Eckes claims first career NCWTS win, playoff drivers have issues
LAS VEGAS — In his 44th NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start, Christian Eckes finally earned his most sought-after title: NASCAR winner.
Eckes led the final four laps and won after passing Todd Gilliland on Lap 130.
“My whole career has been leading up to this,” Eckes said. “There has been some ups and some downs, a lot of downs, but I’m happy we got here.”
Eckes bested teammates Ben Rhodes, Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter in a Thorsport Racing 1-2-3-4, a first for the organization that started racing the series in 1996.
Rhodes took the points lead from John Hunter Nemechek by six points. Nemechek had electrical issues that pushed him to a 33rd-place finish, 51 laps down.
Zane Smith, Carson Hocevar, Chandler Smith and Sheldon Creed were the other playoff drivers who had issues.
Zane Smith made contact with Nemechek on Lap 40 and sustained damage that put him back to a 29th-place finish, 19 laps down.
Chandler Smith and Sheldon Creed each sustained significant damage in a Lap 72 wreck where Tyler Ankrum spun, Smith him and Creed hit Smith as he was trying to avoid the wreck.
Smith and Creed finished 35th and 36th, respectively.
Hocevar finished 22nd, two laps down after having a flat tire on Lap 125 and spinning on Lap 127. However, NASCAR deemed that Hocevar intentionally spun to bring out the caution which drew a 1-lap penalty.
Stewart Friesen earned a problem-free sixth-place finish.
Bubble watch: Ben Rhodes (+34 over 5th place Sheldon Creed), John Hunter Nemechek (+28), Stewart Friesen (+9), Matt Crafton (+5), Sheldon Creed (-5 behind Crafton), Carson Hocevar (-16), Zane Smith (-19), Chandler Smith (-24).
The next race for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is Oct. 2 at Talladega Superspeedway (TV: FS1, 1 p.m. ET).
SOURCES: NASCAR, Racing-Reference.Info
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com