Christian Eckes reuniting with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing for two Truck races in 2025

Christian Eckes will be reuniting with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing (MHR) for two NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races in 2025.

Eckes, the 2024 Truck Series regular-season champion and 2019 ARCA Menards Series champion from Middletown, New York, will be piloting MHR’s newly formed No. 16 Chevrolet Silverado RST entry at Richmond Raceway on August 15. He will return to compete at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 20.

For his first series start at Richmond, AAA Premium Battery will be sponsoring Eckes. NAPA Nightvision will sponsor him at New Hampshire.

The news comes as Eckes is currently campaigning in his first full-time season in the Xfinity Series division with Kaulig Racing. Through 20 scheduled events, Eckes, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro entry for Kaulig, has recorded three top-five results.

In addition, he has earned eight top-10 results, with his best on-track result being a third-place result at Pocono Raceway in June. He is currently in 16th place in the 2025 driver’s standings and is 71 points below the cutline to make this year’s Playoff field. Six regular-season events remain until the Playoffs commence in September.

“Going back to run a couple of truck races with MHR is going to be a great time”, Eckes said in a released statement. “Competing in the Xfinity Series with Kaulig Racing this year has been an honor and we’re laser-focused on getting into the playoffs.

“I feel like we have some unfinished business at Richmond with MHR since we were right on the cusp of winning there last year and across the board at the flat tracks. Those should be two great opportunities to compete for wins and stay sharp on off weeks from the Xfinity schedule.”

Eckes made his first career start in the Truck division at Iowa Speedway in June 2018, notching an impressive eighth-place result while driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM). Over the following seven years, he made a total of 114 starts while competing for KBM, ThorSport Racing and MHR. After making his first Playoffs in 2020, Eckes notched his first career victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in September 2021 while driving for ThorSport on a part-time basis.

During the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Eckes competed on a full-time basis with MHR, where he notched four victories apiece and made the Playoffs during both seasons. He clinched the 2024 Truck Series regular-season championship and made the Championship 4 round before settling in a career-best third place in the final standings.

Eckes’ return to the Truck division with MHR excites team owner Bill McAnally, who opted to sport the number 16 alongside Eckes’ entry to pay tribute to the late Shigeaki Hattori. Hattori, the 2018 Truck Series championship-winning team owner and former racer from Okayama, Japan, died in early April following a traffic collision in Huntersville, North Carolina.

Hattori fielded the No. 16 under his team name, Hattori Racing Enterprises (HRE), during its debut at Michigan International Speedway in August 2013. The entry returned on a full-time basis from 2017 to 2023. and notched a total of 14 victories under the HRE name from 2018 to 2021. It was last sported for three events throughout the 2024 season, most recently at Martinsville Speedway in early November.

“We’re all looking forward to having Christian back in the truck and running the No. 16 again”, McAnally said. “We accomplished a lot together and it’ll be great to have him step in for a couple of races. He has a lot of knowledge and will certainly be a benefit to our programs as we get closer to the playoffs.

“Being able to include AAA and NAPA Nightvision in these programs is especially rewarding, and want to also honor Shige Hattori and remember him by having the number 16 back on track.”

Christian Eckes’ first Craftsman Truck Series start of the 2025 season with MHR is scheduled at Richmond Raceway on August 15 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1. His second start will occur at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 20 at noon ET on FS1.