Category: Trucks

Ankrum breaks 130-race Truck Series winless streak at Rockingham

It had been so long since Tyler Ankrum won his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race that the driver of the No. 18 McAnally-Hilgemann Chevrolet couldn’t find victory lane after winning Friday’s Black’s Tire 200 at Rockingham Speedway. Following a …

It had been so long since Tyler Ankrum won his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race that the driver of the No. 18 McAnally-Hilgemann Chevrolet couldn’t find victory lane after winning Friday’s Black’s Tire 200 at Rockingham Speedway.

Following a prodigious effort at saving fuel, Ankrum coasted across the finish line 6.657s ahead of pole winner and runner-up Jake Garcia to break a 130-race drought dating to July 11, 2019.

Ankrum’s last win was so long ago that the track that gave him his maiden victory — Kentucky Speedway — has long since fallen off the NASCAR national series schedule.

In the series’ return to “The Rock” after an 11-year absence, Ankrum had to battle back from damage sustained during an accident on lap two, an incident that put him a lap down. He got his lap back as the beneficiary under caution for Stage 2 break after lap 90 and embarked on a heroic drive to the front.

The trophy wasn’t the only reward Ankrum got for the victory. He also earned a $50,000 check for winning the final Triple Truck Challenge race.

“It’s strange — I didn’t know where victory lane was at,” Ankrum said after climbing from his truck. “The way this day started, going a lap down and (crew chief) Mark (Hillman) making a pit call to get the track position back…

“Just saving fuel, man. I knew we were five (laps) short. I was hoping I had saved enough, and we did… I just found something there where I was pretty much lifting 60 percent down the straightaway, and I was able to draft off of (Matt) Crafton and a couple of other guys, and I was able to save that way.

“It’s just surreal. I feel like this is pretty much the way it went down at Kentucky in 2019.”

Ankrum took the lead for good on lap 172 after Corey Heim and Gio Ruggiero came to pit road. The two TRICON Garage drivers stayed on the track during consecutive cautions early in the final stage and were running 1-2 before having to come to pit road for fuel.

Heim seemed confused by the strategy that kept him on the track while other top contenders pitted for the fuel they hoped would carry them to the end of the race.

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“I felt like if we had the track position we would have been in really good shape from the very start,” said Heim, who started 15th and finished eighth. “Just didn’t have a good qualifying effort on my end. It was kind of an uphill battle from there all day.

“I didn’t exactly know what happened there the last 40 laps there, but we pitted, and it seems like some of the other guys didn’t run of fuel. Unfortunate. Just a weird deal in that last stage but have to be better on my part to qualify better and have the track position.”

Even though the Front Row Motorsports Fords of Layne Riggs and Chandler Smith pitted after Heim’s final stop, both ran short of fuel and had to bring their trucks to pit road in the closing laps.

Daniel Hemric, Rajah Caruth and Grant Enfinger benefited from the Fords’ gas shortage, finishing third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

Trouble continued to follow reigning series champion Ty Majeski, whose truck broke loose from the inside lane in Turn 1 while he was racing Enfinger on lap 109. Majeski’s No. 98 ThorSport Ford backed into the outside wall and was eliminated from the race. He finished 31st after a 13th-place run at Martinsville and a 33rd-place result at Bristol in the previous two races.

“I can’t really blame Grant,” Majeski said. “He held me tight, obviously took the air off my right side. Yeah, just embarrassed, honestly. These last three weeks isn’t who I am as a driver. I feel so bad for everybody at ThorSport—(owners) Duke and Rhonda (Thorson) — yeah, I just need to be better.”

Heim, who led a race-high 52 laps compared to 43 for Garcia and 29 for Ankrum, held the top spot in the series standings by 22 points over Chandler Smith and 62 points over Ankrum in third. Kaden Honeycutt, Jack Wood, Corey Heim, Connor Mosack and Gio Ruggiero finished sixth through 10th, respectively, in Saturday’s race.

RESULTS

Smith outduels Larson in NASCAR Truck race at Bristol

After charging into the lead in Friday night’s Weather Guard Truck Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Chandler Smith’s work was far from over. The driver of the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford then had to hold off NASCAR Cup Series moonlighter Kyle …

After charging into the lead in Friday night’s Weather Guard Truck Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Chandler Smith’s work was far from over.

