Eckes Looks to Continue Elite Performance at COTA
Venue: Circuit of the Americas
Event: XPEL 225
Date: Saturday, March 23rd
Location: Austin, TX
Track Description: 3.41-mile road course
Distance: 42 laps, 143.22 miles (1:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, Motor Racing Network)
Starting to Roll … Christian Eckes is starting to roll four races into the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) season and enters Circuit of the Americas (COTA) fresh off his first victory of the year. The driver of the No. 19 NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet Silverado RST broke through with a dominant victory at Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS) after leading 144 laps en-route to becoming the fourth Chevrolet driver to win this season in as many races. The triumph at BMS was his first short track victory in his NCTS career and he looks to avenge last season’s result at COTA with his first road course win this weekend. Last March, Eckes showed his muscle at COTA by leading three laps and winning the first stage.
Elite Status … In the season’s first four races, Eckes has put himself in elite status by running at the front of the field more than any other NCTS competitor. The New York native is the only driver to lead laps in all four races with 172 laps led, more than double of any other full-time driver. Eckes has rejoined the top-five in the championship standings after two straight finishes of sixth or better. He’s shown an aptitude to be an elite force on road courses also, with four top-10 finishes at three different road course venues. Eckes scored a podium finish in the most recent NCTS road course event last season at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and is one of the drivers to beat on Saturday in Texas.
Season to Date … Three top-10 finishes over four races has Eckes just 32 markers out of the top spot in the standings, behind his MHR teammate Tyler Ankrum. Eckes and his MHR teammates reached a new feat for the organization as Zane Smith and Ankrum joined him in the top-five at BMS, marking the first time the organization has placed three trucks in the top-five. Should Eckes, or any other Chevrolet driver, reach victory lane again at COTA, the bowtie brigade would move within one win of tying the all-time NCTS record for most wins by a manufacturer. Dating back to Homestead-Miami Speedway last fall, a Chevrolet Silverado RST has won the last six-straight NCTS races, two shy of the all-time record, also set by Chevrolet in 1995.
Tune In … All on-track activity from the 20-turn venue can be viewed live on FOX Sports 1 (FS1), beginning with practice and qualifying at 3:30 p.m. ET on Friday. NASCAR Raceday coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. ET on FS1 followed by the green flag at 1:30 p.m. ET. Stay connected with the No. 19 NAPA Auto Care team by following @BMR_NASCAR on Twitter, @bmrnascar on Instagram, and Bill McAnally Racing on Facebook.
Christian Eckes Quote:
On entering the only road course of the season with momentum:
“I’ve always enjoyed road course racing and we were really strong last year at both races. COTA is a big challenge as a driver and we had a well-balanced NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet last year. We definitely want to have a result that matches our pace this time around so we can start stringing some finishes together. It feels great to get a win under our belt and last week just makes us hungrier for more. We’ve done a good job leading laps, getting stage points and we need to keep that up on Saturday.”