The best way Christian Eckes’ 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Collection season ended left a bitter style in his mouth. He received 4 instances and completed exterior the highest 10 simply as soon as, however it resulted in one other championshipless marketing campaign.
With a NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Components Collection promotion in tow, Eckes promised himself that he’d by no means drive one other Truck race except it got here for Invoice McAnally.
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To date, he’s held to his phrase.
After a one-year stint with Kaulig Racing, Eckes is again at McAnally-Hilgemann Racing in 2026 with objectives as huge as ever. And sure, he stored his receipts.
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“We type of felt like we obtained screwed out of a championship [in 2024] after being essentially the most constant all yr lengthy and scoring numerous factors, breaking data, doing all the things we would have liked to do, after which simply ending third at Phoenix,” Eckes instructed NASCAR.com. “It’s type of like a revenge tour in that respect — to point out that I’m nonetheless gifted and may nonetheless do the issues that I wish to do, like win races.”
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Eckes went toe-to-toe with Corey Heim over an exciting 2024 season, however finally, Ty Majeski defeated each of them for his first collection title. The Middletown, New York, native received 9 instances since 2021, which, unsurprisingly, earned him a experience within the O’Reilly Collection. His rookie voyage didn’t begin based on plan, rating 18th in factors by the primary 14 races, however the 25-year-old climbed as excessive as thirteenth in factors over the summer time.
However across the similar time, Eckes began to listen to the inner noise.
Kaulig introduced a partnership with Ram within the Truck Collection, which meant at the least a brief finish for the group’s O’Reilly Collection program. Not lengthy after, Eckes obtained the ball rolling once more with MHR.
“I known as Invoice [McAnally] on a random night time and was like, ‘hey, what do you concentrate on this? Is that this a chance?”” Eckes defined. “He simply instructed me ‘sure, for certain, and we’re going to make it occur.’
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“I hadn’t actually pushed the rest during the last 10 years, nearly, so to get to expertise the O’Reilly Collection and get to expertise a brand new workforce, a brand new state of affairs, a much bigger workforce that I hadn’t actually gotten previously was positively value it … I’ve nothing however respect for the Kaulig guys. Actually loved my time there. I felt like I grew lots whereas I used to be there as an individual and as a driver. I positively obtained higher all through your entire expertise, however I’ve at all times felt like Invoice McAnally Racing is house to me, and wished to get again to successful and competing and being round that surroundings.”
Whereas most of MHR’s management has remained the identical, Eckes returns to the Statesville, North Carolina, store with a model new crew. Daniel Hemric occupies his No. 19 Chevrolet from years previous, so the group tapped Eckes for the No. 91 entry and employed veteran crew chief Dave Elenz, who cast his personal distinctive path in 2025, to steer the foray.
A two-time O’Reilly Auto Components Collection champion, Elenz moved to the Cup Collection in 2022, calling the photographs for Erik Jones at Legacy Motor Membership. He received the Southern 500 with Jones as a rookie Cup crew chief, however simply two years later, Elenz and Jones parted methods amid a career-worst 2024 season, and he stepped away from the trade.
Now 45 years outdated, Elenz took almost eight months off earlier than accepting a place with a flowforming firm within the Boston suburbs. He commuted weekly from North Carolina, however returned house on the weekends to spend time with household — one thing he couldn’t do as a Cup crew chief. Elenz initially hoped to remain in NASCAR for the 2025 season and had conversations with McAnally a couple of place, however the stars aligned a yr later for a can’t-miss alternative with Eckes within the Truck Collection.
christian eckes within the nascar craftsman truck collection
“[Bill] was fairly enthusiastic about Christian coming again, and clearly, they’d a great historical past,” Elenz instructed NASCAR.com. “When Charles [Denike, former crew chief] was right here, they’d very quick [trucks] and many wins. And that half was thrilling to me. I do know Christian is able to successful; I do know Invoice’s doing it. And the facet of Saturdays and Sundays at house is huge for me, and I could possibly be aggressive and nonetheless have an opportunity to see my household.
