Christian Eckes and Kaulig Racing were a match made in heaven when announced last year.
One of the hottest and most consistent NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers paired in equipment that was in contention every week and made the Championship 4. Among the rookie class of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Eckes looked like one that was destined for success from the start.
And yet.
Entering the two-week break for the series, Eckes is tied for 17th in the point standings. He’s got four top-10 finishes but is also tied with Sheldon Creed and William Sawalich for a series-leading four DNFs.
The season could have started off so strong. After a 12th-place run at Daytona International Speedway, Eckes was in the top 10 on the final lap at Atlanta Motor Speedway before a melee ended his night.
Eckes rebounded with top 10s at Circuit of the Americas and Phoenix Raceway. After a 13th-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he was 11th in the points and things were looking up.
The sixth race of the year at Homestead-Miami Speedway is when Eckes’ season started to go off the rails. His engine let go just 16 laps in, relegating him to a 38th-place finish.
Eckes looked primed for a good run at Martinsville Speedway, a track he’s done well at throughout his career. Maybe it was karma for his move on Taylor Gray that won him a Truck race the previous fall or maybe he just found himself in front of Sam Mayer at the wrong time. Regardless, Eckes went from a top-10 run to a victim of the Great Martinsville Massacre of 2025.
Eckes reclaimed some of the points he lost over the next two weeks with top 10s at Darlington Raceway and Bristol Motor Speedway. At the Xfinity Series’ return to Rockingham Speedway, the No. 16 Chevy was on pace to do so again as the field came to a restart with 10 to go.
Everyone launched out of the restart box … except Eckes. His car, low on fuel late in the race, sputtered and triggered a multi-car pile up that relegated him to 23rd.
Somehow, one of the most uneventful races of the season for Eckes came at Talladega Superspeedway. He got some stage points and didn’t end up in any wrecks. Great. Where’d he finish? 25th.
Texas Motor Speedway brought about his second blown motor of the season, but it didn’t grenade on him like it did at Homestead. According to a report by Dillon Welch on the CW broadcast, Eckes had trouble breathing during the closing laps of stage 1 from whatever was leaking into the cockpit. He finished 38th.
If there’s anyone that needs two weeks off more than Connor Zilisch, it’s probably Eckes. Not only is he struggling to keep afloat points wise, but there’s proof that he could be in a far better spot with a bit of luck.
Kaulig teammate and fellow rookie Daniel Dye is just six points out of a playoff spot right now. The 21-year-old, with about half the experience of Eckes in NASCAR, has five top 10s and hasn’t finished worse than 19th since Daytona. If for whatever reason Kaulig just decided to swap Dye and Eckes’ cars, there’s a chance Eckes is in the playoffs heading into the break.
The issues Eckes has run into over the course of his first few starts have largely not been of his making. So while concerns may be raised about his hopes for the playoffs this season, nobody is selling off Eckes being ready for Xfinity in the same way they are other struggling drivers.
Recency bias is part of that. Sure, Eckes was a world beater in the Truck Series last season with four wins and one finish worse than 10th. He also already had six years of starts prior where he had to bite the bullet before getting to that level.
“I think the biggest thing for me was learning how to be a professional,” Eckes said on Frontstretch‘s Bringing the Heat with Bryan Nolen. “Over these last five years, it’s no secret that it’s been tumultuous. Just going through those different things and being prepared for the next step from it would be the biggest thing I take from it.”
Because of his lengthy tenure in the Truck Series, there may not be a rookie in the field better to shoulder such a tough stretch to start their Xfinity career. Where Eckes goes this season, however, is anyone’s guess.
If the Cup Series and Joey Logano are any proof, all these bad weekends can be whipped out with one very good one.
James Krause joined Frontstretch in March 2024 as a contributor. Krause was born and raised in Illinois and graduated from Northern Illinois University. He currently works in La Crosse, Wisconsin as a local sports reporter, including local short track racing. Outside of racing, Krause loves to keep up with football, music, anime and video games.