Speeds Surpass 167 Mph Average on Final Day of NASCAR Rockingham Test

A one-day NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series test session at Rockingham Speedway was extended into a two-day session after a damp racetrack caused delays on Tuesday morning. At the conclusion of the two-day test on Wednesday, one thing became clear as crystal; Rockingham Speedway, which has been off the NASCAR National Series schedule since the 2013 season, is fast as hell.

Defending NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Ty Majeski logged the fastest lap of the opening day of the test session with an astonishing 166.547 mph average speed around the 1.017-mile oval in his No. 98 ThorSport Racing Ford F-150. That lap, which was more than eight-and-a-half mph faster than Rusty Wallace's 25-year-old NASCAR Cup Series track record, and nearly 20 mph faster than the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series track record (set in 2013), was the talk of the town on Tuesday evening.

By the end of Wednesday's test session, Majeski's lap was only good enough for third-fastest overall during the two-day test. Yes, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers got even faster on Wednesday.

On Day 2, it was Gio Ruggiero, a fearless 18-year-old Rookie of the Year contender for TRICON Garage, who turned the fastest lap in his No. 17 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. Ruggiero's lap was 21.888 seconds, which equates to a mind-numbing 167.270 mph average speed.

Kaden Honeycutt, 21, was 0.029 seconds off of Ruggiero's pace in his No. 45 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado in second-place. Majeski's lap, which opened so many eyes on Tuesday, would end the test 0.095 seconds from being the best lap turned.

In all 32 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers took a turn behind the wheel and logged laps over the two days.

Corey Day, who competed in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in the No. 7 Spire Motorsports truck, also competed in NASCAR Xfinity Series testing in the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Day, 19, was fastest of the NASCAR Xfinity Series racers with a lap time of 22.540 seconds (162.431 mph).

Jesse Love, last year's Rookie of the Year, came home second-fastest in his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Love was 0.127 seconds behind Day on the scoring sheet.

Harrison Burton, who moved back to the NASCAR Xfinity Series for the 2025 season after a three-year stint in the NASCAR Cup Series with AM Racing, was third in the session, 0.148 seconds off the top lap time.

Kasey Kahne, who will return to NASCAR for a one-off start with Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at this track this year, was on hand for the test. Kahne cranked out the 12th-fastest lap time out of 35 NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers, who took to the track.

The 44-year-old Kahne last competed in the NASCAR National Series ranks in 2018.

While the expectation was that speeds would be high due to the track surface, which was freshly repaved in 2022, I don't think anyone expected they would be quite as high as they ended up being. In media availabilities during the two-day test, drivers were comparing Rockingham to Dover Motor Speedway, a one-mile high-banked oval, where drivers carry big g-force loads heading into the massively banked turns.

There were a couple of minor crashes on Tuesday, one involving Mason Maggio, who spun from the outside groove while running side-by-side with another car, and Sam Mayer, who spun out on his getting up to speed lap. Both drivers saw their test sessions come to an early end after the incidents.

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will compete in its first race at the iconic Rockingham Speedway on Friday, April 18. That race will be televised on FS1 with coverage set to kick off at 5 PM ET. The following day, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will battle it out in the series' first event at the track since the 2004 season. The Xfinity race on Saturday, April 19 is scheduled for 4 PM ET with television coverage being provided by The CW.