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Christian Eckes continued his remarkable consistency with a third-place finish on Saturday night at Kansas Speedway for his third-straight top-five result. The driver of the No. 19 Adaptive One Calipers Chevrolet Silverado RST led twice for 11 laps en route to his sixth-straight top-10 and continued his streak of leading laps in all eight events this season. Eckes netted 50 points on the night, second-most, and sits second in what is developing into a two-horse race for the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) regular season crown.

Eckes posted the fourth-fastest single lap in Saturday morning’s practice session and qualified 10th for the 134-lap event. His patented aggression was on full display in the opening lap as he made multiple three-wide maneuvers to take the fifth position. A restart on lap seven after the race’s lone natural caution allowed him to take the fourth position and he advanced to third by lap 24. Eckes was able to pocket eight points at the end of Stage 1 on lap 30.

Crew chief Charles Denike called Eckes to pit road under the first stage caution where the No. 19 team ripped off a lightning four-tire stop to take the race lead. Eckes restarted as the race leader on lap 38 and led the field at the start of the second segment. A tight handling condition hampered Eckes’ pace, but he continued to maintain a podium position through the conclusion of Stage 2 at lap 60 to collect an additional eight points.

Denike and the No. 19 team armed Eckes with another set of tires and track bar adjustments to improve the balance during the second stage caution, and delivered another rapid pit stop to regain the lead. Eckes jumped out to a brief advantage on the lap 68 restart, but ran fourth by lap 82 due to a lingering tight condition. He made his final pit stop of the night under green on lap 96 and was able to cycle to third position by lap 103. He maintained pace with the race leader over the final 20-plus laps and took the checkered flag in third for his fourth top-five finish of the season.

“The Adaptive One Chevy was a little bit tight all day,” Eckes said. “We got it better at times, but just didn’t keep up with the racetrack enough. There’s a lot of race track changes that we just weren’t really anticipating and just couldn’t keep up with the racetrack. But still had a race-winning capable truck if we kept up with the balance. Definitely a lot to look forward to in the future here and just excited for the next couple races.”

Start / Finish: 10 / 3
Points Standing / Total: 2nd / 337 pts. (-7)

Next Race: Friday, May 10, Darlington Raceway
How to Watch or Listen: 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN or SiriusXM

