Christian Eckes returns to winning ways in two overtimes at Darlington Raceway: After five weeks of frustration, Christian Eckes got the rebound he needed on Friday night at Darlington Raceway. Leading a race-high 82 of 158 laps, Eckes scored a convincing two-overtime victory in the Buckle Up South Carolina 200, the ninth event on the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series schedule.(Read More)(5-12-2023)
Paint Schemes
#19-Christian Eckes won the Buckle Up South Carolina 200 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Darlington Raceway on Friday night after two overtime restarts. The win was his second of the season, first at Darlington, and the third of his Truck Series career.
#52-Stewart Friesen made moves following the first over-time restart and was using the high lane to try to gain an advantage on Eckes. Another caution flag waved for last week’s winner #23-Grant Enfinger, as the two took the white flag, ending his bid.
#15-Tanner Gray, #51-William Byron, #42-Carson Hocevar were the top-five.
#24-Rajah Caruth scored a career-best in sixth.
#1-Bubba Wallace, pole-sitter #11-Corey Heim, #5-Dean Thompson and #20-Kaden Honeycutt were the remainder of the top-10.
#19-Eckes won stage 1.
#51-Byron won stage 2, the former series champion’s first stage win in the Truck Series.
There were 10 lead changes among five drivers and eight cautions for 37 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was: 105.539mph.
See race details at: Race Results, Driver Point Standings, Owner Point Standings, Cumulative Report, Penalty Report
Race Fast Facts – Darlington Raceway
Christian Eckes won the Buckle Up South Carolina 200, his third victory in 77 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races.
This is his second victory and fourth top-10 finish in 2023.
This is his first victory and second top-10 finish in three races at Darlington Raceway.
Stewart Friesen (second) posted his third top-10 finish in five races at Darlington Raceway. It is his third top-10 finish in 2023.
Tanner Gray (third) posted his first top-10 finish in five races at Darlington Raceway.
Rajah Caruth (sixth) was the highest finishing rookie.
Zane Smith leads the point standings by 9 points over Ty Majeski.
(NASCAR)(5-12-2023)
Truck Series Driver Point Standings after Darlington:
1) #38-Zane Smith, 2 wins
2) #19-Christian Eckes, 2 wins
3) #11-Corey Heim, 1 win
4) #23-Grant Enfinger, 1 wiN
5) #42-Carson Hocevar, 1 win
6) #98-Ty Majeski, 329, +102
7) #99-Ben Rhodes, 301, +74
8) #88-Matt Crafton, 260, +33
9) #15-Tanner Gray, 254, +27
10) #2-Nick Sanchez, 233, +6
11) #52-Stewart Friesen, 227, -6
12) #25-Matt DiBenedetto, 213, -20
See the Driver Point Standings and Owner Point Standings
Paint Scheme Preview
#11-Corey Heim won the pole for the Buckle Up South Carolina 200 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Darlington Raceway with a speed of 168.048 mph for his first pole at Darlington, first of the season, and third of his Truck Series career.
#23-Grant Enfinger will start alongside Heim on the front row.
#2-Nick Sanchez was fastest in practice and will start third.
#19-Christian Eckes, #35-Jake Garcia, #52-Stewart Friesen, #25-Matt DiBenedetto, #51-William Byron, #98-Ty Majeski, and #4-Chase Purdy are the remainder of the top-10.
Did not qualify: 37 trucks entered, so the #33-Josh Reaume was the lone DNQ.
See the complete Buckle Up South Carolina 200 Starting Lineup and check out the complete Qualifying Results.
Qualifying Fast Facts – Darlington
Corey Heim won the Pole Award for the Buckle Up South Carolina 200 with a lap of 29.263 seconds, 168.048 mph.
This is his third pole in 28 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races.
This is his first pole and fourth top-10 start in 2023.
This is his first pole in three races at Darlington Raceway.
Grant Enfinger (second) posted his fourth top-10 start of 2023 and his third in five races at Darlington Raceway.
Nick Sanchez # (third) posted his first top-10 start at Darlington Raceway. It is his sixth in nine races this season.
Nick Sanchez (third) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR)(5-12-2023)
Qualifying Order
Practice for the Buckle Up South Carolina 200 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Darlington Raceway is over, after 20 scheduled minutes, the top-five, slowest and notes:
#2-Sanchez 167.830
#88 Crafton 166.068
#42Hocevar 165.514
#19-Eckes 165.47
#52-Friesen 165.420
Slowest: #33-Reaume 151.703
Most laps run: 25 laps; #98-Majeski, #15-Gray
Notes: #2-Sanchez and #02-Wright were among those who got their Darlington stripe in practice. No major incidents.
See complete results on the Practice speeds page.(5-12-2023)
The Entry List for the Buckle Up South Carolina 200 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Darlington Raceway on Friday has been released. There are 37 drivers/teams for 36 spots.
Some notes: The 22 of AM Racing withdrew. 1-Wallace, 7-LaJoie, 41-Chastain, 47-Cram, 51-Byron, 75-Kligerman.
See the complete Entry List page.
Goodyear Tire Notes
Weekend Event Schedule
