Eckes Embarks on “Revenge Tour” with MHR at Daytona
Venue: Daytona International Speedway
Event: Fresh from Florida 250
Date: Friday, February 13th
Location: Daytona Beach, FL
Track Description: 2.5-mile tri oval
Distance: 100 laps, 250 miles (7:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM)
Revenge Tour Opening Night … Christian Eckes is back for his “Revenge Tour” as he returns to the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series (NCTS) for his fifth full-time campaign. Eckes is featuring the No. 91 Columbia Bank Chevrolet at Daytona International Speedway (DIS) to kickstart an expanded partnership between MHR and the West Coast-based bank. The Middletown, N.Y. native has reunited with MHR in 2026 to attend to unfinished business and chase a championship that narrowly eluded him in 2023-2024. Two years ago, Eckes constructed a masterful and historic season that included four wins, 15 top-five’s and a staggering 22 top-10 results in the 23-races season and hopes to reach the championship plateau this season under the reintroduced “Chase” format. Guiding his effort will be two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) champion crew chief Dave Elenz, who joins MHR for his first NCTS foray.
Always Up Front … Eckes’ return begins with his sixth NCTS start at DIS, where he has been a consistent front runner. He has led laps in four of his five NCTS appearances at DIS, including leading in both of his starts with MHR which resulted in a third (2023) and 10th-place (2024) finish. In fact, Eckes has been a juggernaut throughout his entire career at both superspeedways on the schedule and has led laps in eight of nine combined races between DIS and Talladega Superspeedway. A duplicate performance on Friday night at the “World Center of Racing” would set Eckes up to begin his “Revenge Tour” in poignant fashion.
Glory Days at MHR … Last season, Eckes completed his rookie NXS season 13th in the standings and moonlighted in two NCTS races. Now back in the stable where he enjoyed the most successful years of his career, the 25-year-old aims to rekindle that success. During the 2023-2024 seasons, Eckes collected eight wins, 25 top-five’s, and 35 top-10 results in 46 races. His consistently elite performances quickly made him a championship favorite and weekly contender, a characteristic that has him automatically in the title conversation for 2026.
Tune In … Action from DIS gets underway Thursday at 5:00 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1). Coverage continues with pole qualifying on Friday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. ET on FS1 followed by the green flag at 7:30 p.m. ET. Stay connected with the No. 91 Columbia Bank team by following @BMR_NASCAR on Twitter, @bmr_nascar on Instagram, and Bill McAnally Racing on Facebook.
Christian Eckes Quote:
On beginning a title quest at Daytona with MHR:
“I’m glad to have the opportunity to be back at MHR. Our Columbia Bank team has one goal this season and that’s to win a championship. I know the potential of what we can accomplish this year and our team has plenty of motivation to make that happen, for sure. I’m excited to work with Dave [Elenz]. He has a ton of experience and knowledge of what it takes to be good throughout the year, and there’s a few guys that we had on our team in 2024. Big thanks to Bill [McAnally], the Hilgemann’s, Columbia Bank, NAPA, Gates Hydraulics, Motion Industries, Adaptive One Calipers, NAPA Nightvision, and Chevrolet, and all the people that made this possible. We’re ready to go and excited for the challenge this year.”