One Calipers Chevy this weekend.”