It is a great day to be a McAnally Hilgemann Racing fan and even more special to be Christian Eckes. The Chevrolet Truck Series team delivered an impeccable result, by not only clinching a victory in the much-awaited Bristol concrete race but also maintaining the lead in the scoreboard of the Truck Series. Christian Eckes fended off the threat of Cup veteran Kyle Busch to clinch his first victory in the season. 

The victory is nothing less than a redemption for Eckes, after losing his Championship 4 berth last year to Corey Heim on the same track. Nevertheless, gaining the reigns of the race after clinching the pole position for the race, Eckes has all the reason to be elated along with his teammates who rounded off the top 5. Amidst this celebration, it seems that one of the drivers of McAnally Hilgemann Racing irked Ty Majeski and remained unapologetic about his on-track move. 

Tyler Ankrum does not bite his tongue for his aggressively racing Ty Majeski

The unapologetic driver being none other than the scoreboard leader and a fellow teammate of Christian Eckes, Tyler Ankrum. The Truck race seemed to be comparatively free of any major theatrics until the post-races pit-road scuffle, however, there were instances when the drivers seemed to have turned sour against one after minor on-track incidents. This was apparent from Ty Majeski’s displeasure with Tyler Ankrum. Although the points leader did not make sly contact with Majeski but positioned the driver in a difficult position. 

The incident occurred in the third and final stage of the race when Ankrum and Majeski engaged in a fierce battle and dueled door-to-door. Although Ankrum made slight contact with the ThorSports driver while vying for the lead, Majeski was able to gain control of his car. However, it was not long before the disaster struck Majeski after a mechanical fault sent the driver spinning on the track and inadvertently collected teammate Ben Rhodes in the process. Nevertheless, after being blamed for his aggressive driving by Majeski, Ankrum expressed to Frontstretch, “I mean yeah, whatever. I mean that was just on the restart.”

Christian Eckes Holds off Charging Kyle Busch as He Claims 6th Career Win at Bristol

“That’s part of Bristol I am going to pinch you, I am going to try and take all that side off for you because these restarts are huge dramatic. I can go talk to him but I am sure if he was on my outside he would be on top of my door too because all you got to do is go back and watch the film and the races and see that’s how you make a pass from the top here at Bristol, especially in the truck race.”

Drawing a comparison with the drivers from the Cup Series drivers, Ankrum also added, “We are not the Cup guys where we get up at the fence and we just build momentum. Like you got to use every tool that you have in your toolbox to break those guys loose and sideways and yeah it happened, but I have passed quite a few guys on the top it did not happen.”

Christian Eckes shares his ecstasy after he redeems himself in Bristol

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Despite all the furor, Ankrum finished the race after coming home fifth and extended a seventeen-point lead over Corey Heim in the points standing. Furthermore, it was not just Ankrum who was over the moon for his favorable finish but also the winner of the race Christian Eckes, who had suffered a bitter defeat in last year’s playoff race that resulted his elimination from the championship.

In the post-race interview, a gleeful Eckes stated, “It’s so sweet. There’s just so much behind this win. From last year missing out on the Championship 4 and losing with five [laps] to go, to come back and redeem ourselves is our number one goal.”

“Not only that, but the first three races and how terribly they’ve gone. We’ve had a lot of issues, and to come back and run really good shows the resilience of this team, so [I’m] super pumped and ready for the next 19 races,” Eckes concluded.

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With the oval races coming to a pause for a week as NASCAR flies to the first road course of the season, it is to be seen what the track holds for Eckes and his teammates and whether they can maintain the lead.