Prior to the Daytona 500 Speedweeks, over 50 NASCAR teams participated in an Organizational Test at Rockingham Speedway, in preparation for the Saturday, April 19 “North Carolina Education Lottery 250 presented by Black’s Tire” NASCAR Xfinity Series race and the Friday, April 18 “Black’s Tire 200” NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race.
The last time the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series raced at The Rock was in 2013, the Xfinity Series’ last race was in 2004. The track surface was repaved in 2022.
Ty Majeski, 2024 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champion
Justin Allgaier, 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion: “ It’s a fun race track…and will make for great racing.” “I feel like the teams and the drivers have all bought in and want to be here, so I hope that we get the same support from the fans and so far, that seems to be the case,” as told to NASCAR.com.
Kasey Kahne, one of NASCAR’s Greatest 75 Drivers, said at the January test he sought out a way to race at The Rock as soon as the schedule announcement of NASCAR’s return in late August. Kahne last raced in NASCAR in 2018, and will race April 19th in a Richard Childress Racing Xfinity Series car. He won the 2012 “Black’s Tire 200” at Rockingham Speedway, and finished a close second in the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series race. Kahne remains an active team owner and driver in the High Limit Sprint Car Series.
Kasey Kahne: “I’m excited to get back behind the wheel of a stock car, especially at a place like Rockingham Speedway, a special track throughout my career. (first laps impression:) It was fun, it was exciting coming up through the gears, driving into the banking in turn 3 and it felt right at home pretty quickly.”
Worth a watch. Rockingham is fast as lightning! 😱 https://t.co/DCAkchVBY5
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) January 29, 2025
Rajah Caruth, entering third full-time Truck Series season: “I think it’s a matter of going back to your roots…and at these homegrown places where really the sport grew its roots, I think it’s important. So it’s great to be back,” as told to NASCAR.com.
Rookie NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series driver Gio Ruggiero turned the fastest unofficial lap during day two of the NASCAR Organizational Test with a blistering lap of 21.888 seconds, speed 167.270mph. This is faster than Rusty Wallace’s NASCAR Cup Series qualifying record, and six miles per hour faster than the best qualifying lap at Dover Motor Speedway in the most recent Truck Series race with qualifying there in 2019.
The driver who posted the fastest unofficial lap in the Xfinity Series was Hendrick Motorsports Development driver Corey Day, at 22.540 seconds, speed 162.431mph.
Ross Chastain, Cup Series driver logged laps in a Niece Motorsports truck: “Really fast. Crazy. Wild. I had to lift, but there’s a lot of long-throttle time. The corner speeds are high,” as told to Autoweek.com.
Corey Heim, 6-time winner in the Truck Series in 2024: “It’s definitely fast. ‘Very little amount of brake. It’s gonna be fast, for sure,” as told to NASCAR.com.
Click the links to watch practice videos: VIDEO ONE | VIDEO TWO | VIDEO CREDIT: NASCAR