By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service
The NASCAR Xfinity and CRAFTSMAN Truck Series are ready to roll at “The Rock.”
In the final event of an Easter tripleheader weekend that also includes the ARCA Menards Series East, Xfinity Series drivers will compete at Rockingham Speedway for the first time since 2004 with the running of Saturday’s North Carolina Education Lottery 250 (4 p.m. ET on CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The Rock is not the same track on which driver-turned-television analyst Jamie McMurray won the last four Xfinity Series events held at the Richmond County speedway. Repaved in late 2022 and remeasured at 0.94 miles, the iconic track is unfamiliar territory to all but one driver in Saturday’s field, as far as actual racing is concerned.
Only Kasey Kahne has competitive Xfinity Series experience at the track, with his last series appearance coming in the final race there in 2004. On Saturday, Kahne will make his first Xfinity start at any track since 2017 in the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.
Kahne, a sprint car driver and team owner, quickly acclimated to the stock car in his return to pavement during an organizational test in January.
“It had been six and a half years,” said Kahne, who won a Truck Series race at Rockingham in 2012. “It was really nice to be back in a car. I didn’t know exactly how it would feel and if I would have to refigure out how to drive in a way.
“But truthfully, once I got to Turn 3 coming to the start of practice and the car loaded into the corner, I instantly felt right at home and felt like I had been doing it for a while. From there on, it was a solid practice for the next four or five hours.”
Despite the lack of competitive reps, other drivers aren’t coming to Rockingham with empty notebooks. Sheldon Creed, Brandon Jones and series leader Justin Allgaier participated in a Goodyear tire test last November.
And the organizational test in January gave a broad range of drivers in both the Xfinity and Truck Series a sense of what they will face on Easter weekend.
In Allgaier’s case, there’s more on the line than the race trophy. The driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet is competing for a record eighth $100,000 bonus in the final Xfinity Dash 4 Cash race of the season.
To win the bonus, Allgaier will have to finish ahead of three other eligible drivers—teammates Carson Kvapil and Sammy Smith and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones.
“It’s really cool to be heading back to Rockingham with our BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet,” said Allgaier, who won two of the first three Dash 4 Cash bonuses this season, at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway.
“No one really knows what to expect this weekend, but I feel like the test we had here back in January gave (crew chief) Jim (Pohlman) and all the guys on this team a good playbook to start with.
“We’ve had a lot of momentum on our side here lately, and hopefully that will carry over and we’ll have another great run on Saturday.”
Notes: Katherine Legge, who made her NASCAR Cup Series debut at Phoenix earlier this season, will make her first start in the Xfinity Series since 2023 at Road America… Sammy Smith and Jones are doing double duty this weekend in the Xfinity and Truck Series.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: North Carolina Education Lottery 250 presented by Black’s Tire
The Place: Rockingham Speedway
Track Length: 0.94 Mile Asphalt Oval
The Date: Saturday, April 19
The Time: 4 p.m. ET
The Purse: $1,651,939
TV: CW, 3 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 235 miles (250 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 60),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 120), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 250)
Where To Watch NASCAR This Week:
Friday, April 18
NCTS Practice & Kennametal Pole Qualifying (FS2 at 12:30 p.m. ET)
NXS Practice (The CW App at 3 p.m. ET)
NCTS Race: Black’s Tire 200 (FS1, NRN, SiriusXM at 5 p.m. ET)
Saturday, April 19
NXS Kennametal Pole Qualifying (The CW App at 11:30 a.m. ET)
NXS Race: North Carolina Education Lottery 250 presented by Black’s Tire (The CW, MRN, SiriusXM at 4 p.m. ET)