Eckes Seeks to Settle Unfinished Business in Charlotte
Venue: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Event: North Carolina Education Lottery 200
Date: Friday, May 22
Location: Concord, NC
Track Description: 1.5-mile quad oval
Distance: 134 laps, 201 miles (7:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, Performance Racing Network, SiriusXM)
Unfinished Business … Christian Eckes has unfinished business to clean up at Charlotte Motor Speedway (CMS) from his last NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series (NCTS) start in the “Queen City” in 2024. The driver of the No. 91 Motion Industries Chevrolet Silverado RST returns to CMS to amend his near brush with victory. Two years ago, Eckes came from the tail of the field to the lead in the late stages before a caution flag foiled his bid for victory after leading 37 laps. He and the No. 91 team look to reignite that performance from 2024 and finish the job to capture their first trophy of 2026 on Friday night.
On the Cusp at Charlotte … Eckes has been on the cusp of victory lane at one of the most prestigious venues on the NCTS tour. In five previous NCTS starts at CMS, Eckes has netted three top-10 finishes, including a sixth and 10th-place result in MHR in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Eckes has rediscovered his consistent DNA with finishes of eighth-or-better in the last three consecutive oval races, dating back to a fifth-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS) which included a stage win. Most recently, Eckes and the No. 91 team gutted out a gritty seventh-place finish at Dover Motor Speedway after clawing their way up from starting 27th.
Season to Date … Through nine of the 18 regular season events, Eckes holds the sixth position in the NCTS standings, just six markers out of the fifth and 76 behind the lead. He has compiled three top-five’s and five top-10 results and owns the third-best average finish of full-time competitors, 11.8. He has also collected a pair of stage wins, one at both Darlington Raceway and BMS.
Tune In … A full day of on-track action from CMS gets underway at 3:30 p.m. ET Friday afternoon with practice and qualifying on FOX Sports 2. Race coverage moves to FOX Sports 1 for the green flag at 7:30 p.m. ET. Stay connected with the No. 91 Motion Industries team by following @BMR_NASCAR on Twitter, @bmr_nascar on Instagram, and Bill McAnally Racing on Facebook.
Christian Eckes Quote:
On returning to Charlotte:
“Our team came close to getting the job done a couple years ago. We started at the tail, had good speed, and made the right calls to put ourselves in position to win that race. It’d be nice to be in the same situation this week, for sure. We’re certainly going to try, and everyone at MHR has put a ton of work in on our Motion Industries Chevrolet to improve our package. We’ve had a good week of preparation and feel good about the approach to this week. Hopefully we can qualify better and give ourselves some track position to start the night and execute to our potential.”