What’s Happening?

Former Kaulig Racing driver Christian Eckes will not return to the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2026, as McAnally-Hilgemann Racing has confirmed. He will drive the team’s No. 91 truck next season.

He's home!@christianeckes is back in 2026!

Full details ➡️ https://t.co/SoVbslZbta#NASCAR pic.twitter.com/wjgdLCjfFb

— Bill McAnally Racing (@BMR_NASCAR) November 20, 2025

Eckes returns to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing after a year away in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Kaulig Racing.

Although most figured this would be a long-term effort, questions about his future with the team began to arise following the team’s announcement that they would enter the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2026.

Despite initial claims from Kaulig CEO Chris Rice that the team’s NASCAR Xfinity Series program would not shut down and that Eckes was there on a “long-term deal,” the team announced a “pause” on its Xfinity team at the end of the season.

In the aftermath of this decision, Eckes’ full-time teammate, Daniel Dye, landed with the team’s new Ram Truck Series team, with Eckes rumored to return to MHR.

After years of bouncing around the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Eckes landed at MHR in 2023, quickly scoring the team’s first win and three more after that.

In 2024, Eckes added four more wins to a championship-caliber season, during which he piloted the No. 19 truck to 22 top tens in 23 races, finally earning his short-lived promotion to the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Kaulig.

Eckes will not return to the team’s No. 19 next season. MHR has yet to announce who will drive that truck, though many expect Daniel Hemric to return for a second season of action. Instead, Eckes will drive the No. 91, which was previously driven by Jack Wood in 2025; Wood’s plans for 2026 are currently unknown.

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