PREVIEW: Throwback schemes and international road ringers add to the mix of NASCAR’s bi-coastal weekend
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: Bill McAnally Racing, @BMR_NASCAR
Saturday, August 30, 2025 (Green Flag 12:21 P.M. ET, FS1)
TRUCKS Race 19 of 25
Round of 10: Race 1 of 3
Sober or Slammer 200 at Darlington
2024 Last-Place Finisher (May): Kyle Busch
ENTRY LIST
There are 37 drivers entered for 36 spots, so one will fail to qualify.
DRIVER CHANGE: #1-TRICON Garage
While the preliminary entry list showed TBA for this week’s driver of the “all-star” TRICON entry, that was later revealed to be Trevor Bayne, marking his first Truck Series start since the October 21, 2023 race at Homestead, where he finished 14th for Rackley W.A.R. As revealed in a video posted by the Legacy Motor Club and featuring Richard Petty, Bayne’s truck will carry sponsorship from Victory Junction. Bayne takes the place of Brent Crews, who finished 16th in the most recent series race at Richmond.
TEAM UPDATE: #2-Reaume Brothers Racing
Stephen Mallozzi remains the driver of the Reaume team’s #2 after the driver column showed “TBA” at first publication.
MISSING: #6-Norm Benning Racing
Norm Benning is not among this week’s entrants after his team withdrew last time out in Richmond.
DRIVER CHANGE: #7-Spire Motorsports
Corey Day continues his combination XFINITY and Truck Series weekend this weekend as he makes his eighth series start of the year and first since his career-best runner-up finish last month at IRP. Day takes the place of 4th-place Richmond finisher Sammy Smith, who along with the other series regulars will be on the other side of the country racing in Portland (see below).
MISSING: #16-McAnally Hilgemann Racing
Christian Eckes will likewise compete in Portland for Kaulig Racing, so the McAnally team will not field the #16 with which he finished 12th in Richmond.
RETURNING: #20-Young’s Motorsports
One driver returning to the circuit this week is Stefan Parsons, back for his fourth start of the season and first since a 22nd-place showing at Charlotte in May. For the first time since his season-best 12th-place showing in Texas, Parsons will be driving the returning part-time #20 team for the Randy Young effort, again backed by Trophy Tractor.
TEAM UPDATE: #22-Reaume Brothers Racing
DRIVER SWAP: #33-Reaume Brothers Racing
While “throwback weekend” has moved to the spring, a few Truck Series efforts are taking their opportunity to run classic paint schemes this weekend, including the entire McAnally-Hilgemann team and the #22 entry at the Reaume group. This one will certainly catch the eye of Michael Waltrip during FS1’s remote broadcast as it resembles the “Aaron’s Dream Machine” that Waltrip ran in the Busch Series. Mason Maggio was to drive the truck in place of Richmond last-place finisher Clayton Green, who had himself swapped rides with teammate Stephen Mallozzi at Richmond. But on Thursday came news that Reaume teammate Frankie Muniz – 33rd on a rough night for the team in Richmond – broke his wrist when he fell from a ladder at his home in Arizona, putting him out of the #33. Thus, Maggio will drive in Muniz’ place, and Green will swap back in to the #22.
MISSING: #41-Niece Motorsports
Al Niece’s team has not fielded the #41 with which Matthew Gould earned a 25th-place showing in Richmond.
RETURNING: #56-Hill Motorsports
Back for his sixth start of the year after back-to-back road course races saw him 25th in Lime Rock and 20th in Watkins Glen is Timmy Hill and his family’s #56 team. This team has finished 16th or better in four of its five series starts at Darlington, including back-to-back top-ten finishes in 2020 and 2021, taking 9th and 7th.
MISSING: #66-ThorSport Racing
For the first time in 2025, the ThorSport team will not field its #66 entry which as most recently driven to a 22nd-place finish with Luke Fenhaus. This occurs after word of Matt Crafton’s announcement that he will retire from full-time competition at the end of this season, and that Ty Majeski will move from the #98 to take Crafton’s place. Fenhaus and co-driver Luke Baldwin’s future plans may depend on what happens to the #98 program in 2026.
MISSING: #67-Freedom Racing Enterprises
This week, Spencer Boyd will not field his second truck for driver Ryan Roulette, who finished 29th in Richmond.
