“It’s a bada** truck man”: Christian Eckes clinches 3rd win of the season after leading 150 laps in Nashville

After leading every lap [150] of the Rackley Roofing 200 race at Nashville Superspeedway, Christian Eckes credited the win to his truck. The 23-year-old mentioned that while he was hoping for this at Gateway too, the #19 team came up just short with a second-place finish. Acknowledging his #19 Chevy's versatility as the key to his success, he said that the #19 truck is one 'bada** truck.'

Starting in third place, Eckes took the lead from pole-sitter Stewart Friesen in the very first turn of the race and controlled the pace from there on out.

He expanded his lead to over three seconds during the final laps and finished with a comfortable margin of 2.028 seconds ahead of his teammate, Daniel Dye, who finished his career-best P2. The performance moved Dye closer to securing a playoff spot in the points standings.

Christian Eckes not only clinched his third win of his seventh season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Nashville but also achieved a feat by leading every single lap of the race—the first driver to do so in 12 years.

This victory expanded his lead in the championship standings to 40 points ahead of Corey Heim from Tricon Garage, who managed to finish third by overtaking Rajah Caruth of Spire Motorsports in a last-lap pass. Tyler Ankrum of McAnally-Hilgemann Racing finished fifth.

In his post-race interview, Christian Eckes couldn't contain his excitement about the truck's performance. He said:

"This is a badass truck man. Man, I can't say enough about these guys. We felt like we should have won last time out of Gateway; [we] came up a little bit short, finished second, and we really motivated to get this truck out better. [...] But just man, what a what an adaptive one Chevy. Just can't thank everybody," via Fox Sports.

However, Christian Eckes was understandably reserved when asked about his plans for the $50,000 bonus check. With the exhilaration of victory still fresh, he deflected the question about the windfall, stating:

"That's a good question. But [I'm] more excited about the win right now."

Meanwhile, former NASCAR Cup Series star and current FOX Sports NASCAR broadcaster Clint Bowyer faced challenges during the race. Bowyer, driving the #7 Spire Chevrolet, finished in P17. His truck sustained damage during a pile-up that occurred on a restart at Lap 60, affecting his race outcome.

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Christian Eckes may earn a place in Front Row Motorsports

Christian Eckes is currently leading the NASCAR Truck drivers standings table with 566 points with three wins, seven top-5s, and twelve top-10s. He is one point ahead of Corey Heim who has clinched 4 wins this season and finished nine top-5s and eleven top-10s.

Owing to the impressive stats of Christian Eckes, FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass speculates that Eckes could be in line for one of the two seats opening up at Front Row Motorsports for the 2025 Cup Series season.

This marks the first time Eckes has been publicly considered for a Cup Series ride. Front Row Motorsports will have two spots available as it has acquired a new charter and with Michael McDowell transitioning to Spire Motorsports.

Noah Gragson is also a strong contender for one of the seats at Front Row Motorsports. However, if the circumstances align, Christian Eckes might just clinch the other available position.