Even after a two-week break for the Olympics, there isn’t a soul in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series garage that can hold a candle to Christian Eckes and the No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Team.

The Middletown, New York, native raced to the ninth pole of his career in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and his third of the season in single-car qualifying at Richmond Raceway on Saturday.

Eckes was the second-to-last driver to record a lap time and immediately shot to the top of the speed charts with a lap time of 22.855 seconds (118.655 mph) in his Instacoat Premium Products Chevrolet Silverado.

Ty Majeski, winner of the last NASCAR Truck Series event at Indianapolis Raceway Park, will line up alongside Eckes in Saturday’s 250-lap race, posting a time more than a tenth of a second off pole speed.

The third fastest time was set by Grant Enfinger, driving for Codie Rohrbaugh and CR7 Motorsports, making it the third time he has started in the top three in the last four NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events.

In fourth place, Layne Riggs is the furthest ahead of the championship-eligible drivers who must win at Richmond if they want to advance to the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series postseason.

ARCA Menards Series superstar William Sawalich rounded out the top five in qualifying for TRICON Garage, securing his second consecutive top-five starting spot at the three-quarter-mile Richmond Raceway.

STARTING GRID: Clean Harbors 250 at Richmond Raceway

TRICON Garage teammates Corey Heim and Taylor Gray posted times good for sixth and seventh, respectively, while Kaden Honeycutt, Nick Sanchez and Tyler Ankrum rounded out the top 10.

Ben Rhodes, Stewart Friesen and Daniel Dye will start Saturday from 11th, 12th and 13th positions respectively. All three will be looking to advance to the postseason based on their points position. Also in the fight are Matt Crafton and Tanner Gray, who qualified 17th and 26th respectively.

Connor Zilisch, whose full-time entry in the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports was confirmed last week, finished a disappointing 27th in his second Truck Series start as a driver for Spire Motorsports.

Trey Hutchens, driving his own No. 14 Chevrolet Silverado, was the only driver to fail to qualify for Saturday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Clean Harbors 250 at Richmond Raceway.