The first NASCAR Truck Series race at Rockingham Speedway in well over a decade did not disappoint. There was plenty of competitive racing, interesting strategy, and well-deserved victory. Tyler Ankrum has had a long referenced winless drought. The driver of the No. 18 Chevrolet for Bill McAnally was able to snap his six-year drought, with a breakthrough win on Friday.
In a race that looked like it was Front Row Motorsports’ to win, with strong runs going for both Chandler Smith and Layne Riggs. Fuel Mileage ended up being the decider for the Black’s Tire 200.
Tyler Ankrum Snaps 130-Race Winless Streak in NASCAR Truck Series’ Return to Rockingham
Thorsports Jake Garcia was able to put his No. 13 Ford Mustang on the pole for this event, further proving he’s getting closer and closer to his first Truck Series victory. Garcia was able to lead the race’s first 43 laps. Despite an early incident for Connor Mosack and Bayley Currey. The incident killed any momentum Currey has gained in the last couple of races.
Here is what brought out the caution on Lap 2. pic.twitter.com/sw7vzjgTDm
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) April 18, 2025
They were able to get the action back to green quickly following the incident, and a four-track battle at the front of the field took center stage during the final 40 laps of stage one. While Garcia fought as hard as possible to get his first stage win, Layne Riggs was too strong and passed him with just a couple of laps left to win stage one at Rockingham.
.@LayneRiggs99 gets the lead!
And @LayneRiggs99 gets his first career stage win! pic.twitter.com/h6sumLFA5f
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) April 18, 2025
A Mixed Bag for Ford
The race teams for Ford in the Truck Series have been fighting to compete this year. Thorsport Racing is the defending Series champions with Ty Majeski, but Rockingham proved to be a very rough track and race for the team. Outside of Jake Garcia’s strong effort, his four other teammates all had issues befall them.
It started with power steering issues for Ben Rhodes, who eventually had to exit the race. Technical issues also arose for Matt Crafton as he dealt with a fire on his dashboard during stage two.
The No. 88 goes behind the wall with battery issues. pic.twitter.com/MtKhodAw8f
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) April 18, 2025
Another one! @LayneRiggs99 wins Stage 2. pic.twitter.com/f1dDeTlEzr
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) April 18, 2025
While those tough competitors were having problems, Layne Riggs continued to show his prowess as he led the final 17 laps of stage two to sweep the stages at Rockingham.
Action Heats Up in Final Stage
Things got exciting during the final 100 laps or so. It started with a big crash for Ty Majeski, as he slammed into the outside wall, leaving it damaged. That damage was enough for NASCAR to red flag the race to repair the wall.
The No. 98 is done for the day after hitting the outside wall. pic.twitter.com/HfsSsXuexy
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) April 18, 2025
The big hits didn’t end with Majeski as Matt Mills, Stewart Friesen, and Tanner Gray were involved in a very hard and scary incident just eight laps later following the almost 10-minute red flag. The return to Rockingham certainly didn’t disappoint. Plenty of other drivers were lucky to avoid the big three-truck crash.
Here's all the happened during that incident ⤵️ https://t.co/WPCuOGyqgq pic.twitter.com/0GXqxrb4bP
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) April 18, 2025
It ended up being the last big caution of the race. After all of it was cleaned up, Corey Heim tried to show once again that he’s the top dog in the NASCAR Truck Series this year. The final run ended up being 77 laps. Things got interesting for all of the frontrunners with about 20 laps to go, as Heim was forced to pit because he wasn’t going to make it to the end on fuel.
Fuel is King
When Heim hit the pit lane, it put Tyler Ankrum in the catbird seat, as he was able to save enough fuel to get his second-career Truck win. However, things got interesting, and the final results were very different from what was expected, as the best trucks of the day ended up running out of fuel in the final three laps or so. It showed how good a fuel saver Ankrum is, much like he did when he got his first win six years ago at Kentucky Speedway.
The Rock has a new winner!@TylerAnkrum wins at @Rockingham1965! pic.twitter.com/GDv1FC2pLa
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) April 18, 2025
Ankrum snapping his 130-race winless drought was a great achievement, and he was the perfect winner for NASCAR’s return to Rockingham Speedway.
Featured Image Credit: James Gilbert, Getty Images. 4/18/2025
