Former D-1 Baseball Pitcher Going Full-Time NASCAR Truck Racing in '25

Christian Rose, a former Division 1 college baseball pitcher at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, will be moving to a full-time racing schedule in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2025. Rose, 29, will drive the No. 44 Chevrolet Silverado for Niece Motorsports in his rookie campaign in the third-tier NASCAR National Series division during the upcoming season.

Rose recently polished off his second consecutive full-time campaign in the ARCA Menards Series ranks driving for AM Racing. In two seasons in the ARCA ranks, Rose finished third and fifth in the championship standings, and had a best finish of third, which he achieved at Salem Speedway in September 2023.

The native of West Virginia, who competed in two NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events in 2023, snagging a best finish of 16th at Phoenix Raceway, is excited for his move to the NASCAR Truck Series full-time.

"For me, it's a huge opportunity to make the jump from the ARCA Series," Rose explained in a press release. "I got my feet wet a little bit in the Truck Series a few years ago, but I believe in everything that we have going on in this building and am very excited to get to Daytona. The speed that we've seen from this team is a big reason why we signed our deal, and I'm just excited to make that transition. I think if we do the right things and show up and put the work in, we can have a lot of great things to look forward to next year."

Niece Motorsports, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2025, feels Rose is the perfect addition to a revamped driver lineup for the upcoming campagin.

"We're all excited to welcome Christian on with our team next year," said Cody Efaw, Niece Motorsports CEO. "I think our program has the possibility to have a banner year with the driver and partner lineup that we have. Christian drove well in his time running in ARCA, and he will have all the tools he needs to learn from our group of guys. It's going to be a great year."

In addition to Rose, Niece Motorsports announced the return of Matt Mills to the organization's No. 42 Chevrolet Silverado in September, and recent Snowball Derby race winner Kaden Honeycutt will drive the team's No. 45 entry in the upcoming season.

The team will announce additional drivers for the 2025 season as well as primary sponsorship partners for Rose's entry at a later date.