Eckes Has His Season Rocking Entering Rockingham
Venue: Rockingham Speedway
Events: Black’s Tire 200
Date: Friday, April 3
Location: Rockingham, NC
Track Description: 1.0-mile tri oval
Distance: 200 laps / 200 miles (4:30 p.m. ET – FOX Sports 1, Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM)
Rocking into Rockingham … Christian Eckes has his season rocking as the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series (NCTS) returns to the venerable Rockingham Raceway on Friday afternoon. The driver of the No. 91 NAPA Auto Care / Black’s Tire Chevrolet Silverado RST enters the Black’s Tire 200 fresh off a podium run at Darlington Raceway and his first stage win of the season. He and crew chief Dave Elenz have their feet underneath them through four races as they gained three positions in the NCTS standings last week. Eckes looks to defend MHR’s victory at “The Rock” from 2025 and take home his second “Triple Truck Challenge” $50,000 check.
Rockingham History … Friday’s showdown in North Carolina’s sand hills marks the first of three races for Eckes and the NCTS competitors at one-mile tracks this season. In 2025, Eckes competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ return to Rockingham where he raced inside the top-six and was the sixth-fastest driver on restarts that afternoon. His first laps in returning to MHR also came at Rockingham in preseason test on February 5th. If last year’s return to “The Rock” is any indication, Eckes will have a formidable piece underneath him as all four MHR drivers finished in the top-10, the second time the organization accomplished that feat. Eckes hopes to break back into victory lane on Friday with his MHR teammates close in tow.
Season to Date … Through four of 18 regular season events, Eckes resides sixth in the NCTS drivers’ point standings following his second podium finish of the season at Darlington Raceway. The No. 91 team has pocketed two top-five’s and two top-10 results as Eckes led his first laps of the 2026 campaign at Darlington. He sits 53 marks out of the lead and just 20 points out of second.
Tune In … On-track activity begins on Friday morning at 11:00 a.m. ET with practice and qualifying on FOX Sports 2. The Black’s Tire 200 goes green later that afternoon at 4:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. Stay connected with the No. 91 NAPA Auto Care / Black’s Tire team by following @BMR_NASCAR on Twitter, @bmr_nascar on Instagram, and Bill McAnally Racing on Facebook.
Christian Eckes Quote:
On racing at Rockingham for the first time in the NCTS:
“Rockingham is a really fast place with the repave. The pace was really quick for the test back in February but we’ll see what the grip level is this week with the warmer temps. It’s definitely unique and was fun to race in the Xfinity car last year, so hopefully it’ll race well again on Friday. I feel pretty good about the progress our team has made over the first four races. We were able to drive to the lead last week with some good speed, and hopefully we can put our NAPA Auto Care, Black’s Tire Chevy up front again this week. Dave [Elenz] and all our No. 91 guys have been working hard to find some more speed to match our balance. There’s a ton of effort in the building and it’d be nice to put ourselves in contention again.”