The driver of the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford then had to hold off NASCAR Cup Series moonlighter Kyle Larson over a seven-lap dash to the finish to claim his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory of the season, his second at the 0.533-mile short track and the sixth of his career.

Smith also won the $50,000 Triple Truck Challenge bonus that goes to the highest-finishing Truck Series regular.

Smith’s victory by 0.934s over Larson ended the latter’s quest for a weekend sweep of NASCAR’s three national series races. Even though Larson had 27-lap fresher tires than the race winner for a restart on lap 244 of 250, he could do no better than second.

“I’m more excited for the team than I am for myself,” said Smith, whose tenure in No. 38 F-150 came in an 11th-hour deal at season’s end. “This group came together — we hired my crew chief (Jon Leonard) two weeks before Daytona…

“My life’s been really, really crazy recently, and there were a lot of unknowns about my future going into the season, and we kind of had our backs against the wall putting this group together like I said. But holy (crap), I wouldn’t want any different of a group than I had behind me.”

 

Smith grabbed the lead from eventual third-place finisher Corey Heim just before a caution flag flew on lap 237 for Andres Perez’s spin on the backstretch. That gave Smith control of the race for the final restart, and he promptly asserted himself from the top lane.

After overcoming a tight handling condition in the second stage and a pit road speeding penalty at the stage break, Larson took the green flag behind Smith on lap 243 and quickly passed Heim for second, but the driver of the No. 07 Spire Motorsports couldn’t catch Smith, despite trying different lines around the concrete oval.

“We fell back on that long run in the second stage — got super tight,” said Larson, who pitted on lap 162 for fresh rubber after putting 27 laps on the tires he got on lap 135 during the stage break. “Then I sped on pit road, but on that next stop, I think that probably helped us…

“We had a little bit of an advantage to get toward the front. I thought it would be more of an advantage than it was. But still, I think it was a benefit to our race… Still, to get to second is good.”

The second-place finish was not good enough to keep Larson’s hope of the weekend sweep alive, however, he’ll have two more chances at victory this weekend with Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race and Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race.

Tyler Ankrum ran fourth, followed by Ben Rhodes. Bayley Currey picked up the first stage win of his career in Stage 2 before falling out with transmission trouble 13 laps from the finish.

Smith led twice for a race-high 127 laps, followed by Rajah Caruth, who was out front for 85 circuits on a contrary tire strategy.

Reigning series champion Ty Majeski was eliminated in a lap 53 crash involving Frankie Muniz, Stewart Friesen and Brandon Jones.

Heim leads Smith by 18 points in the series standings, with Majeski 57 points back in third.

NASCAR team owner and former IndyCar racer Hattori dies aged 61

Shigeaki Hattori, known as Shige, was killed in a car crash on Saturday in Huntersville, North Carolina. He was 61 years old. Police say they responded to a two-car crash at approximately 9:15 a.m on Saturday, and that Hattori crossed the centerline …

Shigeaki Hattori, known as Shige, was killed in a car crash on Saturday in Huntersville, North Carolina. He was 61 years old.

Police say they responded to a two-car crash at approximately 9:15 a.m on Saturday, and that Hattori crossed the centerline of NC Hwy 73 and collided with another vehicle. He was pronounced at the scene. The driver of the other vehicle was transported to a local medical center with non-life-threatening injuries.

The investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing.

Hattori hailed from Okayama, Japan, and started his racing career as a driver. He graduated from go-karts to Japanese Formula Junior, then Formula Toyota, where he earned the 1994 series championship.

In 1995, Hattori moved to the United States in hopes of continuing to chase his dream. Through the latter part of the 1990s, Hattori competed in open-wheel races, including winning two races in the Indy Lights Series. He moved into CART in 1999 to run a partial season with Bettenhausen Racing, which was followed by four stop-start years in the IRL with Treadway Racing, Vertex-Cunningham Racing, Bradley Motorsports and AJ Foyt Enterprises. He failed to qualify for the Indy 500 in his first attempt with Vertex-Cunningham in 2001, but made the show in the two years that followed with Bradley Motorsports and Foyt respectively, earning a best finish of 20th in 2002.

The move to NASCAR happened in 2004 when Hattori first attempted to qualify for a Craftsman Truck Series race, but failed to make the field. But he ran 10 races in 2005, which was also his last behind the wheel before transitioning into team ownership.

