Back in the Mix … Christian Eckes has clawed his way back into range of the points lead as the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) is down to only four races remaining in the regular season. The driver of the No. 19 Instacoat Premium Products Chevrolet Silverado RST is within 36 points of the regular season title thanks to consistent runs in since early May. That stretch included his dominant victory at Darlington Raceway, which has positioned him as one of the favorites approaching the playoffs. Eckes and the No. 19 MHR squad look to make even more noise in “Music City” on Friday night by chasing their third win of the season.
Climbing the Charts … After a string of sour luck plagued Eckes and the No. 19 team during the spring, they’re back to climbing the charts after rebounding with a vengeance. Over the past four races, Eckes has recorded one victory, two top-five’s and three top-10 results. He has three finishes of sixth or better and enters Nashville Superspeedway (NSS) fresh off a runner-up finish at World Wide Technology Raceway on June 3rd. Eckes notched a sixth-place run in his only prior start at NSS last season.
Season to Date … Eckes is more than halfway through his first season behind the wheel of the No. 19 Chevrolet and is in the process of making it a hit season. He has banked 14 playoff points from two victories at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Darlington Raceway and four stage wins. Eckes has racked up four top-five and six top-10 results and owns the sixth-best average finish (13.7) among full-time NCTS drivers. After 12 of the 16 regular season events, and 23 total, Eckes is sixth in the NCTS drivers’ championship standings.
Chassis Selection … Chassis No. 349 returns to action on Friday at NSS for the third time in the last five races. Eckes and crew chief Charles Denike recently employed this Chevrolet Silverado RST at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 26th where it finished sixth. Eckes also wheeled it to victory at Darlington on May 12th. Nashville marks the fifth start of the year for chassis No. 349, as it debuted with a sixth-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Tune In … FOX Sports 1 will have live coverage from NSS as Eckes and the NCTS competitors have a compact one-day show. FS1 coverage begins at 4:00 p.m. ET with practice and qualifying followed by NASCAR Raceday at 7:30 p.m. ET and the green flag at 8:00 p.m. ET. Stay connected with the No. 19 Instacoat Premium Products team by following @BMR_NASCAR on Twitter, @bmrnascar on Instagram, and Bill McAnally Racing on Facebook.
Christian Eckes Quote:
On racing at Nashville and the final four races of the regular season:
“Nashville is going to be important for our team as we get down to the end of the regular season. We’ve done a good job at scoring some playoff points, but we always want more and that’s what we’re going to try to do this week with our Instacoat Premium Products Chevrolet. Every point counts and we’d love to gain another spot or two in the point standings to finish the regular season as good as we can. Nashville can be a good track for us to hopefully challenge for another win. It’s similar to some of the intermediates that we’ve been fast at all year. It’s a much different surface with the concrete and it’ll be a fun challenge for our team.”
McAnally Hilgemann Racing PR
