What’s Happening?

With his first season of NASCAR Xfinity Series action wrapping up, the NASCAR rumor mill is suggesting that major changes at Kaulig Racing could see Christian Eckes out of his ride and back in the Truck Series.

Christian Eckes had a breakout season 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series campaign. Though he finished third in points, the 23-year-old had a championship caliber season, scoring 22 top tens and four wins in the 23 race season.

This effort earned him a long-awaited promotion to the NASCAR Xfinity Series for 2025. Though this season has seemingly been a disappointment for Eckes, who is piloting Kaulig Racing’s flagship No. 16, this was par for the course during his Truck Series tenure, where he slowly built on his skills and stats year to year.

Nonetheless, his team, Kaulig Racing, is undergoing a massive change as part of a new alliance with Ram and Dodge. Though there is some time before Dodge enters the sport’s upper level, the team is set to enter five Ram Trucks in the 2026 Craftsman Truck Series.

Shockingly, the rumored drivers for one of these trucks is Eckes, as the team is set to scale down or even shut down its Xfinity program to focus on this Truck expansion.

Last week, a Kaulig fan account made waves in the NASCAR community, posting that they had heard Eckes could be one of these drivers, although they cautioned to “take it with a grain of salt.”

I wish we could say we are super confident in this one but usually when we put something out there it’s double sourced. This one is single sourced so take it with a grain of salt but we’ve heard Christian Eckes is likely one of the RAM/KAULIG Truck drivers. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/E4la6py3ua

— Kaulignation (@Kaulignation) October 16, 2025

But during this week’s episode of Door Bumper Clear, veteran spotter Freddie Kraft gave a similar story, saying that he thinks Eckes could end up in trucks, and maybe even out of the Kaulig camp.

“I don’t know if they’ve announced it, I think that Xfinity deal is just going away. So he’s [Eckes] going to be left without a ride. I’m assuming that he’s gonna end up back at McAnally’s. . . I think he’s gonna end up in one of the Kaulig trucks or maybe back at McAnally’s.” — Freddie Kraft

Despite the unknowns of this rumor, there are a few pieces to this puzzle that are already out in the open.

What Else Is There to Know About These Rumors?

While this may come as a surprise to some, rumors of Kaulig shutting down its Xfinity program have been circulating the online NASCAR community since the start of concurrent rumors about the team’s Truck Series program.

These rumors are despite claims that this would not happen from the newly titled CEO of Kaulig Racing, Chris Rice, who said in an August 13 interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio:

“We are not getting rid of our Xfinity Series. I said that last week, and I’m going to say it again. Our Xfinity Series is solid, that’s where we came through.” — Chris Rice, August 13 on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

During that same interview, Rice also said they “probably” would be a two-car Xfinity [soon to be O’Reilly Auto Parts] Series operation, and most importantly, that Eckes has a “long-term deal with us.”

While plans do change, Eckes’ long-term deal could shift to Trucks, and the team could pair him with their first confirmed driver, 2025 ARCA Menards Series Champion Brenden “Butterbean” Queen, as well as another rumored driver, and Eckes’ current Kaulig Xfinity Series teammate, Daniel Dye.

What About McAnally?

Although he was full-time in Xfinity this season, Eckes has raced a short-term schedule in Trucks with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, the first team mentioned by Kraft, this season in a fifth truck.

Although a return to MHR would challenge the narrative that Eckes has a long-term deal with Kaulig, if he returns to truck racing in 2026, a spot could open up at MHR as full-time No. 81 driver Connor Mosack, alongside his continued effort with MHR, is finishing out the Xfinity Series season with Viking Motorsports.

However, Mosack and Viking have not made any plans for 2026 public.

Regardless, it would be a shame to see Eckes return to the Truck Series or worse, find himself out of the ever-growing Kaulig camp. Despite his slow start to the Xfinity Series season, averaging an 18.3 finish through the first 17 races, Eckes has turned it up in the latter half of the year, improving to a 13.1 average finish over the last 14 races.

Overall, this rumor leaves more questions than answers.

If Eckes is sent back to trucks, will Kaulig actually shut down its Xfinity Series program? If he leaves to return to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, whose spot, if any, does Eckes take in their lineup?

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