Christian Donald Eckes (pronounced "eck-iss"; born November 10, 2000) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing. Eckes is the 2019 ARCA Menards Series champion, won the Snowball Derby in 2016, and was formerly a development driver for JR Motorsports and later Toyota.
Eckes grew up in Greenville, New York. He began racing Legends Cars at thirteen years old and later moved up to racing late model stock cars and super late models. [2] In 2015, Eckes began racing late models for JR Motorsports, as well as super late models for LFR Chassis as one of their driver development program drivers. [3] [4] He made his ARCA Racing Series debut at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway in April 2016, driving for Venturini Motorsports. [5] He finished eighth, the only top-ten in four ARCA races that year. [6] Eckes also made his NASCAR K&N Pro Series East debut at Dominion Raceway and ran two further events in the series that year. [7] [8] Eckes capped off his season by winning three races in a row, including a triumph in the Snowball Derby held at Five Flags Speedway where he beat John Hunter Nemechek. [9] [10] Although some reports pegged him as the youngest winner, those reports were erroneous, as Chase Elliott won the event in 2011 at age fifteen while Eckes was sixteen when he triumphed. [11]
Eckes and Venturini remained together for the following two seasons, partaking in ten races of the ARCA Racing Series during 2017 and 13 the year after. [12] [13] He triumphed for the first time at Salem Speedway in April 2018, keeping teammate Chandler Smith at bay over the closing portion of the event to secure the victory. [14] He followed up with wins at Illinois State Fairgrounds and Indianapolis Raceway Park during the year, making him the driver with the second-most wins that season despite missing seven races.
In the week following the win at Salem, Eckes landed a deal with NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team Kyle Busch Motorsports to drive the team's No. 46 entry in four races in the 2018 season, starting at Iowa Speedway in June. [15] He led his first laps in the series at Iowa and took his first stage win during stage 2 at the following race in Gateway, though he later crashed out of the contest. In total, Eckes's first four starts in the Truck Series included 38 laps led and three finishes inside the top ten. [16]
In 2019, Eckes embarked on a full-time campaign in the newly renamed ARCA Menards Series in the No. 15 Venturini car. [17] Despite missing the Salem race in April due to an esophageal tear in his trachea, he went on to win the championship with four wins, 13 top fives, and 17 top tens in 19 starts. [18] Eckes was the first ARCA champion to not run every race since Tim Steele in 1997. [19] During the same year, Eckes also ran eight races in the Truck Series with KBM's No. 51 truck. [20] Thanks to his three top five finishes, including a decisive third place at the Homestead season finale, Eckes helped the No. 51 crew towards the owners' championship, which was the seventh for the KBM team overall. [21]
The following year, Eckes joined the team's No. 18 truck for the entirety of the 2020 season. [22] After five results inside the top five, including runner-up finishes at Texas, Kansas, and Michigan, Eckes made the NASCAR playoffs. However, he was eliminated after the first round, retiring in a last-lap pileup at the Talladega cut-off race. [23] Eckes notably had a verbal and physical altercation with Ben Rhodes, who had spun him out on purpose at the fall Texas race. [24] He finished with a winless season and an eighth-place finish in the standings.
In 2021, Eckes moved to ThorSport Racing after being replaced at KBM by Chandler Smith. [25] He entered 10 races of the 22-race season, sharing the schedule with Grant Enfinger. [26] Eckes managed to finish inside the top five on five occasions and would take his maiden win in the Truck Series at Las Vegas, besting Todd Gilliland during a late restart and being saved from an attack by Ben Rhodes by a caution that ended the race. [27]
Eckes progressed to a full-time schedule in 2022, driving the No. 98 after Enfinger moved back to GMS Racing. [28] Though he did not win any races that year, Eckes finished eighth in the standings, scoring 15 top tens. [29]
On December 6, 2022, McAnally-Hilgemann Racing announced that Eckes would pilot the No. 19 NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet Silverado in 2023, replacing Derek Kraus. Eckes started the season with a third-place finish at Daytona, before going on to win at Atlanta and Darlington — where he triumphed dominantly following five races with either a 15th place or a DNF — during the regular season. [30] [31] The first round of the playoffs turned out to be commanding, as Eckes finished second and third at IRP and Milwaukee respectively before making an outside pass on Corey Heim and Zane Smith after a late restart to win at Kansas. [32] However, Heim would get his revenge at Bristol by passing a dominant Eckes with five laps to go; Eckes would finish second. [33] Eckes was eliminated at the conclusion of the Round of 8 at Homestead, having finished 20th. [34] He won two weeks later at Phoenix and finished fifth in the final points standings. [35]
