Eckes Closing the Gap on First Win of ’26 Entering Richmond
Venue: Richmond Raceway
Events: Black’s Tire 250 presented by BTS Rewards
Date: Friday, August 14
Location: Richmond, VA
Track Description: 0.75-mile tri oval
Distance: 250 laps / 187.5 miles (7:30 p.m. ET – FOX Sports 1, Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM)
Getting Close … Christian Eckes has been closing the gap to victory lane in recent weeks and hopes to capture his first win of 2026 on Friday night at Richmond Raceway. The New York native is featuring a new CRC Brakleen paint scheme on the No. 91 Chevrolet Silverado RST at a venue where he has been within reach of victory. In the 2024 visit to Richmond, Va., Eckes led the charge for MHR with a runner-up result on a night where the organization placed all four entries in the top-10. Before the series two-week hiatus, Eckes ran a stout second in the first stage at Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP) before suffering a voltage issue and finished fourth at North Wilkesboro Speedway (NWS) the race prior. He and the CRC Brakleen team hope to translate their speed into MHR’s first Richmond Raceway trophy.
Sure Bet at Short Tracks … Eckes has continued to deliver his standard short track speed and brings it to the Commonwealth of Viriginia. His top-five run at NWS on July 18th featured a run through the field after starting 18th and was most recently one of the early contenders at IRP. While he finished 12th in last year’s running at Richmond driving MHR’s No. 16 entry, he scored a second-place finish in 2024 after leading 64 laps and has a pair of top-10 results at the three-quarter mile tri oval. Eckes’ standout track record on short tracks driving MHR’s Chevrolet has been outstanding since 2023 and includes three wins, 10 top-five’s, and 11 top-10 results. A similar outcome on Friday night would help Eckes protect his points position with two races remaining before the Chase.
Season to Date … Through 16 of 18 regular season races, Eckes has recorded five top-five’s and top-10 finishes with three stage victories and sits fourth in the drivers’ point standings. He’s led 173 laps and has an average finish of 12.7. The most impressive stat of Eckes’ season thus far is his +275 pass differential which leads the series.
Tune In … All on-track action is packed in on Friday, beginning with practice and qualifying on FOX Sports 2 at 1:00 p.m. ET. Coverage moves to FOX Sports 1 for the green flag of the Black’s Tire 250 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Stay connected with the No. 91 CRC Brakleen team by following @BMR_NASCAR on Twitter, @bmr_nascar on Instagram, and Bill McAnally Racing on Facebook.
Christian Eckes Quote:
On his outlook at Richmond:
“Richmond is one of those places where we’ve been good, just not quite good enough over the years. We had a really good truck in ’24 led some laps but just needed to finish the night with a better balance. Our team has done a great job finding speed between practice and the race in the second half of the year, especially in the last two weeks. If we can unload a little closer in practice, we’ll be where we need to be. I know we have all the tools to win soon, for sure. I’ve got a lot of confidence in this team. Definitely think we can put our CRC Brakleen Chevy at the front on Friday.”