Eckes Chasing First 2026 Victory in First Lime Rock Trip
Venue: Lime Rock Park
Events: LiUNA! 150
Date: Saturday, July 11
Location: Lakeville, CT
Track Description: 1.478-mile road course
Distance: 100 laps / 147.8 miles (1:00 p.m. ET – FOX Sports 1, Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM)
First Walk in the Park … Christian Eckes is making his first appearance at Connecticut’s picturesque Lime Rock Park this weekend. The driver of the No. 91 NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet Silverado RST is still pursuing his first triumph of the 2026 campaign in his return to NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series (NCTS) competition as the sands in the hourglass begin to run thin leading into the “Chase”. The 1.47-mile course is the second consecutive road course on the schedule after Eckes delivered a resilient ninth-place result at the Coronado Naval Base on June 19th despite starting in the rear of the field. Saturday’s 100-lap contest will be decided purely on-track with controlled pit stops at the stages and could result in Eckes’ first road course triumph if he and the NAPA Auto Care team can construct a complete outing.
Rock Solid Runner… Eckes brings a rock-solid road course resume to apply at Lime Rock Park. He has scored six top-10 finishes in 13 NCTS road course starts and had an impressive record during his NASCAR Xfinity Series rookie campaign in 2025. In seven road course events last season, the New Yorker claimed three top-five’s and five top-10 finishes, including a fourth-place run in his first visit to Mexico City. Eckes has shown the propensity to perform in his first start at new venues, including a fifth-place run at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course back in 2022. His first stint with MHR in 2023-2024 also yielded two top-10 results in three road course events. The seven-turn undulating circuit could prove to be a unique location for Eckes to vault himself towards the top of the championship hopefuls.
Season to Date … As the regular season is in the final third, Eckes has positioned himself within reach of the ultimate prize, sitting fifth in the NCTS points standings after 13 of 18 regular season races. The 2024 regular season titlist has three top-five’s and eight top-10 results with a trio of stage victories. Eckes has 173 laps, second-most among full-time NCTS competitors and is riding a streak of six top-10 results in the last eight races.
Tune In … Live coverage from the Connecticut course begins at 9:00 a.m. ET Saturday morning with practice beginning on FOX Sports 2, and flexing to FOX Sports 1 (FS1) at 9:30 a.m. ET. The green flag is scheduled to fly on FS1 shortly thereafter at 1:00 p.m. ET. Stay connected with the No. 91 NAPA Auto Care team by following @BMR_NASCAR on Twitter, @bmr_nascar on Instagram, and Bill McAnally Racing on Facebook.
Christian Eckes Quote:
On his road course outlook:
“We’ve had to do a lot of preparation in the last few weeks for Lime Rock since I haven’t been there before but looking forward to the challenge. Our team prepared well for San Diego and had good speed in practice before I put us in a backup truck. Hopefully we can transfer some of that to Lime Rock this weekend. [Teammate] Daniel [Hemric] and the No. 19 group have been solid at the road courses this year and we want to get in the top-five with them, for sure. This is a great opportunity this weekend with the series regulars if we’re able to qualify how we’re capable of and be consistent on Saturday. Getting to the top three is still within reach before the ‘Chase’ to put ourselves in a better position, so hopefully we can take a step towards that this weekend.”