Christian Eckes, driver of the #16 Celsius Chevrolet, enters his car during qualifying for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville Superspeedway on May 31, 2025 in Lebanon, Tennessee. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
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Christian Eckes is settling into the Nascar Xfinity Series after a rough start to his tenure with Kaulig Racing. The 24-year-old took a few months to get adjusted to a different type of racecar, and he missed the 2025 Xfinity Series playoffs with the No. 16 team.
“It’s been a pretty massive learning experience,” Eckes said. “This year is definitely another level with a lot of bad breaks, mistakes by me, mistakes by the team and a lot of things haven’t gone right. We’ve had top-eight speed every week and sometimes race-winning speed. It never comes together, and that’s put us in a situation where we’re not in the playoffs, which is unfortunate because we’ve ran well over the last four or five weeks.”
Eckes took the helm of Kaulig Racing’s flagship No. 16 car as part of a multiyear deal after the team re-elevated AJ Allmendinger to the Cup Series. Allmendinger was a constant threat for wins in the Xfinity Series and finished third in the 2024 standings, even when Kaulig as a whole was off-pace for a majority of the season.
That lack of speed has carried over to 2025, as Kaulig Racing has struggled across the board in the Xfinity Series. Eckes, however, has been the lone bright spot for the team.
“It took a while for me to figure out what I need in these types of racecars,” Eckes said. “I had driven a truck for so long, and this is more like an ARCA car, which I raced seven years ago. I’m learning different things about the handling and balance, the racing aspect of it and the competition is different, as well.”
Eckes is on a heater as of late, with a fourth-place finish at Portland and a third at Gateway.
The positives, even after missing the playoffs, is that Eckes feels he’s grown as a driver in 2025. At the same time, he’s also getting acclimated to representing major partners, such as Celsius, which will be on his No. 16 car for the ninth time this season at Bristol this weekend.
“I’ve been a fan of the brand for years,” Eckes said of working with Celsius, which also sponsors Allmendinger in the Cup Series. “I knew that with their relationship with Kaulig, I would be working with them at some point. I’m drinking a lot of good drinks. It’s been super special to have that relationship this year with everything they stand for, and I hope it’s one for years to come. It’s a rapidly growing brand with great athletes and influencers that represent them, and to be part of that is super special.”
Eckes is rare in that he didn’t come to Kaulig Racing with major sponsorship backing. Instead, Kaulig has built a sponsorship program around him.
When discussing the future, Eckes said his “priority is to focus on this year. I’m taking it day-by-day, and I’m trying to get through this year. There are some things that need to be ironed out.”
With seven races remaining in the Xfinity Series season, Eckes is ready to play spoiler and steal a victory from one of the playoff contenders.
Eckes returns to Bristol on Friday evening, a track where he had success in the Craftsman Truck Series. In 2023 and 2024, he led a combined 294 laps at Bristol, with a win and a runner-up finish. In his lone Xfinity Series start at Bristol earlier this year, he finished ninth.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephwolkin/2025/09/11/despite-missing-xfinity-series-playoffs-christian-eckes-believes-2025-is-a-success/
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