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    • By NAPA
      Chase Elliott and the No. 9 link hidden, please login to view team qualified fourth for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway, leading the Hendrick Motorsports contingent. The 28-year-old driver finished stage one in fourth and followed that up with a 31st-place result in stage two after short pitting. In the final stage, Elliott took over the lead on lap 81 during the pit cycle prior to visiting pit road on lap 84 for four tires and fuel. Rejoining the race in the 12th position, he battled back to fourth before the checkered flag waved. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native advanced to second in the driver points standings and is now just 14 markers behind the leader. Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Gold Filters team qualified fourth for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway, leading Hendrick Motorsports’ four-car contingent. Elliott’s No. 9 NAPA Gold Filters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 showed speed from the drop of the green flag. He maintained his fourth-place running position in the opening laps. When the caution flag was displayed on lap three, Elliott relayed to crew chief Alan Gustafson that the NAPA Gold Filters Chevy’s handling wasn’t bad. Opting to restart from the outside lane in the third row, the 28-year-old driver retook the fourth position on lap seven and remained there until the yellow flag waved again on lap 16. Staying out under the caution, he restarted from third on lap 19 and was scored in fourth when another incident brought out the caution the very same lap. The No. 9 team opted not to pit, and Elliott took the green flag from the second row on lap 23. With the remainder of the stage going caution-free, the 2020 Cup Series champion took the green-and-white checkered flag in the fourth position at the conclusion of lap 25.
      Elliott remained on the track during the stage break, lining up third to start the second segment of the race on lap 30. After initially holding onto the third position, Elliott got loose and slipped to fourth before the caution came out on lap 32. Once again, the team opted not to pit under the yellow. This time, Elliott chose the outside lane for the lap-35 restart. He was scored fifth when another incident slowed the race just one lap later. Staying out, Elliott lined up fifth on lap 40. A chaotic restart triggered another caution, with the driver of the No. 9 Chevy being scored seventh at the time of the yellow flag. As part of the team’s strategy, Elliott again did not visit pit road. He restarted seventh on lap 43 and improved to sixth before coming to pit road under the green flag on lap 51 for four tires and fuel. He re-entered the track and laid down the fastest lap of the race before ending stage two in the 31st position on lap 55.
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      Start / Finish: 4 / 4
      Points Standing / Total: 2nd / 547 pts. (-14)
      Next Race: Sunday, June 16, Iowa Speedway
      How to Watch or Listen: USA, MRN or SiriusXM
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    • By NAPA
      Jack Wood delivered his best performance of the 2024 season on Friday afternoon at Sonoma Raceway and earned a fifth-place finish. The driver of the No. 16
      link hidden, please login to view Chevrolet SS gained a position in the ARCA Menards Series West standings and now resides third in points after four events. The effort in California’s wine county marked his first top-five finish of the season and his third top-five result at Sonoma. Wood started the 200-mile showdown from the eighth position and immediately went forward at the drop of the green flag. The Loomis, Calif. driver vaulted himself into the top five on the opening lap to assert himself as a contender. The race’s first restart came on lap 10 and Wood settled into sixth position as he preserved his tires, since no tire changes were permitted during the 67-lap event.
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      Start / Finish: 8 / 5
      Points Standing / Total: 3rd / 140 pts. (-19)
      Next Race: Thursday, July 4, Irwindale Speedway
      How to Watch or Listen: 
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    • By NAPA
      Chase Elliott and the No. 9 link hidden, please login to view team qualified 17th for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at WWT Raceway. The 28-year-old driver advanced to 10th to end the first stage before finishing the second stage in the fourth position. During the final stage, pit strategy came into play. After pitting for right-side tires and fuel on lap 208, Elliott took the checkered flag to earn a 13th-place finish. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native advanced to third in the driver points standings, just 27 markers behind the leader. Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team qualified 17th for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at WWT Raceway. The 28-year-old driver’s No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 showed speed from the drop of the green flag. At a track that was difficult to pass on, Elliott advanced to 15th by lap two and was scored 16th when the first caution of the race came out on lap three. Staying out, Elliott restarted from the 16th position and improved to 14th before another yellow flag waved on lap 17. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native radioed to crew chief Alan Gustafson that the No. 9 NAPA Chevy had “a little more build to the right rear than I’d like to have.” The team ultimately made the call not to pit and Elliott lined up 13th for the lap-23 restart. From there, he pressed forward and entered the top 10 for the first time of the race on lap 26. He remained there until the green-and-white checkered flag waved to end the first stage on lap 45.
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      Start / Finish: 17 / 13
