NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
Christian Eckes found his foot last year in the Craftsman Truck series.
He published a third place after winning three races and earning 22 top 10 finishes, but he made a big step.
This year is the 24-year-old in his first XFinity Series season, and although he has not found similar success, he knew it was a necessary change.
CLICK HERE for more sports cover at Foxnews.com
The NASCAR XFINITY series operates Christian Eckes has an umbrella as it rains during the qualification for the United Rental’s 300 on Daytona International Speedway. (Mark J. Refilas/Imag images)
“I felt like I had come to a point in the truck series where I wasn’t satisfied or satisfied with success, but it certainly came to a point where I felt pretty comfortable moving to the next level, and I felt this was a great opportunity to get in some different series with hopefully a ladder for cup,” Eckes, now Races with Kaulig Racing, told Pakinomist Digital in a newer conversation.
To join forces with his move to XFinity, ECKES collaborated with Celsius, the energy trink that he says has given him huge lifting on race day.
“It’s been an explosion 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 also looking forward to the future,” Eckes said.
“It has helped me a lot. Some of these breeds are at night or even in the morning, really. So getting that caffeine you certainly help as well as the hydration packages. There are a lot of things they do that help us succeed. So yes, definitely a big part of our race weekend.”
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES -DRIVER CHRISTIAN ECKES (16) runs under the NASCAR XFINITY race on Texas Motor Speedway. (Jerome Miron/Imag- Pictures)
Eckes admitted that this season has not gone as he wanted. He has only six top 10 finishes this year.
“We are still trying to find our way,” Eckes said. “We have had some success here and there, have had a certain speed, but not on a consistent basis. So it is kind of our # 1 thing right now is to try to push it forward and get to the place we want to be and it is fighting on a weekly basis.”
Over the weekend, Eckes is running in Nashville, where he reached the highlight of success. He won there last year, and Kaulig has taken the researched flag there before.
“Nashville was going to 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 that he was not a fan of Nashville in the past, but “Leading each shot last year, I like it a little better now.”
NASCAR TRUCK SERIES -DRIVER CHRISTIAN ECKES CEARTER WINNING Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville SuperSpeedway in Lebanon, Tenn., June 28, 2024. (Andrew Nelles/TennesSean/USA Today Network)
“I have done it in a truck before, so hopefully I can repeat that success. It will take a lot.
