Eckes Zeroes In on Finally Conquering IRP
Venue: Indianapolis Raceway Park
Events: Tsport 200 presented by Warn
Date: Friday, July 24
Location: Indianapolis, IN
Track Description: 0.686-mile ovalDistance: 200 laps / 137.2 miles (8:00 p.m. ET – FOX Sports 1, Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM)
Knocking on the Door … Christian Eckes is knocking on the door for his first victory of the 2026 season as the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series (NCTS) arrives at Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP). The driver of the No. 91 Cloyes / Rotomaster Chevrolet Silverado RST is in the thick of the championship hunt and enters the “Circle City” on the strength of consecutive top-five finishes. The road to the NCTS “Chase” is in the middle of the short track stretch with three consecutive visits to tracks smaller than 0.75-miles, which are tailor-made for Eckes. The New York native has led 76 laps in his last two IRP appearances and is motivated to capture his first NCTS triumph at Indianapolis’ storied short track.
Everything But … Since 2016, Eckes has done everything at IRP but capture a NCTS checkered flag. In 2018, he was victorious in the ARCA Menards Series event at IRP and finished runner-up the following year during his championship season. His three prior NCTS starts have produced a pair of runner-up finishes with MHR, including 76 total laps led and winning both stages in the 2024 edition. Eckes has a tremendous short track record in his tenure with MHR that reads three victories, 10 top-five’s, 11 top-10’s, and two pole awards, including a fourth-place effort last weekend at North Wilkesboro Speedway. A season breakthrough victory on Friday will require a strong qualifying effort, as 19 of the 21 NCTS races at IRP have been won from eighth starting spot or better. Eckes scored the pole at IRP in 2023 and qualified sixth in 2024, and duplicate performances of either mark would position the No. 91 team to be a major threat on Friday night.
Season to Date … Three races remain in the regular season as Eckes returns to IRP fourth in the NCTS drivers’ point standings. He’s recorded five top-five’s, 10 top-10 finishes and three stage wins through 15 races. Despite an average starting position outside the top-10, Eckes has been a monster through traffic and leads the series with a pass differential of +287 along with 173 laps led.
Tune In … Friday features a full slate of on-track activity on FOX Sports 1, beginning with practice and qualifying at 3:00 p.m. ET followed by the green flag at 8:00 p.m. ET. Stay connected with the No. 91 Cloyes / Rotomaster team by following @BMR_NASCAR on Twitter, @bmr_nascar on Instagram, and Bill McAnally Racing on Facebook.
Christian Eckes Quote:
On returning to IRP: “IRP has been a great place for us the last couple of years, just missed a little bit at the end both nights to get wins. We’ve been in contention, led laps, and that’s the goal again this week, just need to close the deal with our Cloyes / Rotomaster Chevrolet. This No. 91 team did a great job overnight at Wilkesboro last week finding speed. We want to unload much closer this week, for sure. That would make our job on Friday night a lot easier and give us a chance to qualify farther towards the front. It’s a tough place to complete passes and a fairly short race. Even though the pace falls off, track position is always super important there. If we can unload where we need to be, I know this team can get the job done.”