      Points Standing / Total: 3rd / 507 pts. (-27)
      Next Race: Sunday, June 9, Sonoma Raceway
      How to Watch or Listen: 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN or SiriusXM
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    • By NAPA
      Christian Eckes finished second on Saturday afternoon for the third-straight season at World Wide Technology Raceway. The driver of the No. 19 Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet Silverado RST led for the 12th-straight race this season and delivered a 53-point performance, tied for the most of all drivers in the field. Eckes now holds a 31-point advantage in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) standings after 12 races with four remaining in the regular season.
      Eckes was near the front of the field for the entire weekend in St. Louis. On Friday afternoon, he posted the second-quickest lap in practice and qualified second. After cloudy and rainy skies gave way to bright sunshine on Saturday afternoon, Eckes fired off in the second position and threatened for the lead. A restart on lap 16 gave him the opportunity to briefly claim the race lead in the 12th event this season. While he battled a tight handling condition, Eckes maintained the second position for the balance of Stage 1 to earn nine points on lap 35.
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      During the second stage caution, Eckes took another set of fresh tires, but an issue on the left front relegated him to restart 12th on lap 78. Despite the setback, Eckes locked in and drove forward yet again to blitz his way back into the top five on lap 91. A long green flag run set up a cycle of green flag pit stops beginning at lap 118. Eckes pitted for the final time on lap 122 under green for four tires and a minor adjustment. He narrowly unlapped himself before the race’s final caution flew on lap 130. Eckes cycled to third for the event’s final restart on lap 137. He seized control of a podium position on the restart and moved into second on lap 150. Eckes began to reel in the leader in the waning laps but took the checkered flag in second position for his sixth top-five finish of the season.
      “The whole weekend was second,” Eckes said. “We practiced in second. We qualified second. Second in both stages and second in the race. Consistent on that, but just definitely let one slip there. I felt like we should have won that race and felt like we had the best truck, but just got behind on track position and never could get it back up. Just super hard to pass and here we are running second. Can’t thank Gates Hydraulics, NAPA, Chevrolet, and everybody enough, and Sparks Tire & Auto.”
      Start / Finish: 2 / 2
      Points Standing / Total: 1st / 506 pts. (+31)
      Next Race: Friday, June 28, Nashville Superspeedway
      How to Watch or Listen: FS2, MRN or SiriusXM
      NAPA: 
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    • By NAPA
      Christian Eckes took an unorthodox path to secure a top-10 finish and extended his points lead on Friday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway (CMS). The driver of the No. 19
      link hidden, please login to view Chevrolet Silverado RST earned a 10th-place finish after persevering through a trying day and now owns a 30-point advantage in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) championship standings after 11 of 16 regular season races. Eckes was instantly faced with adversity in practice after posting the third-quickest time in the session. He received significant damage to the left side of his Chevrolet after contact from another truck in practice and forced the team to make major repairs. Consequently, Eckes was scrubbed in qualifying and started from the tail of the field. The repairs did not deter Eckes as he targeted the front and rapidly charged forward at the start. He advanced from 35th to 14th by the end of Stage 1 on lap 30, despite simultaneously dealing with a low voltage issue.
      Under the first stage caution, crew chief Charles Denike and the NAPA team executed an efficient diagnosis of the situation which was attributed to a disconnected alternator. The team kept Eckes on the lead lap during the pit cycle to make repairs, but he was forced to restart at the tail of the lead lap. Once again, Eckes moved forward and advanced to 20th by the end of Stage 2 on lap 60.
      After pitting during the stage break, Eckes also pitted under caution on lap 75. The strategy allowed him to get off sequence with most of the lead lap trucks, and it paid off with a caution on lap 81. As the majority hit pit road, Eckes stayed on track to inherit the fifth position for the lap 88 restart. In his trademark fashion, Eckes wasted no time on the restart and immediately went from fifth to first. He paced the field for 37 laps while in fuel-savings mode until the final caution flew on lap 121. Eckes elected to stay on track in the lead as all but six trucks behind him dove to pit road for fresh tires. Over the final nine laps Eckes did his best to hold off competitors the fresh rubber, but took the checkered flag in 11th position.
      Following post-race technical inspection, the No. 11 truck was disqualified and Eckes was credited with a 10th-place finish.
      “We had a ton of adversity all day, for sure.” Eckes said. “We put ourselves in position to win the race and needed it to go green to the end for everything to work out like we wanted. It’s unfortunate, but really proud of the effort all these guys showed on our NAPA Auto Care, Black’s Tire Chevrolet. To get this truck repaired and turned around to race with that much speed says a lot about our team. Really proud of that and we’ll try to finish it off at Gateway next week.”
      Start / Finish: 35 / 10
      Points Standing / Total: 1st / 453 pts. (+30)
      Next Race: Saturday, June 1, WWT Raceway
      How to Watch or Listen: FOX, MRN or SiriusXM
      NAPA: 
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