Hattori at the wheel of the No.9 Toyota at Daytona in 2005. He stepped out of the cockpit at the end of that season to focus on team ownership. Darrell Ingham/Getty Images

“I decided, ‘okay, no more,’ and I stopped driving,” Hattori told NASCAR.com. “Two or three years after, I didn’t do anything. I took some classes at UCLA, traveling and doing nothing with my life. I was thinking, I should do something. I really liked NASCAR racing, and so I decided to should start my race team and put drivers (in it). So, I started in 2008.”

Hattori Racing Enterprises (HRE) was founded in 2008 and fielded entries in multiple NASCAR series. As an owner, Hattori fielded an Xfinity Series entry in 72 races, with Alex Bowman, Ross Chastain, Austin Hill, and Bubba Wallace among those who drove for him. In the ARCA Menards Series, Hattori fielded an entry in 21 races.

However, Hattori was well-known for his Craftsman Truck Series operation, which won 14 races in 212 starts between 2013 and 2024. In that period, Hattori also claimed a championship with Brett Moffitt in 2018.

In a statement, Hattori Racing Enterprises said, “We are heartbroken to confirm that Shigeaki ‘Shige’ Hattori was pronounced deceased on the morning of Saturday, April 5, in Huntersville, N.C., following a motor vehicle accident. He was 61.

“A native of Okayama, Japan, Shige moved to the United States in the 1990s to pursue his dream of becoming an open-wheel race car driver. He won two INDY NXT by Firestone races and made two starts in the Indianapolis 500.

“His passion for motorsports ultimately led him to NASCAR, where he competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) in 2004 and 2005. He transitioned to team ownership in 2008 and founded Hattori Racing Enterprises (HRE). He won 14 NCTS races as a team owner and reached the ultimate achievement by winning the 2018 series championship.

“Shige was known for his relentless drive, focus and competitive spirit. Team ownership through HRE and Hattori Motorsports had become both his passion and his life’s work. He had a unique gift to constantly inject a light-hearted attitude and one-of-a-kind sense of humor into his race teams that will never be forgotten. We’ll miss you dearly. Farewell, Shige.”

Hemric claims first Truck Series win in Martinsville shootout

During the week before Friday night’s Boys and Girls Club of the Blue Ridge 200 at Martinsville Speedway, Daniel Hemric practiced his back flip. It was the signature move he had been able to use just once in NASCAR national series competition – when …

During the week before Friday night’s Boys and Girls Club of the Blue Ridge 200 at Martinsville Speedway, Daniel Hemric practiced his back flip. It was the signature move he had been able to use just once in NASCAR national series competition — when he won the 2021 season finale at Phoenix Raceway to clinch the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship.

But on Friday, the 34-year-old from Kannapolis, N.C., had a chance to perform the celebratory move once again, after capitalizing on the misfortunes of others — notably series leader Corey Heim — to win the first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race of his career.

Hemric even stuck the landing, reveling in the race win that earned him a coveted grandfather clock trophy and a $50,000 Triple Truck Challenge bonus as the highest finishing series regular.

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“It’s a funny thing, because my wife asked me a couple weeks ago if I was not too old to do it,” Hemric said of the back flip. “I practiced once last week in the backyard and did a back flip on solid ground.

“I thought, ‘The old man’s still got it,’ and I proved that tonight.”

Hemric needed help to win the second national series race of his career. Heim won the first two stages and led a race-high 149 of 200 laps, but side-to-side contact with Kaden Honeycutt’s Chevrolet after a lap 166 restart cut Heim’s left-rear tire and sent his No. 11 Toyota to pit road for fresh rubber.

Honeycutt inherited the lead, but on lap 187, the Ford of Ty Majeski broke loose under Honeycutt’s Silverado as the two drivers were battling for the lead, and both trucks spun into the outside wall.

That put Tyler Ankrum, Hemric’s McAnally-Hilgemann Racing teammate, at the front of the field, but with four laps left, Hemric used his bumper to dive underneath Ankrum’s truck, made the pass for the lead and pulled away to win by 0.544s.

“Congratulations to Daniel — I can’t think of a nicer guy to win,” Ankrum said. “Yeah, he gave me the bumper, but you’re going to do that at Martinsville. I honestly would much rather have a teammate give me the bumper for the win, so we can just get a win for MHR.”

