On the Streets for a Rebound … Christian Eckes is part of history this weekend as the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series (NCTS) takes to the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg for the first street course event in series history. The driver of the No. 91 NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet Silverado RST is making his second street course appearances in NASCAR’s top three divisions and is seeking his first road course victory. Throughout his career, Eckes has proven himself to be a versatile wheelman winning on a variety of tracks and hopes to rebound after last week’s early exit at EchoPark Speedway. 

Going on Down the Road … Saturday’s inaugural outing on the shores of St. Petersburg marks the 11th road course start of Eckes’ NCTS career and he has consistently excelled at turning left and right. While the Upstate New Yorker is pursuing his first road racing victory, his previous 10 road course starts have yielded two top-five’s and five top-10 results. Additionally, his NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) rookie season produced three top-five’s and five top-10 finishes in seven events in 2025. Eckes is also one of the few drivers entered for Saturday’s 80-lap event that has street course experience as he finished 15th in the NXS Chicago Street Course race last season.

Season to Date … Despite an early exit in Atlanta, Ga. last week due to a broken drive shaft, Eckes sits 10th in the drivers’ point standings entering St. Pete’s 1.8-mile course. Eckes’ position is due to a tremendous season opener at Daytona International Speedway where he finished third and scored 12 stage points. 

Tune In … Eckes gets his first shot on the St. Pete streets at 4:00 p.m. ET on Friday afternoon with practice and qualifying, live on FOX Sports 2. Coverage continues on FOX Sports 1 Saturday with the green flag at Noon ET. Stay connected with the No. 91 NAPA Auto Care team by following @BMR_NASCAR on Twitter, @bmr_nascar on Instagram, and Bill McAnally Racing on Facebook. 

Christian Eckes Quote:

On being part of the inaugural NCTS race at St. Petersburg:

“There’s always plenty of challenges when you go to a new racetrack, for sure. Not many people from the NASCAR world have experience there, but fortunately I was able to do the Chicago Street Course last year and got some experience with how tight these type of places can be and the visual surroundings. There’s a lot of tight sections at St. Pete and a few hard braking zones. The first goal is to get the NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet qualified up front so we can have some clean track to start on Saturday and hopefully stay out of the chaos. Without live pit stops, there’s probably going to be even more desperation on restarts. Hopefully we can keep the NAPA Chevrolet towards the front and gain some points back after last week.”

MHR PR