NASCAR
Christian Eckes Out-Duels Kyle Busch for Bristol Victory
BRISTOL, Tenn. – The one that got away from Christian Eckes last fall came back. The McAnally-Hilgemann Racing No. 19 Chevrolet led 150 of 200 laps at Bristol in September, only to lose the top spot late. This time around The World’s Fastest Half Mile, Eckes wins a race-long battle against Kyle Busch. Eckes now is a Playoff lock with this win, gunning for another deep postseason run.
Eckes was lights-out quick from the pole, only surrendering the lead late to Kyle Busch in Stage 1. Busch would sweep both Stages, with the No. 19 a close runner-up each time. Following a restart after some ThorSport trucks tangled however, Eckes stalked down Busch and reasserted command. A tight handling truck did not allow Busch to ever regain lost ground, eventually trailing Eckes by a tenth at the checkers.
“Oh, man, it’s so sweet,” said Eckes. “There’s just so much behind this win from last year, missing out on the Championship 4 and losing the race with (six) to go.”
“To come back and redeem ourselves was our number one goal, and not only that, but the first three races (of this season), how terribly they’ve gone. We had a lot of issues, and to come back and run really good just shows the resilience of the team.”
Chevrolet remains undefeated in the 2024 Truck Series, now with four wins by four different drivers. Behind Eckes and Busch at the finish was Zane Smith, Matt Crafton, and Tyler Ankrum. The rest of the top-10 were: Corey Heim, Taylor Gray, Rajah Caruth, Grant Enfinger, and Layne Riggs. Hear from some of these drivers below.
The Craftsman Truck Series will be back in action Saturday from COTA. The XPEL 225 will go green at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Front Row Motorsports is perfect in three years of Truck racing in Austin. Can Layne Riggs keep this streak alive?
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Meg Oliphant/Getty Images