MISSING: #84-Cook Racing Technologies
Also missing from Darlington is the Cook effort with which Patrick Staropoli claimed 23rd in Richmond.
RETURNING: #91-McAnally-Hilgemann Racing
Jack Wood returns along with the McAnally team’s #91 entry after both withdrew from Richmond following Wood’s injury in a brutal crash entering The Esses at Watkins Glen. Wood has made three series starts at Darlington with a best finish of 18th in 2022. His throwback scheme honors the late Dick Trickle with the white scheme Trickle ran to countless victories in ASA.
MISSING: #97-CR7 Motorsports
The 15th-place finisher in Richmond, Carson Kvapil is not entered along with the part-time second entry from Codie Rohrbaugh’s team as Kvapil joins the XFINITY Series field in Portland.
DRIVER CHANGE: #02-Young’s Motorsports
“The Byrdman,” Nathan Byrd, carries sponsorship from Champion Health as he returns for his 13th start of the season, his first since a 21st-place showing in Pocono. He takes the place of Nick Leitz, who finished 27th in Richmond.
CUP INVADERS: None
Saturday, August 30, 2025 (Green Flag 7:40 P.M. ET, CW)
XFINITY Race 25 of 33
Pacific Office Automation 147 at Portland
2024 Last-Place Finisher (June): Preston Pardus
ENTRY LIST
There are 37 drivers for 38 spots, so all will qualify. Next week is the Playoff cutoff race in Gateway.
MISSING: #5-Alpha Prime Racing
After debuting their part-time fourth entry last week in Daytona, the result of acquiring the Owner Points from a shuttered Our Motorsports, both team and driver Caesar Bacarella aren’t on this week’s entry list following a 28th-place finish.
DRIVER CHANGE: #11-Kaulig Racing
The series of replacement drivers in Kaulig’s #11 entry remains intriguing this summer. After all three of Spire Motorsports’ Cup drivers took turns, most recently Jusin Haley, who led 7 laps in Daytona before the last-lap crash left him 19th, in comes Australian SuperCar driver Will Brown. Brown has made two Cup starts, taking 31st and 39th, but none yet in XFINITY or Trucks.
DRIVER CHANGE: #19-Joe Gibbs Racing
Another Australian, Jack Perkins, had a rough outing in his own series debut at the Chicago Street Course last month, where after a 5th-place qualifying run, he soon found the outside walls and ended up 32nd. Sunday will mark his first series start since as he takes the place of 24th-place Daytona finisher Aric Almirola.
RETURNING: #24-Sam Hunt Racing
Continuing with this weekend’s international contingent is Alon Day, who last month came just inches from beating William Sawalich to the checkered flag in the ARCA Menards Series West race at Sonoma. While the preliminary entry list for Sam Hunt’s returning part-time #24 entry first showed “TBA,” Day will make his fourth career start and first of the season, his first since a 36th-place effort last fall at Watkins Glen.
DRIVER CHANGE: #28-RSS Racing
DRIVER SWAP: #53-Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen
When we last saw road race ace Joey Hand compete in NASCAR’s national series, he very nearly won the 2024 Cup race on the Chicago Street Course. He led seven laps before his Stage 60 entry for RFK Racing was passed by eventual winner Alex Bowman. Like Will Brown, Hand has yet to make a start in either the XFINITY or Truck Series, and will get his chance in the former this Saturday. He’ll drive for RSS Racing in the #28, bumping the team’s regular driver, 27th-place Daytona finisher Kyle Sieg, to Joey Gase’s #53. Sieg will take the place of Gase himself, 21st in Daytona, who isn’t driving this week.
DRIVER CHANGE: #32-Jordan Anderson Racing
Austin Green has designs on continuing his streak of impressive runs on the road courses, most recently a 7th-place effort in Watkins Glen, as he and the Peterson Racing Group again join forces with Jordan Anderson’s #32 team. Green takes the place of Rajah Caruth, who finished 29th in his first series start at Daytona, as Caruth competes in tomorrow’s Truck Series race in Darlington.
DRIVER CHANGE: #35-Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen
Teamed with Kyle Sieg in the flagship Gase entry is Takuma Koga of Japan, a longtime competitor in the ARCA Menards Series West dating back 125 starts to 2002. The 47-year-old closed out the 2024 season 7th in points after a 19th-place showing in the championship race for team owner Jerry Pitts. This year, he’s made the step to ARCA East and national competition with Andy Hillenburg’s Fast Track Racing, taking a 15th at Dover and an impressive 3rd on the demanding Flat Rock. He now makes his first NASCAR national series start with Macnica as sponsor of his Toyota.