Jake Garcia finished third, followed by Chandler Smith and Ben Rhodes. Heim rallied to finish sixth after the tire change but fell short in his attempt to win in Toyota’s 500th race in the series.

“I feel like we got used up a little bit there,” Heim said of the contact with Honeycutt. “I don’t think he intended to cut my left rear down. I think if he had wanted to do that, he would have just wrecked me as it is…

“I just needed a better restart, I guess.”

It was the second straight week of frustration for Heim, who won the first two stages at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Mar. 21 before losing power in the late going and finishing third.

Heim nevertheless retains the series lead by 20 points over Majeski.

LIUNA backs inaugural Truck/ARCA Series weekend at Lime Rock Park

Lime Rock Park has announced that the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) has signed on as the official title sponsor of its highly anticipated race weekend this summer when, for the first time in the track’s 68-year history, the …

Lime Rock Park has announced that the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) has signed on as the official title sponsor of its highly anticipated race weekend this summer when, for the first time in the track’s 68-year history, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series are set to race on the 1.53-mile, seven-turn Connecticut road course.

“With LIUNA’s support, we’re not just bringing NASCAR back to Lime Rock Park — we’re making history,” said Lime Rock Park President and  CEO, Dicky Riegel. “LIUNA represents strength, endurance and a commitment to excellence, values that align perfectly with the intensity and grit of NASCAR racing. Their investment in this event helps us create an unforgettable experience for fans and competitors.”

LIUNA will be involved in every aspect of race weekend, providing bold eye-catching branding, extensive media coverage and high-profile activations, LIUNA to help bring fans closer to the action while celebrating the strength, power and pride of LIUNA’s 530,000+ members who help build North America.

“On behalf of the 63,000 skilled, hard-working, men and women of the New England Region, who build our states infrastructure, we are honored to welcome the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to Connecticut and be this year’s title sponsor of the LIUNA 150 at Lime Rock Park,” saidDonato A. Bianco, Jr., LIUNA Vice President and New England Regional Manager. “We have a large NASCAR following with our members in the New England Region, and it’s an honor to partner with the historic Lime Rock Park for NASCAR’s debut, and cheer on our fellow union brother, Tyler Ankrum, in the No. 18 LIUNA Chevrolet Silverado RST.”

The arrival of NASCAR and ARCA in 2025 adds a new chapter to the circuit’s storied legacy. Lime Rock Park hosted 20 NASCAR Busch North Series events from 1993 through 2011 with winners spanning from Ken Schrader to Ryan Truex. Now, after a 14-year hiatus, NASCAR returns in what is set to be one of the largest events in the track’s history.

Tickets for the LIUNA 150 at Lime Rock Park are on sale now with tickets starting at $40. Active military, veterans, and children 12 and under are free. For more information, visit limerock.com.

Larson starts bid for a Miami sweep with Truck Series victory

Kyle Larson made a dramatic run to the checkered flag, rallying from a late-race spinout to methodically race back through the field and pass the night’s most dominant trucks in the final 10 laps to claim victory in Friday’s Baptist Health 200 at …

Kyle Larson made a dramatic run to the checkered flag, rallying from a late-race spinout to methodically race back through the field and pass the night’s most dominant trucks in the final 10 laps to claim victory in Friday’s Baptist Health 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

It was a fittingly remarkable end to a typically competitive night in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Larson spun his No. 07 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet with 45 laps remaining in the 134-lapper and dropped out of the top-20. But the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion drove back through the field and moved forward picking off one frontrunner after another.

Larson, who is entered in all three NASCAR national series races at the 1.5-mile South Florida track this weekend, passed Front Row Motorsports rookie Layne Riggs with two laps to go and never looked back, finishing 1.340-seconds ahead of the field.

The night’s most dominant driver, TRICON Garage’s Corey Heim finished third after leading a race best 78 laps.

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“I wasn’t exactly sure if I could get back up there,” said Larson, who has four wins in only 16 series starts – two in his last four races. “I didn’t have the restart I wanted, took a little bit too long to start picking them off and then just got ripping the wall and it paid dividends for me in [Turns] 1 and 2.”

Larson acknowledged that Heim – who has won two of the season’s opening three races – looked tough all race and was unquestionably the truck to beat. There was a problem with Heim’s motor in the closing laps – his truck suddenly started intermittently shutting off then restoring power in the closing 20 laps.

