Practice #1 : Rockingham Speedway

• Thursday, April 17th, 2025
• NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer

Return to The Rock: Xfinity Stars Set for First Race at Repaved Rockingham Since 2004

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.

• Rockingham Speedway
• North Carolina Education Lottery 250 presented by Black?s Tire
• Pole Winner: Connor Zilisch #
• Age: 18
• Team : No 88 - WeatherTech Chevrolet
• Owner: Dale Earnhardt, Jr
• Crew Chief: Mardy Lindley
• Connor Zilisch won the Pole Award for the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 presented by Black?s Tire with a lap of 2263 seconds, 149536 mph
• This is his fourth pole in 14 NASCAR Xfinity Series races
• This is his third pole and eighth top-10 start in 2025
• This is his first pole in one races at Rockingham Speedway
• Parker Retzlaff (second) posted his second top-10 start of 2025 and his first in one race at Rockingham Speedway
• Nick Sanchez (third) posted his first top-10 start at Rockingham Speedway It is his fifth in ten races this season
• Connor Zilisch (first) was the fastest qualifying rookie

• Sunday, April 20th, 2025
• NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer

Post-Race DQ Hands Sammy Smith Xfinity Victory at Wild Rockingham Return

Long after the checkered flag waved in the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ long-awaited return to Rockingham Speedway, Sammy Smith’s fortunes improved dramatically.

Smith was awarded the victory in the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 after the No. 2 Chevrolet of ostensible race winner Jesse Love was deemed to have violated Rule 14.14.2.I-5.h which covers trailing arm spacers and pinion angle shims.

“All mating surfaces of those parts need to be in complete contact with each other, and unfortunately they violated that rule and were disqualified,” said series director Eric Peterson.

The disqualification of Love’s car gave Smith his first victory of the season and the third of his career, as well as a $100,000 bonus as the winner of the final Xfinity Dash 4 Cash race of the season.

“It’s a tough way to win that, but I feel like we’ll take ‘em any way we can get ‘em,” Smith said after learning of Love’s disqualification. “We waited here to see what happens, but overall, it was a good day, and I’m very happy with the progress we’ve made recently.

“I’m kind of speechless, to be honest with you.”

After Love climbed from his car at the finish line, the No. 2 Camaro rolled away from him down the banking and into the infield grass. Perhaps that was an omen of problems to come.

Love had just done a celebratory burnout after a magnificent restart in overtime propelled him to the apparent victory. He finished 0.691m seconds ahead of Smith, but the margin was negated by the infraction, and the win went to the driver of the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet.

Before the infraction was discovered, Love was ecstatic to win at “The Rock.”

“Oh, my gosh, these fans are amazing,” said Love, who was all but drowned out by the cheers from the onlookers, who celebrated the return of the Xfinity Series to Rockingham for the first time since 2004. “What an amazing race track. Man, this race track’s right in my alley. It’s hammer down—you’ve got to be in the gas good today.

“I had such an incredible car… (On the final restart) I don’t know if I hit him (Smith) or if he stumbled… I had to get it done—we had too good of a piece.”

Unfortunately, the fastest car on Saturday couldn’t pass post-race inspection.

In a race that featured 14 cautions for 83 laps—with nine yellows occurring in the final stage—Parker Retzlaff ran second, a career best; Harrison Burton was third, giving AM Racing its best-ever Xfinity Series finish; and Brennan Poole came home fourth, scoring his second top five in the last four races.

Sunoco rookie Taylor Gray completed the top five. Austin Hill, Josh Williams, Jeb Burton, Daniel Dye and Jeremy Clements finished sixth through 10th respectively.

Ryan Sieg led a race-high 77 laps, battling Love for the lead in the final stage, but was collected in a massive Lap 241 crash when Christian Eckes ran short of fuel on a restart and backed up the field behind him.

That wreck ruined the Dash 4 Cash hopes of the three other contenders for the bonus, Justin Allgaier, Carson Kvapil and Brandon Jones.

Nick Sanchez was out front for 52 circuits, including the first 44 of the race, but he, too, fell victim to the Lap 241 crash, which forced the first of two red-flag periods.

Carson Kvapil led 47 laps in the second stage as he and Love fought for the lead. Sanchez won Stage 1, and Dean Thompson scored the first-ever stage win for Sam Hunt Racing in Stage 2.

Fans who came to Rockingham anticipating a show weren’t disappointed. A workable second groove opened above the bottom lane, and drivers were even able to roll three-wide through the corners on occasion, though some of the attempts to do so produced regrettable outcomes.

Katherine Legge’s sixth Xfinity Series start—and her first since 2023 at Road America—came to an early end on Lap 52, when hard contact from William Sawalich turned her No. 53 Chevrolet sideways in Turn 1.

Unable to avoid Legge’s spinning car, Kasey Kahne, making his first start in the series since 2017, sustained damage to the right front of his No. 33 Chevrolet, with the blow sending Legge’s Camaro up the track into the outside wall, eliminating her from the race.

Legge had failed to qualify during time trials earlier in the day, but she arranged to take over JJ Yeley’s ride and started from the rear because of the driver change. She had already been lapped by then-leader Jesse Love when the accident occurred.

Kahne had to pit for repairs to the nose of his car and lost a lap in the process, but he recovered to finish 14th.

The No. 19 Toyota of Justin Bonsignore also was disqualified for lug nuts not installed in a safe and secure manner. Bonsignore had finished 36th of 38 drivers before the disqualification.

• Drivers Entered: 40 (2 drivers will not make the race)
• Laps Scheduled: 250
• Laps Actual: 256 - NASCAR OVERTIME!
• Margin of Victory: 0.691 Seconds
• Time of Race: 2 Hours 56 Minutes 38 Seconds
• Average Speed: 80.377
• Cautions: 14 for 83 laps
• Lead Changes: 17
• Green Flag Passes: 1,343 (7.8 passes per green flag lap)

• Rockingham Speedway
• North Carolina Education Lottery 250 presented by Black?s Tire
• Race Winner: Sammy Smith
• Age: 20
• Team : No 8 - Pilot Chevrolet
• Owner: Dale Earnhardt, Jr
• Crew Chief: Phillip Bell
• Sammy Smith won the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 presented by Black?s Tire, his third victory in 85 Xfinity Series races
• This is his first victory and fifth top-10 finish in 2025
• This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in one race at Rockingham Speedway
• Parker Retzlaff (second) posted his first top-10 finish in one race at Rockingham Speedway It is his first top-10 finish in 2025
• Harrison Burton (third) posted his first top-10 finish in one races at Rockingham Speedway
• Taylor Gray (fifth) was the highest finishing rookie
• Justin Allgaier leads the point standings by 87 points over Sam Mayer