The 2025 season-opening race for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is upon us. With plenty of new faces and returning drivers, this could easily be one of the biggest seasons in the history of the series. Thorsport Racing once again celebrated in Phoenix last season as Ty Majeski won the 2024 Truck Series Championship. He’s back for more as are his teammates and other former series champions Ben Rhodes and Matt Crafton. Elsewhere there are plenty of new faces.
Making history! ThorSport Racing becomes the first Truck Series team to field four champions at Daytona under one organization🔥🏆
Ty Majeski, Johnny Sauter, Ben Rhodes, Matt Crafton – a championship lineup ready to chase victory! #HistoryMade #ThorSport pic.twitter.com/BK2dGlvg3b
— ThorSport Racing (@ThorSportRacing) February 11, 2025
A lot of the top drivers from 2024, have moved up, so some new stars will be looking to make a name for themselves. The season-opening race at Daytona for the Truck Series has always been highly entertaining. That should be once again expected. A first-time winner could also present itself, which has been a common trend for this race.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Daytona Preview
Even with all of the returning faces, plenty of new and rising stars will be looking to get their 2025 season off on a high note. Tricon Garage certainly has a huge fleet of young talent this season. Led off by Corey Heim who has won 11 times in the last three seasons. Tanner Gray is also back for the team full-time, while plenty of new faces join the five-truck lineup. Young rising star Gio Ruggerio will make his full-time truck debut in Daytona. 18-year-old phenom William Sawalich will also be in the field.
Toni Breidinger will also make her full-time truck debut at Daytona.
Spire Motorsports Ready To Break Out
Spire Motorsports has also been a major player over the past several seasons, and 2025 should be a huge year for the team. Whether that’s at the Cup level or even in the Truck Series. Rajah Caruth is back for his second season with the team. He’s joined by plenty of other great talent. He will have two full-time Cup drivers as teammates in Daytona, as former Daytona 500 champion Michael McDowell and Justin Haley will both pilot trucks for the team.
RC has something to say.@rajahcaruth_ | @HendrickCars pic.twitter.com/Mv5MA7wQNI
— Spire Motorsports (@SpireMotorsport) December 13, 2024
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A Closer Look at the Entry List
One name that pops out is actor-turner racer Frankie Muniz. Muniz will set off on his maiden voyage in his first full-time Truck Series season. Sure his team Reaume Brothers Racing doesn’t have as much pace as the top dogs in the series, but Muniz has shown he has the skills to fare well at the likes of Daytona.
Kevin Harvick disciple Dawson Sutton will look to break out behind the wheel of his No. 26 Rackley W.A.R Chevrolet. Here’s a look at the entire entry list for Friday night’s season opener according to NASCAR.com.
| Entry | Veh # | Driver | Organization |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | William Sawalich (i) | TRICON Garage |
| 2 | 02 | Nathan Byrd | Young’s Motorsports |
| 3 | 2 | Josh Reaume | Reaume Brothers Racing |
| 4 | 4 | Mason Maggio (i) | Hettinger Racing |
| 5 | 5 | Toni Breidinger | TRICON Garage |
| 6 | 6 | Norm Benning | Norm Benning Racing |
| 7 | 07 | Michael McDowell (i) | Spire Motorsports |
| 8 | 7 | Justin Haley (i) | Spire Motorsports |
| 9 | 9 | Grant Enfinger | CR7 Motorsports |
| 10 | 11 | Corey Heim (i) | TRICON Garage |
| 11 | 13 | Jake Garcia | ThorSport Racing |
| 12 | 15 | Tanner Gray | TRICON Garage |
| 13 | 17 | Giovanni Ruggiero | TRICON Garage |
| 14 | 18 | Tyler Ankrum | McAnally Hilgemann Racing |
| 15 | 19 | Daniel Hemric | McAnally Hilgemann Racing |
| 16 | 22 | Jason White | Reaume Brothers Racing |
| 17 | 26 | Dawson Sutton | Rackley W.A.R |
| 18 | 28 | Bryan Dauzat | FDNY Racing |
| 19 | 33 | Frankie Muniz | Reaume Brothers Racing |
| 20 | 34 | Layne Riggs | Front Row Motorsports |
| 21 | 38 | Chandler Smith | Front Row Motorsports |
| 22 | 42 | Matt Mills | Niece Motorsports |
| 23 | 44 | Bayley Currey | Niece Motorsports |
| 24 | 45 | Kaden Honeycutt | Niece Motorsports |
| 25 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar Friesen Racing |
| 26 | 56 | Timmy Hill | Hill Motorsports |
| 27 | 66 | Johnny Sauter | ThorSport Racing |
| 28 | 71 | Rajah Caruth | Spire Motorsports |
| 29 | 75 | Parker Kligerman | Henderson Motorsports |
| 30 | 76 | Spencer Boyd | Freedom Racing Enterprises |
| 31 | 77 | Andres Perez De Lara | Spire Motorsports |
| 32 | 81 | Connor Mosack | McAnally Hilgemann Racing |
| 33 | 88 | Matt Crafton | ThorSport Racing |
| 34 | 90 | Justin Carroll | Terry Carroll Motorsports |
| 35 | 91 | Jack Wood | McAnally Hilgemann Racing |
| 36 | 95 | Clay Greenfield | GK Racing |
| 37 | 98 | Ty Majeski | ThorSport Racing |
| 38 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | ThorSport Racing |
(i) equals ineligible for driver championship points
Prediction
There are plenty of big-name hitters in this season’s opening race for the Truck Series, especially with so many former superspeedway winners. With all of the youth on the track, it’s hard to pick a winner, because you just never know especially with all the unknowns and no practice. But given the momentum Layne Riggs built at the end of last season, I like Layne here. But Corey Heim wouldn’t be a bad choice either.
READ MORE:Â NASCAR Young Guns to watch in 2025
Where to Watch
You can tune in to FS1 at 3:00 pm ET to catch qualifying as 38 trucks will take to the track for 36 spots. Then tune in again at 7:30 pm ET for the Fresh From Florida 250 from Daytona International Speedway from Daytona Beach, Florida. 100 laps to decide the first Craftsman Truck Series winner of 2025.
Featured Image Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
