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It’s a new season for Christian Eckes but life hasn’t changed too much for the reigning Snowball Derby champion.

Eckes prevailed against John Hunter Nemechek in the closest finish in the history of the annual December Super Late Model classic but he’s already focused on his encore performance. The final lap was the only one the 16-year-old led that night and he did so by just 0.017 of a second.

It was completely a remarkable finish but it hasn’t entirely changed his world.

“Not a lot has changed to be honest with you,” Eckes said. “I’d like to say it has but it really hasn’t. It’s given me a lot of confidence and stuff like that. But you know, thigs are pretty normal here.”

The most notable congratulation came in the form of NASCAR superstar Dale Earnhardt Jr. Eckes drove a handful of Late Model Stock events for JR Motorsports last season, and he sent Eckes the most notable kudos of everyone in the industry.

“I raced for Dale and he texted me,” Eckes said. “Stuff like that is really cool, and of course, having the trophy.”

For now, Eckes is just looking forward to building off last season. He has opened 2017 with a sixth in Speedfest at Cordele and a runner-up last weekend in the PASS National opener at Dillon Motor Speedway.

His teammate, Harrison Burton, won Speedfest — a testament to Fury Race Cars speed in the early going.

“We’ve definitely figured out some stuff and had some success,” Eckes said. “I’m really happy for Harrison. He had some bad luck before coming over to it’s just cool see them win early for Fury Race Cars. I’m really happy to be doing this with friends and compete for big race wins.”

In addition to multiple Super Late Model starts with Fury, Eckes also has nine ARCA Racing Series short track races signed with Venturini Motorsports.

So life is normal for Eckes, but success is becoming the norm.

Matt Weaver is the owner and founder of Short Track Scene. Weaver grew up in the sport, having raced himself before becoming a reporter in college at the University of South Alabama. He also has extensive experience covering NASCAR, IndyCar and Dirt Sprint Cars.

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