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“You get to work and contact extra areas of the automobile than what you may on the Cup aspect. Generally, it’s good to not be in conferences all day and really get to exit and work on race vehicles, as a result of that’s truly what we like to do, and that’s type of why all of us began, was to work on race vehicles. On the Cup aspect, there’s so many individuals concerned, and you must be so good at each degree that it simply finally ends up that you just don’t get to see the race automotive as a lot, and it’s tougher for one particular person to contribute to that distinction. In order that’s been thrilling for me to get again to touching, feeling, engaged on the race automotive and seeing my outcomes make a distinction.”
And to this point, it’s admittedly been a blended bag for Eckes and Elenz. They completed third within the season opener at Daytona, however eight days later, a mechanical problem put them behind the wall at EchoPark simply two laps into the 125-lap timed contest. In races at St. Petersburg and Rockingham, the 91 workforce by no means contended and completed exterior the highest 10.
The final time the Truck Collection raced, nonetheless, all of the components lastly got here collectively. Eckes paced a race-high 132 laps and received the opening stage at Bristol, however after contact with Heim whereas battling for the Triple Truck Problem payday, he pale again to fifth within the ultimate stint.
That stated, Eckes continues to be fifth in factors, solely 17 markers behind collection chief Chandler Smith.
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“Bristol was type of what I anticipate us having the ability to be able to,” Eckes stated. “If it stays inexperienced, [we were in] a very good place to win, which I really feel like this workforce is able to doing on a weekly foundation. So we’re shifting in the precise path. There’s issues that I want to wash up, there’s issues that Dave wants to wash up — as an entire, our group wants to wash up, however we’re not off course.
“The 91 workforce, usually, is extraordinarily harmful if we are able to have an ideal day, and never excellent, however have a great day. However these are type of at a 50% charge proper now. Should you have a look at three of the races the place we ran prime 5, received phases and led laps, did all the things we would have liked to, we mixed to get 150 factors, however the different three, we solely have 40 factors [combined]. So simply consistency, greater than something, is one thing that we’re missing … as soon as we try this on a constant foundation, I really feel excellent in regards to the state of the 91 workforce.”
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With the Truck Collection returning to motion Friday at Texas Motor Speedway (8 p.m. ET, FS1, NRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), it begins six consecutive weeks of racing for the tailgaters. Subsequent week is a visit to the twists and turns of Watkins Glen Worldwide earlier than visiting Dover Motor Speedway for the primary time since 2020. Afterward, it’s a house recreation at Charlotte Motor Speedway — the ultimate 1.5-mile race of the common season.
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This upcoming stretch of races, as Elenz explains, carefully mimics tracks featured in The Chase, the brand new postseason format that may ship a champion come November. He believes that success over the month and a half will reply whether or not the 91 workforce is actually a title contender.
“This six-race stretch goes to be very telling for us,” Elenz stated. “If we’re profitable by this, it makes {the summertime} simpler than making an attempt to get a little bit bit higher going into the ultimate stretch. But when we battle by this, we’re going to have numerous work to do, and we’re going to have to search out velocity.
“It’s numerous good tracks for Christian, it’s good tracks for McAnally Racing. So I sit up for the success that we’re going to have, however yeah, I feel it’s extremely vital for us to have the ability to win the (common season). We’re in a gap proper now, we have to achieve factors by it, and this [stretch] goes to inform the place our velocity is at and what areas we’re going to should work on to be within the championship on the finish of the yr.”
And with Eckes again at a spot he calls house, the sky is the restrict.
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“I’m working as exhausting as I’ve ever labored, plus some, to attempt to win and get again what I really feel my commonplace is: successful races, successful poles, successful phases, main laps after which inevitably successful a championship,” he stated. “We’ve got some work to do to get the place I wish to be in that equation, however we’re getting nearer each week.”