Eckes started the 2024 season with a 10th-place finish at Daytona. Throughout the season, he won at Bristol, Martinsville, and Nashville, and claimed the regular season championship. [36] [37] [38] [39] During the playoffs, Eckes won at Martinsville to make the Championship 4, albeit with controversy: though Eckes had dominated the race, winning both stages, a late caution allowed Taylor Gray to pass him during the subsequent restart. [40] Eckes moved Gray up the racetrack aggressively and made a similar move to prevent Ben Rhodes from winning moments later, causing Gray to confront Eckes after the finish. [41] The following week, Eckes finished third at Phoenix to claim third in the standings, being beaten by Heim and eventual champion Ty Majeski who had dominated the event. [42]
On August 31, 2024, it was announced that Eckes will move up to the NASCAR Xfinity Series full-time in 2025, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing. [43]
Eckes was born on November 10, 2000, to George and Darlene Eckes. He has an older sister, Erica. Eckes attended George Washington University Online High School. [2]
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
| NASCAR Xfinity Series results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | NXSC | Pts | Ref | ||
| 2025 | Kaulig Racing | 16 | Chevy | DAY | ATL | COA | PHO | LVS | HOM | MAR | DAR | BRI | CAR | TAL | TEX | CLT | NSH | MXC | POC | ATL | CSC | SON | DOV | IND | IOW | GLN | DAY | PIR | GTW | BRI | KAN | ROV | LVS | TAL | MAR | PHO | -* | -* | |||
| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | NCTC | Pts | Ref | |||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Kyle Busch Motorsports | 46 | Toyota | DAY | ATL | LVS | MAR | DOV | KAN | CLT | TEX | IOW 8 | GTW 28 | CHI | KEN | ELD | POC | MCH | BRI | MSP | LVS | TAL | MAR 9 | TEX | PHO 9 | HOM | 35th | 110 | [44] | |||||||||||||||
| 2019 | 51 | DAY 22 | ATL | LVS | MAR | TEX | DOV | KAN | CLT | TEX | IOW | GTW 14* | CHI | KEN | POC 4 | ELD 6 | MCH 15 | BRI | MSP | LVS 3 | TAL | MAR 17 | PHO | HOM 3 | 20th | 271 | [45] | |||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | 18 | DAY 22 | LVS 23 | CLT 14 | ATL 3 | HOM 8 | POC 33 | KEN 6 | TEX 2 | KAN 13 | KAN 2 | MCH 2 | DRC 12 | DOV 11 | GTW 32 | DAR 5 | RCH 18 | BRI 12 | LVS 8 | TAL 18 | KAN 6 | TEX 25 | MAR 4 | PHO 4 | 8th | 2238 | [46] | |||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | ThorSport Racing | 98 | Toyota | DAY | DRC 10 | LVS 9 | ATL | BRD | RCH | KAN 4 | DAR | COA 35 | CLT 11 | TEX | NSH | POC 12 | KNX | GLN 13 | GTW 31 | DAR | BRI | LVS 1 | TAL | MAR | PHO 6 | 21st | 263 | [47] | ||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | DAY 3 | LVS 28 | ATL 16 | COA 6 | MAR 12 | BRD 5 | DAR 17 | KAN 5 | TEX 2 | CLT 4 | GTW 2 | SON 35 | KNX 12 | NSH 6 | MOH 5 | POC 8 | IRP 16 | RCH 8 | KAN 10 | BRI 8 | TAL 5* | HOM 7 | PHO 30 | 8th | 2230 | [48] | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | 19 | Chevy | DAY 3* | LVS 6 | ATL 1 | COA 30 | TEX 15 | BRD 30 | MAR 15 | KAN 30 | DAR 1* | NWS 25 | CLT 6 | GTW 2 | NSH 23 | MOH 3 | POC 7 | RCH 11 | IRP 2 | MLW 3 | KAN 1 | BRI 2* | TAL 19 | HOM 20 | PHO 1 | 5th | 2319 | [49] | |||||||||||||||
| 2024 | DAY 10 | ATL 32 | LVS 6 | BRI 1* | COA 8 | MAR 1* | TEX 4 | KAN 3 | DAR 4 | NWS 6 | CLT 10 | GTW 2 | NSH 1** | POC 3 | IRP 2* | RCH 2 | MLW 3* | BRI 4 | KAN 3 | TAL 6 | HOM 9 | MAR 1* | PHO 3 | 3rd | 4034 | [50] | ||||||||||||||||||
* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
| ARCA Menards Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | AMSC | Pts | Ref |
| 2016 | Venturini Motorsports | 66 | Toyota | DAY | NSH 8 | SLM | TAL | TOL | NJE | POC | MCH | 40th | 625 | [51] | ||||||||||||
| 15 | MAD 14 | WIN | IOW 11 | IRP 26 | POC | BLN | ISF | DSF | SLM | CHI | KEN | KAN | ||||||||||||||
| 2017 | DAY | NSH 3 | SLM 8* | TAL | TOL 8 | ELK 2 | POC | MCH | MAD 5 | IOW 8 | IRP 10 | POC | WIN 2 | ISF 6 | ROA | DSF | SLM 19 | CHI | KEN | KAN | 16th | 1980 | [52] | |||
| 2018 | DAY | NSH 8 | SLM 1 | TAL | TOL 21 | CLT | POC 11 | MCH | MAD | GTW 4 | CHI | IOW 11 | ELK 2 | POC 13 | ISF 1 | BLN 11 | DSF 4 | SLM 7 | IRP 1* | KAN | 12th | 2650 | [53] | |||
| 2019 | DAY 4 | FIF 3 | SLM INQ† | TAL 26 | NSH 1* | TOL 3 | CLT 7 | POC 3 | MCH 7 | MAD 7 | GTW 2 | CHI 7 | ELK 11 | IOW 2 | POC 1 | ISF 2 | DSF 1* | SLM 2 | IRP 2 | KAN 1 | 1st | 5045 | [54] | |||
| † – Qualified for the 2019 Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 but was replaced by Harrison Burton due to illness | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NASCAR K&N Pro Series East results | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | NKNPSEC | Pts | Ref |
| 2016 | LFR Driver Development Group | 15 | Ford | NSM | MOB | GRE | BRI | VIR | DOM 7 | STA | COL 9 | NHA 18 | IOW | GLN | GRE | NJE | DOV | 31st | 98 | [55] |
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