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NASCAR drivers return to the Rock for open test

Xfinity driver Sheldon Creed roars down the front stretch of Rockingham Speedway during a tire test for Goodyear on Nov. 13.

ROCKINGHAM — Race teams from NASCAR’s Xfinity and Craftsman Truck series will get a feel for the Rock ahead of the race weekend later this year.

An open test is scheduled for 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28 at Rockingham Speedway, the track announced over the weekend.

This test will be open to the public, with free admission in the grandstands.

A private tire test for Goodyear was held in November featuring three drivers in the Xfinity Series — Justin Allgaier, Sheldon Creed and Brandon Jones — and former NASCAR driver Jamie McMurray testing for ARCA.

Click here to read about the tire test.

McMurray is no stranger to the Rock, having won the last four Xfinity races at the track before it was taken off the NASCAR schedule.

But he’s not the only one with prior experience on the infamous oval.

Allgaier, the 2024 Xfinity Series champion, placed 27th in the 2008 ARCA race at Rockingham, with 2024 Cup Series champ Joey Logano taking the checkered flag.

Jones drove in the truck series in 2013, but didn’t run at Rockingham — the last NASCAR-sanctioned race. However, he said he ran a late model stock at the Rock in 2013.

Matt Crafton, who has been racing in the Craftsman Truck Series for 25 years, is the only current driver in that series who was at the Rock for the race in 2013.

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Earlier this month, promoter Track Enterprises announced that Black’s Tire will be the title sponsor for the truck race on April 18. Click here to read that story.

The following day, there will also be races in the ARCA Menards Series East and the Xfinity Series. The Cup Series does not run on Easter Sunday.

Tickets are available at racetherock.com.

Prior to the race, drivers will be in downtown Rockingham for the return of ThunderFest, featuring music from the Marshall Tucker Band. Click here to read more about Thunderfest.

The Easter weekend event is just one for the track’s fifth season back in action. Click here to read more about the speedway’s 2025 schedule.