Eckes Hoping to Strum Some Chords in Nashville
GREENVILLE, NY — On Saturday, Christian Eckes is returning to where his ARCA Racing Series career began, the Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville (TN), for the second time. And this time, he hopes he’ll be strumming a few chords on the famous Nashville guitar.
Eckes started eighth and finished eighth in his ARCA debut one year ago, but now the driver from Middletown, New York has a ton more experience in heavy stock cars, as well as prior knowledge of the fast 5/8-mile oval to lean on when he makes his season debut for Venturini Motorsports.
“Last year is going to contribute a lot to this year, no doubt,” said Eckes. “Learning the track last year for the ARCA race as well as running the Super Late Model a few times last year makes me a lot more prepared heading into this race.”
The defending Snowball Derby champion said winning at Nashville would be right up there with his Derby triumph because the track is his favorite in the country.
“It would really mean a lot. Nashville is my favorite race track and I’ve always wanted to win there. Especially with all the bad luck, we had last year, it would be really good to be able to pick up a big ARCA win.”
Eckes said it is the ability to race anywhere on the track and be fast that makes Nashville one of his favorites, as well as a few of its other characteristics.
“You can run high, low, really anywhere you want to run and it’ll still be fast,” he said. “It’s worn out and bumpy in places and just all around a fun race track to drive.”
Should Eckes win, he’ll receive the traditional guitar that every Nashville winner receives. Most attempt to learn how to play the guitar, some do not, and others do unspeakable things to the guitar. The 16-year-old driver said there’s a good chance he won’t learn how to play, but he’ll have a safe location for it at home.
“I can’t say that I’ll try to learn it,” Eckes said with a laugh. “I tried to learn a few years ago and it did not go very well, to say the least.”
For more on Christian Eckes, visit www.christianeckesracing.com, and be sure to follow him on Twitter, @ChristianEckes.
Sources: 51 Sports