After 98 laps at Nashville Superspeedway on May 31, Christian Eckes’ wrecked machine rested behind the wall, while the struggling NASCAR Xfinity Series rookie missed another opportunity.
Will he find his traction this summer?
The 24-year-old driver dominated the Craftsman Truck Series, winning four races in the previous two seasons. The 2019 ARCA Menards Series champion finished third in the Truck circuit’s drivers’ standings in 2024 and fifth in ‘23.
In 14 Xfinity starts, Eckes posted one top-five finish and five DNFs, lowlighted by three crashes. Entering Saturday’s event in Mexico City, Eckes ranks No. 18 in the points standings, 313 behind pace-setter Justin Allgaier.
“We’re still trying to find our way,” Eckes told Fox News Digital. “We’ve had some success here and there, have had some speed, but not on a consistent basis. So, that’s kind of our No. 1 thing right now is to try to push that forward and get to where we feel like we should be, and that’s contending on a weekly basis.”
After an off week, the circuit returns Saturday to compete at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. It will be the first time Xfinity Series drivers competed at the 2.674-mile road course since Kyle Busch visited Victory Lane in 2008. Allgaier is coming off a “perfect” outing at Nashville.
Perfection.
61 points for @J_Allgaier tonight and leads #XfinitySeries with five Xfinity #FastestLap bonus points, three more than any other driver. pic.twitter.com/d8xUY4CcVB
— Xfinity Racing (@XfinityRacing) June 1, 2025
NASCAR National, Mexico Series Weekend Schedule
Here is a list of NASCAR National Series events this weekend at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez (All Times ET):
Friday
- 11 a.m.: NASCAR Mexico Series practice and qualifying
- 1:05 p.m.: Cup Series practice 1
- 2:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series practice 1
- 3 p.m.: Cup Series practice 2
- 3:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series practice 2
- 4:30 p.m.: NASCAR Mexico Series Ricardo Rodriguez 120 race
Saturday
- 10:30 a.m.: Xfinity Series qualifying
- Noon: Cup Series qualifying
- 1:45 p.m.: NASCAR Mexico Series Pedro Rodriguez 100 race
- 4:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series The Chilango 150 race
Sunday
- 3 p.m.: Cup Series Viva Mexico 250 race
It's almost race week for @chaseelliott and the No. 9 LLumar Chevy at Mexico City!
Q: How many turns does the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez @NASCARMexico_ layout feature?#LLumarRacing #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/A1cs8HPXVu
— LLumar Racing (@llumarfilms) June 6, 2025
The Chilango 150 Entry List
NASCAR Xfinity Series officials released the entry list for Saturday’s The Chilango 150 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez:
Entry, Driver, Car No.
- 1, Sheldon Creed, No. 00 Ford
- 2, Carson Kvapil, No. 1 Chevrolet
- 3, Jesse Love, No. 2 Chevrolet
- 4, Parker Retzlaff, No. 4 Chevrolet
- 5, Kris Wright, No. 5 Chevrolet
- 6, Alex Labbe, No. 07 Chevrolet
- 7, Justin Allgaier, No. 7 Chevrolet
- 8, Sammy Smith, No. 8 Chevrolet
- 9, Daniel Suarez, No. 9 Chevrolet
- 10, Daniel Dye, No. 10 Chevrolet
- 11, Josh Williams, No. 11 Chevrolet
- 12, Garrett Smithley, No. 14 Chevrolet
- 13, Christian Eckes, No. 16 Chevrolet
- 14, William Sawalich, No. 18 Toyota
- 15, Ty Gibbs, No. 19 Toyota
- 16, Brandon Jones, No. 20 Toyota
- 17, Austin Hill, No. 21 Chevrolet
- 18, Christopher Bell, No. 24 Toyota
- 19, Harrison Burton, No. 25 Ford
- 20, Dean Thompson, No. 26 Toyota
- 21, Jeb Burton, No. 27 Chevrolet
- 22, Kyle Sieg, No. 28 Ford
- 23, Blaine Perkins, No. 31 Chevrolet
- 24, Austin Green, No. 32 Chevrolet
- 25, TBA, No. 35 Toyota
- 26, Ryan Sieg, No. 39 Ford
- 27, Sam Mayer, No. 41 Ford
- 28, Anthony Alfredo, No. 42 Chevrolet
- 29, Brennan Poole, No. 44 Chevrolet
- 30, Brad Perez, No. 45 Chevrolet
- 31, Nicholas Sanchez, No. 48 Chevrolet
- 32, Jeremy Clements, No. 51 Chevrolet
- 33, Sage Karam, No. 53 Ford
- 34, Taylor Gray, No. 54 Toyota
- 35, Thomas Annunziata, No. 70 Chevrolet
- 36, Ryan Ellis, No. 71 Chevrolet
- 37, Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Chevrolet
- 38, Andres Perez de Lara, No. 91 Chevrolet
- 39, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 99 Chevrolet
It’s now Mexico City week for NASCAR, the first international points race for The Cup Series since 1958 and The First Xfinity race at this track since 2008 which Kyle Busch won #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/NBr7UqrneY
— Daniel Kriete (@DanielKriete4) June 9, 2025