There’s no denying that Christian Eckes looks like the driver to beat for the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series title, with top-three finishes in each post-season event, and now, pole positions in two of the last four.
Eckes, driving the No. 19 Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet Silverado, blasted to his fourth pole of the year in Thursday’s single-truck qualifying session from Bristol Motor Speedway, putting down a lap of 15.101 seconds (127.064mph) as the last qualifier.
The McAnally-Hilgemann Racing driver dethroned fellow championship hopeful Carson Hocevar for the pole, beating him out by three-hundredths of a second. Hocevar will start his Worldwide Express Chevrolet from the outside of the front row.
Chase Purdy boasted another impressive qualifying run for Kyle Busch Motorsports on Thursday, and will start the UNOH 200 from third. Ty Majeski and Rajah Caruth completed the top five in qualifying.
Tanner Gray was the furthest forward in qualifying for TRICON Garage, with teammates Taylor Gray and William Sawalich in eighth and ninth place. Jack Wood, driving the No. 51 for Kyle Busch Motorsports, was wedged between them in seventh.
Zane Smith, the defending champion of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, will round out the top-10 starters for the event, in 10th.
Kaden Honeycutt, returning to the No. 02 for Young’s Motorsports for the second straight week, will start in 17th place, after showing some serious pace in practice. After setting his qualifying lap, the No. 02 slapped the wall and spun, causing damage to the vehicle.
Nick Sanchez, a contender in the NASCAR Truck Series post-season, will start from 35th after it was discovered an upper control arm broke on his No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado. The team was unable to make a lap in qualifying.
Other notable starters include Corey Heim 11th, Grant Enfinger 13th, Ben Rhodes 18th, Stewart Friesen 24th, Tyler Ankrum 25th, Carson Kvapil 27th, Parker Kligerman 28th, and Jake Garcia 30th.
Qualifying Results – NASCAR Trucks at Bristol
Qualifying Results: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series UNOH 200 at Bristol
