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Christian Eckes clinches Truck Series regular-season championship after Stage 1 at Richmond

JHby:Jonathan Howard08/10/24

Jondean25

Christian Eckes Bristol win
Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

At Richmond Raceway, Christian Eckes clinches the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular-season championship. Eckes put it away early with a stage win, and earned himself a championship and 15 bonus points for the playoffs.

This season it was a two-driver battle for the regular season title. Christian Eckes against Corey Heim. Prior to today, Eckes had just a single finish outside of the top-10, a P32 DNF at Atlanta.

Tonight, all eyes were on Eckes as he started on the pole. All it took was one strong stage and the stage win, and Eckes is a regular season champ.

This season, Christian Eckes has three wins. He has only finished outside of the top-10 once, and it was a DNF at Atlanta. Eckes is the real deal, he is possibly a future Cup Series driver, and he is well on his way to winning a Truck Series championship this season.

Corey Heim put up a good fight for the championship. However, he had too many mistakes, not enough stage points, and Eckes pulled away late in the season. Even though Heim has five wins in 2024, he has three races outside of the top-10, including a DNF and DQ. That hurts.

Heim’s quest for the championship in Phoenix will only be more difficult now that Eckes has won the regular season. From the pole to the Stage 1 win, that’s all it took to clinch the regular season.

Christian Eckes looking for fourth win of the season

After the stage win to start the Clean Harbors 250, Christian Eckes will have to fend off challengers the rest of the way. Grant Enfinger has kept Eckes close and will likely be the most difficult driver to deal with tonight.

Eckes has had dominant wins this season. His last victory came at Nashville when Eckes led every lap after starting on the pole to win the race. Richmond is tough. The race is long and there are a ton of laps.

In the NASCAR Playoffs, anything can happen. So, Eckes and Heim and whoever else is in the mix will have to perform their absolute best to win the championship. There can be no repeats of last year’s championship race.

Right now, it is looking like it will be all Christian Eckes. Keep an eye out though, one mistake and Enfinger or someone else can come take the win from him.