By Michael Heilman

Kyle Busch Motorsports announced today that 2019 ARCA Menards Series champion Christian Eckes will drive the No. 18 Safelite AutoGlass Toyota Tundra truck next year in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series. Kyle Busch Motorsports will name Eckes crew chef soon.

Eckes has competed in twelve races for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2018 and 2019. He has two top-five and six top-ten finishes and won three poles in Daytona, Las Vegas, and Martinsville.

Christian Eckes on competing full-time with KBR next year saying, “Returning to KBM to compete full-time for a NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series championship with the support of Safelite AutoGlass and Toyota is an opportunity that I’ve worked my whole life for and I’m ready to take advantage of it.”

This year, Eckes has competed in both the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series for seven races and the ARCA Menards Series, where he started nineteen of twenty races winning four races, and having thirteen top-fives and seventeen top ten finishes. He also earned two poles on his way to clinching the 2019 ARCA Menards Series championship.

KBM Owner Kyle Busch on what Christian brings to his team saying “Christian has won races and a championship in the ARCA Series and we feel like he’s capable of doing the same driving for us full-time in the Truck Series next year,” Busch added “He’s shown speed while running a part-time schedule for us the past couple of seasons — he’s won poles, led laps and been in a position to win a few races. We feel like it’s just a matter of time before he puts everything together and starts winning at this level.”