Christian Eckes Tag

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Ben Rhodes wrapped up a perfect pair of race outings at Daytona International Speedway answering his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory on the oval last week with a dramatic win Friday night on the infield road course. It took three overtime starts to secure the victory over 2020 series champion Sheldon Creed, but Rhodes’ work in the No. 99 ThorSport Racing Toyota marked only the third time in series history a driver has opened the season with back-to-back wins. And it marked theRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Championship finalist Sheldon Creed had already apologized to his race team as his No. 2 GMS Racing Chevrolet Silverado began to fall back in the closing laps of Friday night’s Lucas Oil 150 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series championship race at Phoenix Raceway. And then a yellow flag came out – with three laps remaining. Creed gambled on a pit stop for fresh tires even as the race leaders – fellow championship contenders Brett Moffitt and Grant Enfinger stayed on track. CreedRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service There was no mistaking the raised intensity level in Friday night’s NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 – the final race to set the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Championship 4. And ultimately, veteran Grant Enfinger rallied when he needed to holding off his ThorSport Racing teammate Ben Rhodes for the victory necessary to punch his ticket into next week’s championship finale. Enfinger, 35, of Fairhope, Ala., earned this win managing two restarts in a frantic final 10 laps of racing on theRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service After four runner-up finishes on the season, former NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Series champion Brett Moffitt earned his first victory of 2020 in the Clean Harbors 200 at Kansas Speedway Saturday evening. And while that first win came 20 races into the season, it was particularly impactful – officially landing Moffitt in the Championship 4 that will compete for the series title Nov. 6 in Phoenix. Moffitt, 28, held off his GMS Racing Chevrolet teammate Sheldon Creed by a mere .111-seconds for theRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service In a wild two-lap shootout that ended prematurely with a multicar wreck near the entrance to Turn 3, 19-year-old Canadian Raphael Lessard earned his first NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series victory in Saturday’s Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Talladega Superspeedway. Lessard had nosed ahead of runner-up Trevor Bayne while Stewart Friesen’s Chevrolet spun into the outside backstretch wall on the final lap, causing the caution that froze the field. The yellow made a winner of Lessard, but what was euphoria for one KyleRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Zane Smith made a last lap pass in double overtime to earn his first career NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series victory Friday night in the Henry Ford Health System 200 at Michigan International Speedway. The 21-year old Smith held off his friend, Sunoco rookie Christian Eckes by a mere 0.318-second for the victory and his official berth into the upcoming 2020 series Playoffs. Their duel was made possible after the race’s most dominant driver Grant Enfinger was taken from the lead onRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service For Matt Crafton, the victory couldn’t have been sweeter. The 44-year-old reigning NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series champion held off a determined charge from 19-year-old Christian Eckes and held on to win Saturday’s E.P.T. 200 at Kansas Speedway. In the second leg of NASCAR’s first Truck Series weekend doubleheader, Crafton broke a 67-race drought dating back to his 2017 victory on the Eldora Speedway’s half-mile dirt track. Crafton took the lead moments after a restart on Lap 113 of 134 and heldRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Kyle Busch held off 19-year old rookie Christian Eckes by .777-seconds to earn the victory in the Vankor 250 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday night. It was master and protégé showing the way with Eckes still scoring a career-best second-place finish in the No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota. The two – running first and second – held a 12-second advantage on the field during much of the final stage of the race. They exchangedRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Sheldon Creed prevailed in a frantic three-wide restart on Lap 52 of Saturday’s Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race and held the spot through the second stage break, earning his first career series victory when lightning and rain showers forced the race to be called official 71 laps into the scheduled 150-lapper. Menacing weather around Kentucky Speedway ultimately caused teams to race the skies as well as each other and Creed’s bold move around Kentucky nativeRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The worst feeling in the world for a NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series rookie is being in front with victory in sight, only for problems snatching it away. That was the case for Christian Eckes, who crashed out while leading during the closing stages of Sunday’s Pocono Organics 150 at Pocono Raceway. Already dealing with sinus problems and later a blown left ear drum, the 19-year-old rookie had the race in control with only his temporary Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate Brandon Jones hot onRead More