Chasing Checkers … Christian Eckes is back for his second NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series (NCTS) appearance of 2025 to chase the checkered flag at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The driver of the No. 16 NAPA Nightvision Chevrolet Silverado RST is back with MHR and crew chief Darren Fraley to pursue his 10th career victory in the team’s fifth entry during his off week from NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) competition with Kaulig Racing. Eckes recently competed at Richmond Raceway with MHR in August where he ran inside the top five and ultimately finished 12th. 

Flat Track Phenom … While Eckes is making his first NCTS appearance at “The Magic Mile” on Saturday afternoon, the 24-year-old is expected to be one of the favorites to compete for the victory. His flat track and short track history in NCTS competition has been superb over his 115-race career and looks to extend that trend in the series return to New England after an eight-year hiatus. Eckes has recorded three NCTS wins on flat tracks (Indianapolis Raceway Park, The Milwaukee Mile, Phoenix Raceway, and Martinsville Speedway). He has led a staggering 510 laps between those four venues and has recorded 10 top-five’s and 13 top-10 results.

Season to Date … Eckes has competed full-time in the NXS and has notched five top-five’s and 13 top-10 finishes through 27 races. In addition to competing at Richmond last month, Eckes also drove the No. 19 NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet for Bill McAnally Racing in the ARCA Menards Series West the road course events at Sonoma Raceway and Portland International Raceway.

Tune In … Eckes hits the track on Friday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. ET for practice and qualifying, carried live on FOX Sports 2. Coverage flips to FOX Sports 1 for the green flag at 12:00 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon. Stay connected with the No. 16 NAPA Nightvision team by following @BMR_NASCAR on Twitter, @bmr_nascar on Instagram, and Bill McAnally Racing on Facebook. 

Christian Eckes Quote:

On racing at NHMS for the first time:

“I’m excited to get back in a truck again this weekend. It’s been a long time since I raced there in the East Series, so defintely looking forward to hopefully competing for a win this weekend in the NAPA Nightvision Chevrolet. Appreciate Bill (McAnally) and everybody at MHR for putting this together. We were a little off at Richmond last month but felt like we could have run third to fifth, so we have a little work to do, for sure. Hopefully we can make good use of the extended practice this weekend and dial ourselves in to where we need to be. We’ve historically been really good at the flat tracks. Won at Phoenix and led a bunch at Milwaukee, so it’d be nice to continue that this weekend.”

MHR PR