“Not sure what happened to the 11 [Heim], but that worked out in our favor for sure,” Larson said. “I don’t think I would have gotten to him [otherwise]. Obviously, I would have gotten to second, probably, but that would have been tough to get to him. That last run was a lot of fun.”

Heim was understandably disappointed standing on pit road after the race. His No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota started from pole position, swept both stage wins and led the most laps.

“I feel like we were lights out, the best truck tonight, think we should’ve won the race by six, seven seconds at the end there,” Heim said. “I feel like at the beginning of the runs, I knew what we were capable of and let those guys get away, burn their stuff up and then, fly past them.

“I don’t know exactly what was going on. Never really had an issue like that. I’d be totally fine, and the engine would just hard cut on me. Dash would go black and have no power until I fully cycled it. So, I was coasting for six seconds trying to turn the power switch and turn it back (on). I don’t know.

“Felt I ran a really good race, saving tires and would mow them down on the long runs there. This No. 11 Tundra TRD Pro was really, really good. This just stinks pretty bad.”

McAnally-Hilgemann Racing teammates Tyler Ankrum and Daniel Hemric rounded out the top-five finishers. Floridian Ross Chastain, who competes fulltime in the NASCAR Cup Series, led 33 laps in the No. 44 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet but finished sixth.

ThorSport Racing’s Jake Garcia was seventh, followed by Front Row Motorsports’ Chandler Smith, CR7 Motorsports’ Grant Enfinger and Niece’s Kaden Honeycutt, who rallied to 10th-place showing from a late race penalty that dropped him to 27th in the field.

As for potentially claiming a weekend three-race sweep, Larson said, “I felt like the Truck race was probably going to be the toughest to win, I don’t have much experience in them and the runs are typically shorter. I feel better about Xfinity and Cup but the competition keeps getting tough and tougher as you get on with the weekend, but we’ll see. Off to a good start.”

With his third-place effort, Heim takes over the championship lead and holds eight points over reigning series champ Ty Majeski and 27 points over third place Chandler Smith.

Excellent pit work propels Heim to Truck Series win at Las Vegas

Corey Heim made a mistake on pit road, but his crew picked up the slack when it counted. A lightning-fast stop under caution on lap 86 put Heim in the lead, and that was the impetus the driver of the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota needed to win Friday …

Corey Heim made a mistake on pit road, but his crew picked up the slack when it counted.

A lightning-fast stop under caution on lap 86 put Heim in the lead, and that was the impetus the driver of the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota needed to win Friday night’s Ecosave 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The stellar work of the pit crew allowed Heim to overcome a pit road speeding penalty he incurred at the end of the first stage on lap 31.

“First of all, the pit crew did such a good job of getting the truck up front,” said Heim, who won his second race of the season, his first at LVMS and the 13th of his career. “I made that mistake in Stage 1 when I sped on pit road and put us behind.”

In a race run in uncharacteristically cold weather and stopped twice for sudden rain showers, Heim took the lead for good on Lap 101, passing Layne Riggs after the final restart following the fourth and final caution for Jack Wood’s accident in Turn 4 on lap 93.

Heim led a race-high 42 of 134 laps to 39 for Stage 2 winner Tyler Ankrum and beat runner-up Grant Enfinger to the finish line by 0.825s.

“This wasn’t exactly what we wanted in terms of the weather being cold and whatnot,” Heim said. “It seems to be a lot better when it’s hot and greasy, and we’re sliding around…

“I was doing everything I can there. I think all of us were completely wide open at the end. I spent a lot of time looking at my mirror, and it worked out.”

Enfinger passed Tanner Gray for the second spot on lap 126 but couldn’t catch Heim over the final eight laps. Enfinger felt the battle with Gray might have cost him a chance to win.

“We got side by side and lost a little but right there,” Enfinger said. “And we probably went over our tire limit a little bit right there and that hurt us at the end.

“Corey was a lot better than us in the short run, and (crew chief) Jeff (Stankiewicz) really got this (No. 9 Chevrolet) really, really strolling on the long run. Our pit crew did an amazing job getting us from 11th to fifth (on the final stop). And when we were in the top five, we could race with those guys.”

Gray held third place at the finish, followed by reigning series champion and Stage 1 winner Ty Majeski and Riggs. Stewart Friesen, Rajah Caruth, Chandler Smith, Matt Crafton and Ankrum completed the top 10.

