Trucks Debut At ‘The Rock’ This Sunday

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES – SUNDAY, 1 P.M. ET, SPEED

Trucks Debut At ‘The Rock’ This Sunday

After an absence of eight years, NASCAR roars back into Rockingham Speedway for Sunday’s Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200 Presented by Cheerwine (SPEED, live, 1 p.m. EDT). NASCAR’s last visit to “The Rock” – a 1.017-mile track that opened in 1965 – came in 2004. The race featured a final lap, last-turn duel between Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne. The latter driver came up 0.010 seconds short in just his second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Kahne will compete in the event driving a Turner Motorsports Chevrolet following his primary duties in Saturday night’s Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Brad Sweet is due to practice and qualify Kahne’s truck. Todd Bodine is the only other NASCAR winner in the field of more than 40 entries having won a pair of NASCAR Nationwide Series races, most recently in 2001.

Dillon, Lofton, Kligerman Bank On ARCA Experience To Contend

Three “young guns” with Rockingham experience hope to find their way to Victory Lane on Sunday. Ty Dillon, 20, who stands fourth in NCWTS points following his recent second-place finish at Martinsville Speedway, wrapped up the 2010 ARCA championship with a victory at Rockingham Speedway. Kligerman, 21, was the winner of the 2009 ARCA race but it wasn’t enough to deny Lofton, 26, the series title as the California off-road racing veteran finished third. Lofton, who failed to record a top-five finish in 2011, is off to a great start this year with top fives at Daytona and Martinsville. He’s third in the standings, a single point behind leader John King.

NCWTS ETC.

Jeb Burton didn’t see his father, Ward’s, 1992 spring NASCAR Nationwide Series victory at Rockingham Speedway but the 19-year-old rookie can say he was there. His mother, Tabitha, was pregnant with Jeb, who was born in August. … Burton won last weekend’s late model race at Ace Speedway in North Carolina. … Richie Wauters’ No. 5 Ford driven by Paulie Harraka will carry the colors of Rockingham’s “Send A Soldier To The Rock” initiative. Fans can purchase $20 tickets which will be held at will call for military. Fort Bragg, home of the U.S. Army Airborne and Special Operations Command, is nearby. More information is available from the track at (910) 205-8800. … Seven drivers entered in Sunday’s event have competed in NASCAR Sprint Cup and/or Nationwide Series races at Rockingham Speedway: Bodine, Kahne, Johnny Chapman, Ron Hornaday Jr., Jason Leffler, David Reutimann and Johnny Sauter.