Christian Eckes followed up his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win at Kansas Speedway last week with winning the pole for the UNOH 200 Presented by Ohio Logistics at Bristol Motor Speedway Thursday (Sept. 14).
Eckes, the final truck to run in qualifying, posted a speed of 127.064 mph on his second and final lap of his qualifying run. He was the only driver to cross into the 127-mph threshold. This is Eckes’s sixth career pole and third of the season, tying the most poles Eckes won in a season in 2019.
Qualifying second alongside Eckes was fellow playoff Carson Hocevar. The three-time winner this season laid down a speed of 126.813 mph.
Last week’s pole winner Chase Purdy finished third, posting a 126.662 mph lap in his Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 4 Chevrolet.
Ty Majeski was the fastest Ford in qualifying, carrying the ThorSport Racing banner to fourth.
Rajah Caruth completed the top five, earning his fourth career top-five start and posting the fastest time for GMS Racing.
Tanner Gray, Jack Wood, Taylor Gray, William Sawalich and Zane Smith round out the top 10.
Playoff contender Nick Sanchez did not make a qualifying time as he had a mechanical issue that hindered him from making a competitive time.
The remainder of the playoff grid qualified as follows: points leader Corey Heim 11th, Grant Enfinger 13th and Ben Rhodes 18th.
Bayley Currey was a truck that also did not post a time. His truck caught fire in practice and damaged the brakes.
Kaden Honeycutt made contact with the wall out of turn 4 and spun on the frontstretch during his qualifying attempt attaining some damage to his right rear quarter panel. He qualified 17th.
Danny Bohn and Justin Carroll were the two entries that did not qualify.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Bristol Starting Lineup
The trucks will battle on the high banks of Bristol at 7:30 p.m. ET. Broadcasting for the first race in the Truck Series Round of 8 will be provided by FOX Sports 1.
Wyatt Watson has followed NASCAR closely since 2007. He joined Frontstretchas a journalist in February 2023 after serving in the United States Navy for five years as an Electronic Technician Navigation working on submarines. Wyatt writes breaking NASCAR news and contributes to columns such as Friday Faceoff and 2-Headed Monster. Wyatt also contributes to Frontstretch's social media and serves as an at-track reporter, collecting exclusive content for Frontstretch.
Wyatt Watson can be found on Twitter @WyattGametime
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