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Christian Eckes is heading to the next level of NASCAR’s developmental ladder. Signing with Kaulig Racing for 2025 in the Xfinity Series, Eckes leaves open the No. 19 Truck at McAnally Hilgemann Racing.
A Veteran option, Lajoie has had a rough 2024. His stats include multiple finishes outside the top 30 and two races where the No. 7 has ended up on its side.
The 32-year-old veteran is now racing without a contract, as he will not return to the Spire Motorsports No. 7 in 2025. Considering all options, LaJoie could slide all the way to the Trucks Series.
If Chevrolet were to keep Lajoie, McAnally Hilgemann could be a landing spot for the second-generation driver. However, McAnally Hilgemann has traditionally held the developmental role, a trend that Lajoie would break.
A major unanswered question in Chevrolet’s Silly Season is Carson Kvapil. The second-generation driver has been a stellar talent in JR Motorsports’ CARS tour.
These efforts led to part-time starts for Kvapil in the No. 88 JR Motorsports Xfinity Series entry. Now, Kvapil looks like a lock for a National Series ride in the near future.
The No. 19 might be the place for Kvapil, a young Chevrolet driver looking for a ride. Unfortunately, drivers like Kvapil coming from Late Model racing have seen sponsor troubles keeping them out of the National Series.
Josh Berry, who, despite skill, needed a major sponsor commitment to race comfortably in the Xfinity Series. If Kvapil had this issue, McAnally Hilgemann Racing has seen the benefit of NAPA, which has been with McAnally for some time.
Detractions could be the relationship between Kvapil and JR Motorsports, as the team has an opening for 2025. Furthermore, Kvapil may skip full-time truck competition entirely, which is something more and more teams are doing.
Vincente Salas is a rising star in NASCAR, though taking an untraditional route. Salas, a late-model racer, got his start on iRacing’s eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series.
A winner in the NASCAR Advance Autoparts Weekly Series, Salas has had a big 2024. He made his debut in the NASCAR Truck Series at Circuit of the Americas with Young’s Motorsports.
Salas has made a name for himself, and McAnally Hilgemann Racing has noticed. This season at Gateway, the team fielded the part-time No. 91 for Salas, who drove the truck to a 25th-place finish.
Other entries have been made for No. 91, which could keep Salas out of the No. 19 spot next season.
Connor Hall has also raced the No. 91 for McAnally Hilgemann Racing. Entered at Richmond, Hall finished tenth in his series debut.
Hall, while not a household name amongst racing fans, is taking the route of many other drivers like Salas and Kvapil. Hall, racing his Late Model, won the Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national championship last season.
In the past, Hall has made entries in the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series East. However, his race with McAnally Hilgemann is his only NASCAR National Series start.
Hall could see benefits from NAPA’s sponsorship of the No. 19. However, one more driver drove the No. 91 this season.
Jack Wood has taken a part-time schedule with McAnally Hilgemann Racing in the No. 91. This season, Wood has driven the Truck more than any of the other part-time entries.
Wood has raced just one full-time NASCAR National Series season in his career. However, he has managed to race at least part-time in the Truck Series since 2021.
Wood has seen minimal results racing for teams like GMS Racing and Kyle Busch Motorsports. In fact, the closure of KBM resulted in Wood finding his few starts with fellow Chevrolet team McAnally Hilgemann this season.
Similar to Christian Eckes upon his arrival at McAnally Hilgemann Racing, Wood has still had a difficult time in the Truck Series. The work the team did with Eckes could help Wood, a driver many expect great things from, take that next step in his career.
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