Eckes Peaking at the Right Time Entering Kansas
Venue: Kansas Speedway
Event: Kansas Lottery 200
Date: Friday, September 8th
Location: Kansas City, KS
Track Description: 1.5-mile tri oval
Distance: 134 laps, 201 miles (9:00 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, Motor Racing Network)
Eyes Forward … Christian Eckes has his eyes forward towards the Round of 8 of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) as the tour returns to Kansas Speedway on Friday night. The driver of the No. 19 PEAK / NAPA NIGHTVISION Chevrolet Silverado RST has a stress-free opportunity to garner additional playoff points in the Heartland after already advancing to the second round. Two consecutive podium finishes in the first two playoff races clinched Eckes a spot in the second round on points, and he’ll look to gain additional playoff points by chasing his third race win of the season on Friday night.
PEAKing at the Right Time … Eckes is peaking at the right time as he’s one of three drivers to have already claimed their spot in the second round. Two straight podiums at Indianapolis Raceway Park and The Milwaukee Mile have moved him to second in the NCTS standings. Eckes posted his first of two pole awards this season at Kansas on May 6th and is on the preface of his first NCTS victory in the “Sunflower State” with four finishes of seventh or better in the last five races. In his seven previous starts at Kansas, Eckes has tallied three top-five and five top-10 finishes.
Season to Date … After two playoff races, and 18 events total, Eckes is back up to second in the drivers’ championship standings. He has two races wins under his belt along with seven top five and 10 top-10 finishes. Three podium results in the last five races have lowered his average finish to 11.8, which is fifth-best among full-time NCTS competitors.
Tune In … Coverage from Kansas Speedway begins on Friday afternoon with a tape-delayed broadcast of practice and qualifying on FOX Sports 2, beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET. Race coverage begins at 8:00 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 followed by the green flag at 9:00 p.m. ET. Stay connected with the No. 19 PEAK / NAPA NIGHTVISION team by following @BMR_NASCAR on Twitter, @bmrnascar on Instagram, and Bill McAnally Racing on Facebook.
Christian Eckes Quote:
On returning to Kansas with a guaranteed spot in the Round of 8:
“Having two good weeks under our belt and locking into the second round takes the pressure off for sure. We can kind of race care free this weekend and just race to win with our PEAK / NAPA NIGHTVISION Chevrolet. It’s been a while since we were able to score any playoff points, so we’d like to win a stage and winning the race is always our goal. We had a fast truck at Kansas in the spring and didn’t get the finish we wanted. Hopefully we’ll have a couple things fine tuned and we can execute the entire night on Friday.”