DRIVER CHANGE: #45-Alpha Prime Racing
DRIVER SWAP: #91-DGM Racing x JIM
Vicente Salas made his own NASCAR national series debut at Rockingham back in April, when he drove Alpha Prime Racing’s #45 Chevrolet to a 24th-place finish, five laps down. Tomorrow will mark his first start since then, and he’ll drive for the same team with sponsorship from Prime Bites Mini Muffins.
DRIVER CHANGE: #70-Cope Family Racing
Thomas Annunziata – this year’s ARCA winner at Lime Rock – returns to the Cope team after co-driver Leland Honeyman, Jr. ran as high as 3rd in the final laps of Daytona before he fell to 26th at the checkered flag. Sponsored by CROW Credit Repair, Annunziata will make his 10th XFINITY start of the year and 15th of his career, his first since a Turn 11 crash at Watkins Glen left him 37th.
MISSING: #74-Mike Harmon Racing
The Harmon team remains absent from the road courses this year and is not entered for the long journey west after they withdrew Logan Bearden from the race in Daytona. However, their Truck Series team will be in Darlington with driver Caleb Costner with a new wrap for sponsor Ironside Forestry.
TEAM UPDATE: #88-JR Motorsports
All eyes will again be on Connor Zilisch, who won’t have Shane van Gisbergen to battle due to the start of the Cup Series Playoffs on Sunday in Darlington. As Zilisch continues to recover from his injury at Watkins Glen, and now received his seventh win of the season thanks to relief driver Parker Kligerman, will this car be back up to speed again on the road course?
MISSING: #92-DGM Racing x JIM
Natalie Decker and Mario Gosselin’s part-time #92 entry aren’t making the trip to Portland following a 22nd-place showing in Daytona.
DRIVER CHANGE: #07-SS-Green Light Racing
Alex Labbe hopes to turn heads again as he takes the place of 13th-place Daytona finisher Patrick Emerling in Bobby Dotter’s #07. This will be Labbe’s sixth series start of the year and first since suspension issues at Sonoma saddled him with a disappointing 37th-place finish. Labbe has finished 15th or better in three of his five starts this year, all on road courses, and was 11th on the Portland course in 2023.
CUP INVADERS: None
Sunday, August 31, 2025 (Green Flag 6:05 P.M. ET, USA)
CUP Race 27 of 36
Round of 16: Race 1 of 3
Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington
2024 Last-Place Finisher: Ryan Blaney
ENTRY LIST
There are 38 drivers entered for 40 spots, so all will qualify in the 22nd short field in 27 races this season. Only three of the last nine Cup races have seen 40 cars take the green flag.
MISSING: #33-Richard Childress Racing
Following a 30th-place finish due to mid-race crash damage last Saturday in Daytona, Austin Hill will not race in Darlington as he competes full-time for the XFINITY Series in Portland.
DRIVER CHANGE: #44-NY Racing Team
After Joey Gase finished 28th for the Cohen effort in Daytona, the #44 entry goes this week to Derek Kraus, marking his eighth Cup start and just second of the season. The other start also came with this team in the Coca-Cola 600, where he finished 20 laps down in 32nd.
DRIVER CHANGE: #66-Garage 66
After flat tires and spins spoiled Casey Mears’ chances at a strong finish in Daytona, Timmy Hill will pull double-duty with the Truck Series as he returns to the #66, which as of this writing is still seeking primary sponsorship for Sunday’s race. Hill has made six Cup starts at Darlington, not counting a relief driver role for Carl Long in the 2017 running of this race. In last year’s Southern 500, steering issues left he and the Long team in 35th.
MISSING: #78-Live Fast Motorsports
Not among the entrants on the Cup side is that of B.J. McLeod, whose late-race crash left him 32nd in the running order.
TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (August 29, 1998): Rick Carelli picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career in the Kroger 225 at the Louisville (Kentucky) Speedway when his #6 Re/Max Chevrolet crashed after 8 laps. Carelli tangled with Bryan Reffner in Turn 4, destroying the rear of Carelli’s truck as he spun into the wall. Reffner recovered to finish 15th.