There were 21 lead changes among 12 drivers, both race records. Rain interrupted the race at the end of the first two stages, with red-flag periods lasting 55 minutes, 51 seconds and 19 minutes, 42 seconds respectively.

NASCAR modifies qualifying procedures

NASCAR has adjusted the practice and qualifying procedures for all three national series going into the 2025 season. Teams will now have additional practice time while reverting to only one round of qualifying with the drivers’ starting positions …

NASCAR has adjusted the practice and qualifying procedures for all three national series going into the 2025 season.

Teams will now have additional practice time while reverting to only one round of qualifying with the drivers’ starting positions based on their qualifying speeds. However, there will be exceptions to this at certain racetracks.

Additionally, a practice session has been added to the Daytona 500 schedule. It will be a 50-minute session that occurs prior to qualifying on Wednesday, Feb. 2.

The procedures for the Cup Series are as follows:

Standard practice and qualifying

  • 25-minute practice for Group 1; 25-minute practice for Group 2Groups and qualifying order are determined by metrics (70% based on previous race finish by owner; 30% based on owner points position. The best scoring cars in metrics will be placed in Group 2.)
  • Qualifying will be one lap, one round
  • Tracks: Las Vegas, Phoenix (spring), Miami, Darlington, Texas, Kansas, Charlotte, Nashville, Michigan, Pocono, St. Louis, New Hampshire

Short track practice and qualifying

  • 25-minute practice for Group 1; 25-minute practice for Group 2
  • Qualifying will be two laps, one round
  • Tracks: Martinsville, Bristol, Dover, Iowa, Richmond

Superspeedway qualifying

  • Qualifying will be one lap, two rounds
  • The fastest 10 cars in the first round advance to the final round
  • Starting positions 1-10 will be based on the fastest qualifying time in the final round; the remainder of the field will start based on qualifying results in the first round.
  • Tracks: Atlanta, Talladega, Daytona (summer)

Road course practice and qualifying

  • 25-minute practice for Group 1; 25-minute practice for Group 2
  • 20-minute qualifying for Group 1, multiple cars on track; 20-minute qualifying for Group 2, multiple cars on track
  • One round of qualifying
  • Tracks: Chicago, Sonoma, Watkins Glen, Charlotte Roval

Here are the procedures for the Xfinity Series are as follows:

Standard practice and qualifying

  • 25-minute practice for Group 1; 25-minute practice for Group 2
  • Qualifying will be one lap, one round.
  • Tracks: Phoenix (spring), Las Vegas, Miami, Darlington, Texas, Kansas, Charlotte, Nashville, Pocono

Short track practice and qualifying

  • 25-minute practice for Group 1; 25-minute practice for Group 2
  • Qualifying will be two laps, one round.
  • Tracks: Martinsville, Bristol, Dover, Iowa

Superspeedway qualifying

  • Qualifying will be one lap, two rounds
  • The fastest 10 cars in the first round advance to the final round
  • Starting positions 1-10 will be based on finish in the final round; the remainder of the field will start based on qualifying results in the first round.
  • Tracks: Atlanta, Talladega, Daytona (summer)

Road course practice and qualifying

  • 50-minute practice for all cars
  • 20-minute qualifying for Group 1, multiple cars on track; 20-minute qualifying for Group 2, multiple cars on track
  • One round of qualifying
  • Tracks: COTA, Chicago, Sonoma, Watkins Glen, Portland, Charlotte Roval

Here are the procedures for the Craftsman Truck Series:

Standard practice and qualifying

  • 25-minute practice for Group 1; 25-minute practice for Group 2
  • Qualifying will be one lap, one round.
  • Tracks: Las Vegas, Miami, Texas, Kansas, Charlotte, Nashville, Pocono, Darlington

Short track practice and qualifying

  • 25-minute practice for Group 1; 25-minute practice for Group 2
  • Qualifying will be two laps, one round.
  • Tracks: Martinsville, Bristol, North Wilkesboro, Lucas Oil IRP, Richmond

Superspeedway qualifying

  • Qualifying will be one lap, two rounds
  • The fastest 10 trucks in the first round advance to the final round
  • Starting positions 1-10 will be based on finish in the final round; the remainder of field will start based on qualifying results in the first round.
  • Tracks: Atlanta, Talladega

Road course practice and qualifying

  • 50-minute practice for all cars
  • 20-minute qualifying for Group 1, multiple trucks on track; 20-minute qualifying for Group 2, multiple trucks on track
  • One round of qualifying
  • Tracks: Watkins Glen, Charlotte Roval

The weekends where teams will have expanded practice sessions in the Cup Series are: The Clash, Daytona 500, Circuit of The Americas, All-Star Race, Mexico, Indianapolis and Phoenix finale. In the Xfinity Series it will be Daytona, Rockingham, Mexico, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Phoenix finale. And in the Craftsman Truck Series it will be Daytona, Rockingham, Michigan, Lime Rock, Watkins Glen, New Hampshire, Charlotte Roval and Phoenix finale.

