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Christian Eckes found his footing last year in the Craftsman Truck Series.
He posted a third-place finish after winning three races and earning 22 top 10 finishes, but he made a major move.
This year, the 24-year-old is in his first Xfinity Series season, and while he hasn’t found similar success, he knew it was a necessary change.
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NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Christian Eckes holds an umbrella as it rains during qualifying for the United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)
“I felt like I had gotten to a point in the Truck Series where I wasn’t content or happy with the success, but it definitely got to a point where I felt pretty comfortable about moving to the next level, and I felt like this was a great opportunity to go get in some different series with hopefully a ladder to Cup, as well,” Eckes, who now races with Kaulig Racing, told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.
To go along with his move to Xfinity, Eckes partnered with Celsius, the energy drink he says has given him huge boosts on race day.
“It’s been a blast so far. I’ve been able to meet a lot of cool people and obviously drink some good drinks along the way. And I’m looking forward to the future as well,” Eckes said.
“It’s helped me a lot. Some of these races are at night, or even in the morning, really. So getting that caffeine in definitely helps as well as the hydration packets. There’s a lot of things that they do that help us succeed. So yeah, definitely a big part of our race weekends.”
NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Christian Eckes (16) drives during the NASCAR Xfinity race at Texas Motor Speedway. (Jerome Miron/Imagn Images)
Eckes admitted this season has not gone as he’d like. He has only six top 10 finishes this year.
“We’re still trying to find our way,” Eckes said. “We’ve had some success here and there, have had some speed, but not on a consistent basis. So, that’s kind of our No. 1 thing right now is to try to push that forward and get to where we feel like we should be, and that’s contending on a weekly basis.”
This weekend, Eckes will be racing in Nashville, where he reached the pinnacle of success. He won there last year, and Kaulig has taken the checkered flag there before.
“Nashville should be a good place for us. I won the race last year in the Truck Series, so hopefully it’s the weekend that we finally turned around,” he said.
Eckes admitted he was not a fan of Nashville in the past, but “leading every lap last year, I like it a little better now.”
NASCAR Truck Series driver Christian Eckes celebrates winning the Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tenn., June 28, 2024. (Andrew Nelles/The Tennessean/USA Today Network)
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“I’ve done it in a truck before, so hopefully I can repeat that success. It’s gonna take a lot. The Xfinity Series is challenging to win. You gotta be perfect in every aspect or as close to perfect as you can be. It’s gonna take a lot, but I feel confident in our team to do it.”
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