NASCAR Truck Series at Rockingham Speedway Preview

This race is a test; if fans turn out and on on-track product is a success, we could be seeing Rockingham back on schedule for the Cup Series shortly.

Race Preview:

The Black’s Tire 200 is a 200-lap and 188-mile race at Rockingham Speedway. The seventh race of the 2025 Craftsman Truck Series season, the stage cautions will fall on laps 45 and 90, with the checkered flag on lap 200. Trucks will run the same tire they run at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

This weekend is the final race of the Triple Truck Challenge. Daniel Hemric and Chandler Smith are in the running for an extra $150,000 bonus prize if they win. Any full-time driver who takes the win will get the $50,000 bonus.

The Track: Rockingham Speedway

With construction beginning in 1964 and the first race in October 1965, the North Carolina Motor Speedway, or as it has come to be known, Rockingham Speedway, was a staple of the NASCAR schedule for decades. Rockingham would host 78 Cup races and 42 Xfinity races until it was taken off the schedule in 2004. The Craftsman Truck Series would revive Rockingham in 2012 and 2013, with two races in two years.

The speedway would sit empty for 9 years, when new ownership would receive state and federal funding to revamp the track. With 9 million in funding, Rockingham would get a new coat of asphalt and fix the amenities. This put the speedway back on NASCAR’s radar, which gave it three races this easter weekend, ARCA, Trucks, and Xfinity.

Kyle Larson and Kasey Kahne are tied for victories at the track, both with one win each for Turner Scott Motorsports. With the new surface, the previous lap records have fallen, but we are yet to see who takes the fastest lap.

Truck Series Points Standings:

1. Corey Heim: 270
2. Chandler Smith: 252
3. Ty Majeski: 213
4. Tyler Ankrum: 210

5. Daniel Hemric 205
6. Layne Riggs: 186
7. Grant Enfinger: 182
8. Stewart Friesen: 177
9. Ben Rhodes: 174
10. Jake Garcia: 172

Drivers To Watch:

Some drivers will be joining the field for this exciting first race back in a while. Parker Kligerman is back in the #75 Chevy for Henderson Motorsports. Corey Day continues his development, driving the #7 Chevy for Spire Motorsports. Sammy Smith will race both Trucks and Xfinity, driving the #07 for Spire. Brandon Jones will drive for TRICON again this week, in their #1 Tundra.

Like previously mentioned, only four drivers in the field have started a Truck race at Rockingham: Parker Kligerman, Grant Enfinger, Matt Crafton, and Norm Benning.

Out of those drivers, Parker Kligerman is the only one who has won at The Rock. Parker should’ve won the season opener at Daytona, but a disqualification gave the win to Corey Heim. I think Parker knows how to win at The Rock, a chip on his shoulder for what happened at Daytona, making it a deadly combo for this race. Look out for Parker.

Grant Enfinger is a veteran who is a consistent threat to win anywhere. Another elder statesman driver with a start at Rockingham, he started ninth, but a transmission failure caused him not to finish. Enfinger is yet to win in 2025, but it would be something if a veteran driver were to win at this track.

While I want to say Corey Heim, based on his lights-out speed throughout the 2025 season, he has only run here in the January test. But he is incredibly fast everywhere and every weekend.

How To Watch The Craftsman Truck Series at Rockingham:

Here is the schedule for the Black’s Tire 200 at Rockingham Speedway

Friday, April 18th:

• Practice and Qualifying:
  • Practice begins at 12:30 PM Eastern Time, with qualifying starting at 1:30
  • Coverage is on Fox Sports 2
• The Black’s Tire 200 at Rockingham Speedway
  • Coverage begins at 5:00 PM Eastern Time, Green Flag at 5:20
  • Coverage is on Fox Sports 1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio