For the first time since 2013, today, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series returned to The Rock, aka Rockingham Speedway. The unique, challenging track put the youngsters of the truck series through the ringer for sure, many of them pointing out the difficulties of the layout. With steep banking and tight corners, the track is an intermediate that almost drives like a short track hybrid. As with any track drivers go to for the first time, naturally, some adapted rather quickly while others struggled mightily. So, with no further ado, here are the 3 biggest takeaways from today’s Craftsman Truck Series return to the historic Rockingham Speedway.
Early in this race, Tyler Ankrum was on the struggle bus. His truck was a handful and he found himself in the closing laps of stage 1 in trouble of going a lap down. However, as the race wore on, the 18 truck improved. In the end, it was adjustments made by his pit crew and the fuel strategy game. Against all odds, with everyone else around him dropping like flies, running out of fuel, Ankrum was able to coast on the final lap to capture his second career victory.
An age-old question among the NASCAR fandom is whether or not Rockingham Speedway needs to be a permanent fixture on the NASCAR schedule. And, if so, to what capacity? The NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series last raced there in 2004. Since then, the track lacked a national series race. That was until 2012 and 2013 when the Trucks returned for a brief, two-year stint.
Along with North Wilkesboro, the state of North Carolina poured money into the facility to bring it up to date and return it to its former glory. The ultimate goal was to bring NASCAR back to the area. And while many traditionalists would love to see NASCAR return to the rock permanently, many detractors point out that with tracks like Charlotte, Bristol, Martinsville, Richmond, Darlington and North Wilkesboro all being within close vicinity of one another, adding a race at the Rock to the schedule could cause oversaturation in the surrounding markets.
Ben Kennedy stated earlier in the weekend that the goal right now is just to see how these Truck and Xfinity Series races go over the next number of years. If it’s a success, they might consider bringing the NASCAR Cup Series back to the track. With that in mind, the NASCAR Xfinity Series race for tomorrow is sold out and the Truck race looked to have plenty in the grandstands as well. So, what do you think, NASCAR fans? Do you want to see the Rock as a mainstay in the Truck and Xfinity Series? What about a potential Cup date? Let us know!
It has been a rough go for Matt Crafton in 2025. Though he’s had some flashes every now and then, he’s either had slow overall speed week in and week out or he has been on the wrong end of some sort of mechanical issue. It was a battery failure that hindered the 88 crew today as Crafton lost power in the early stages of this race. He was forced to go behind the wall for repairs. After going a number of laps down, Crafton returned to the race. But the finish was hardly what the 3-time champion and veteran of the Truck Series was looking for.
Many of Crafton’s teammates didn’t fare too much better. The 2023 Truck champ, Ben Rhodes, suffered an engine failure and ultimately had to retire from the race. He was credited with a 31st-place finish.
Finally, defending champion Ty Majeski suffered a brutal impact into the outside SAFER Barrier. As you can see in the clip below, provided by FOX Sports, Majeski was racing Grant Enfinger for the 9th position. As Majeski attempted to side draft the number 9 Chevy, the air sucked the 98 truck around, causing him to back it into the wall. The incident abruptly ended his day. After being released from the in-field care center, Majeski was visibly disappointed and mostly blamed himself.
Subsequently, the race was red flagged due to the SAFER barrier in turns 1 and 2 being damaged as a result of the impact.
Layne Riggs must have found something that he really liked in his number 34 truck in practice. He was giddy in his post-practice interview, and he qualified well, too. Though he spent most of the opening stage trailing his teammate, Chandler Smith, and fellow Ford driver, Jake Garcia, he was able to capitalize on the battle between the two leaders to clear them and win the opening stage of the race. He followed that up by dominating and winning the second stage, thus sweeping the stages.
Following pit stops, Riggs fell outside the top 5 due to alternate pit strategies. And it seemed that as the race evolved, track position came more and more into play with Riggs unable to recover.
Heading into 2024, there were a lot of eyes on Riggs, considering how Zane Smith and Todd Gilliland previously performed in the Front Row truck equipment. Though the second-generation driver got off to a slow start last year, he turned it around with back-to-back wins at Milwaukee and Bristol. While Corey Heim remains the undisputed championship favorite at the moment, with a second-place at Homestead and fast speeds week in and week out, Riggs might be one of Heim’s only legitimate challengers.
What did you think of the NASCAR Truck Series’ return to the Rock, race fans? Would you like to see them come back next year? What about getting a Cup date here? Let us know what you’re thinking! And be sure to tune back in here at DailyDownforce.com tomorrow at 4 PM EST for our coverage of the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Rockingham!