COTA will have the same format Cup Series teams ran at Watkins Glen and the Charlotte Roval last season. There will be two groups of drivers that have two sessions each (a total of 40 minutes) of practice. Practice will lead into qualifying.

FOX Sports will broadcast practice and qualifying the Clash, Daytona 500, All-Star Race and all Craftsman Truck Series races. Prime will broadcast Cup Series practice and qualifying for the first half of the season, excluding those Fox Sports broadcasts. TNT Sports will broadcast practice and qualifying on Max and truTV for the second half of the Cup Series season.

Breidinger moves to Trucks full-time with TRICON Garage

Toni Breidinger will race in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series in 2025, driving the No. 5 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for TRICON Garage. Breidlinger will race with sponsorship from long-time partners Raising Cane’s, CELSIUS and Sunoco, alongside Corey …

Toni Breidinger will race in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series in 2025, driving the No. 5 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for TRICON Garage.

Breidlinger will race with sponsorship from long-time partners Raising Cane’s, CELSIUS and Sunoco, alongside Corey Heim and Tanner Gray. Her move to the Truck series full-time comes after she made four starts in the series over the last two seasons. She took 15th in her first start at Kansas in 2023, in what was the best debut performance for a female driver in the NASCAR Truck series.

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“Racing full-time with TRICON is a dream for me,” said Breidinger. “It’s been a 15 year process to get here, but I’m so excited for this moment and ready to capitalize on it.

“I wouldn’t have this opportunity if it wasn’t for Toyota, Raising Cane’s, CELSIUS, and Sunoco. I’m beyond grateful to have these partners and team in my corner to take this next step in my career.”

The San Francisco native moves to Trucks with 65 starts in the ARCA Menards Series under her belt. She finished fourth in the 2024 standings with 11 top 10s and a best result of sixth – which she achieved twice – for Venturini Motorsports. Between 2018 and 2024, Breidinger achieved four top-five finishes and a further 23 top-10 results, including 10th on her debut at Toledo Speedway, in the ARCA Menards Series.

Before racing in Trucks, Breidinger was recognized at the Drive for Diversity Awards in 2021 with the Developmental Series Driver Award as the first Arab-American woman to compete in a NASCAR-sanctioned event.

NASCAR celebrates champions and award winners

Friday evening in downtown Charlotte, the NASCAR industry celebrated its heroes, industry inspirations and champions at the Charlotte Convention Center and NASCAR Hall of Fame for the first time in the sport’s modern era. Race teams, drivers and …

Friday evening in downtown Charlotte, the NASCAR industry celebrated its heroes, industry inspirations and champions at the Charlotte Convention Center and NASCAR Hall of Fame for the first time in the sport’s modern era.

Race teams, drivers and fans gathered to watch these 2024 titlists receive their trophies and to see the sport honor those whose careers impacted NASCAR not only this season but for years and even decades.

NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano began the afternoon celebrating his third title with a special solid gold car given to each year’s champion from Goodyear and then later finally being feted by the sport at the tuxedo-and-gown banquet that will be televised on the CW Network, Sunday at 3pm ET.

The 34-year old’s three titles in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford are now most among all active drivers and he is one of only 10 competitors in the history of the sport to have ever earned a trio of championship trophies.

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Logano thanked his team, his team owner Roger Penske and the father of three gave a special nod to his wife Brittany, who he praised for taking care of their young family and home — allowing him to maintain championship focus. He thanked his family, who was also in the audience, “remembering when I was a kid and got a go-kart for Christmas and now I’m sitting here a three-time Cup champion, it’s just truly incredible.’’

“To me, we did get a lot of opportunities and life’s really all about what you do with the opportunities, you don’t know when they are going to come your way but are you ready to take advantage when they do,’’ continued Logano, whose four wins in 2024 give him 36 total.

Logano was sentimental reflecting on his career and season’s accomplishments.

“If you take the opportunity that God’s given us to talk to people, to inspire others to live a life of generosity, that’s when these scenarios of ‘just driving in circles’ aren’t just driving in circles anymore,’’ he said, noting the sport’s huge push to help Hurricane Helene victims in Western North Carolina recently.

“That to me is something I’m most proud of in this industry and being part of that,” added Logano, who has personally helped raise money and deliver supplies to the affected regions. “I’m proud of winning. I’m proud to be part of this team but what I’m probably most proud of is the heart of this sport.’’

Logano’s team owner, NASCAR Hall-of-Famer Penske has now earned five NASCAR Cup Series championships including the last three consecutively between Logano (2022 and 2024) and Ryan Blaney (2023).

“From my perspective, Joey Logano was a winner when he came to our team in 2013,’’ Penske said. “We’re so proud of all our teams. Racing is a common thread through our businesses. It’s teamwork. It’s pressure. It’s integrity. It’s transparency. This has built the Penske brand. And we’re thrilled to be here.’’

Beyond the Logano-Penske dominance, it was a night of emphasizing highlights across all NASCAR series — those in supporting roles in the pits and beyond.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series and its first-time champion, popular veteran JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier along with Craftsman Truck Series first-time champion Ty Majeski and his ThorSport Raing team were celebrated.

Allgaier’s team co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. was visibly excited to honor his longtime driver.

“I’m normally not this kind of person but I knew we were going to win it. I’m normally the kind of person who thinks about the odds and wonders how we might lose a race or what are the obstacles in front of us,’’ Earnhardt said. “But for some reason I just felt like the universe owed Justin and we were going to collect when we got to Phoenix.’’

“Man, did he get up on the wheel, all those restarts — those were classic, classic moments and if you just watched that seven-car work all night long you could see how bad Justin wanted it. He carried the whole company on his back that night. Just proud of him and so thankful to be able to see Justin celebrate this tonight.”

The sport also celebrated Earnhardt’s good friend, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr, the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion, who retired from full-time competition at the end of the 2024 season and also marked the distinction earned by a former Penske champion as well as Brad Keselowski, who claimed his first victory (at Darlington, S.C.) as a driver-owner of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, the 2020 series champion, was named the sport’s Most Popular Driver for the seventh-consecutive season.

“First and foremost, thank you to the fans,’’ said Elliott, 28, who won at Texas this season. “When I look at this award, regardless if I win it or not … I’ve always viewed it as an opportunity to honor and appreciate the legacy my family has set up for me.’’

Former NASCAR Truck Series and Xfinity Series champion Greg Biffle was recognized as the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) Myers Brothers Award winner. Biffle, an avid pilot, flew rescue missions and dropped supplies to the residents in Western North Carolina following the devastating damage from Hurricane Helene in October.

“I thought, if I didn’t go, who’s going to go,’’ said Biffle, who said he received 12,000 messages for help and flew supplies into the area for 14 consecutive days after the storm hit.

“I didn’t do anything any different than anyone in this room would have,’’ a humble Biffle added.

In other awards presented on the night, David Wilson, the long-time president of Toyota Racing Development was presented the Bill France Award of Excellence for his contributions to the sport. Wilson is retiring after leading the Toyota racing effort in NASCAR for 30 years — a tenure that included Toyota’s first NASCAR Cup Series championship in 2015 and two more in 2017 and 2019.

Legacy Motor Club driver Erik Jones was named the Comcast Community Champion Award winner for his work in promoting cancer screenings, raising money for breast cancer patients and longtime literacy advocacy, reading books to school children as he travels around the country racing.

The NASCAR Foundation formally announced Judy Simmons, of Axton, Va., as the 2024 winner of the prestigious Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award. Simmons received a $100,000 donation from The NASCAR Foundation to her God’s Pit Crew non-profit organization, which provides disaster relief help to families.

The evening, hosted by Jamie Little, Adam Alexander, Kim Coon concluded shortly after 8pm with the hosts reminding the crowd and fans who will watch on the CW Network on Sunday, that NASCAR racing resumes with the NASCAR Clash exhibition at the venerable Bowman Gray Stadium on Feb. 2. The Daytona 500 opens the points season Feb. 16 at Daytona International Speedway.