PREVIEW: While some teams scale back their car count for Texas, others have big goals
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: MBM Motorsports / Garage 66, @MBMMotorsports
Friday, May 2, 2025 (Green Flag 8:22 P.M. ET, FS1)
TRUCKS Race 8 of 25
SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas
2024 Last-Place Finisher: Tyler Ankrum
ENTRY LIST
Just 32 trucks will arrive to contest the 36-truck field for Friday’s triple-header kickoff in Texas, marking the seventh consecutive short field since 36 took the green in this year’s Daytona opener.
DRIVER SWAP: #2-Reaume Brothers Racing
DRIVER CHANGE: #22-Reaume Brothers Racing
As the Truck Series returns to action for the first time since Rockingham, Josh Reaume will return to the driver’s seat for the first time since his relief driver role at Martinsville (and his first time starting since Las Vegas). Reaume will debut new sponsorship from Aerial Titans, which begins a multi-race deal with the team starting today. Reaume takes the place of 27th-place Rockingham finisher Cody Dennison, who slides over to the #2 this week in place of 33rd-place finisher Stephen Mallozzi.
MISSING: #6-Norm Benning Racing
Norm Benning will not make the trip west, and is currently preparing his truck from Rockingham for a return at North Wilkesboro.
DRIVER CHANGE: #7-Spire Motorsports
Taking the place of 22nd-place Rockingham finisher Corey Day (who is instead focused on tomorrow’s XFINITY race, see below) is Cup Series sophomore Carson Hocevar, who will run the “Ride the ‘Dente” scheme for sponsor Chili’s in both today’s race and again in Sunday’s main event. It’s a scheme that has seen the driver threaten for strong Cup finishes at both Bristol and Talladega in recent weeks. Hocevar, who won his first Truck Series race at this Texas track in 2023, will make his first series start since that year’s controversial season finale at Phoenix, where he and fellow title contender Corey Heim tangled on track.
RETURNING: #20-Young’s Motorsports
When we last saw Stefan Parsons in the Truck Series, he was making his season debut at Homestead, where he turned in a solid 18th-place finish for this same Randy Young team. This week, Young brings the #20 entry back for the first time since and puts Parsons behind the wheel once again, this time with longtime Garrett Smithley sponsor Trophy Tractor on board.
MISSING: #56-Hill Motorsports
Timmy Hill and his family team are not among this week’s entrants following a 21st-place finish their last time out in Rockingham.
MISSING: #75-Henderson Motorsports
Parker Kligerman is likewise not entered after a 25th-place run at “The Rock” for Charlie Henderson.
MISSING: #90-Terry Carroll Motorsports
Justin S. Carroll is not entered after a frustrating 34th-place finish at Rockingham, where he was flagged off the track for failing to meet minimum speed. The team is currently evaluating the issue as they prepare to make their next race attempt.
DRIVER CHANGE: #07-Spire Motorsports
Making his first Truck Series start since last November’s championship race at Phoenix is current XFINITY Series regular Nick Sanchez, who takes the place of 16th-place Rockingham finisher Sammy Smith (ultimately the winner of that Saturday’s XFINITY Series race). Gainbridge reunites with Sanchez as sponsor for the first time since that title event.
CUP INVADERS: #7-Carson Hocevar
Saturday, May 3, 2025 (Green Flag 2:05 P.M. ET, CW)
XFINITY Race 12 of 33
Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 at Texas
2024 Last-Place Finisher: Chad Finchum
ENTRY LIST
There are 40 drivers entered for 38 spots, meaning two will fail to qualify.
RETURNING: #17-Hendrick Motorsports
DRIVER CHANGE: #88-JR Motorsports
After salvaging a 21st-place finish during a disastrous series debut at Martinsville where he was involved in multiple incidents, Corey Day will make his first XFINITY Series start since that day in March. This also marks the return of the Hendrick #17 for the first time since Kyle Larson’s crushing dominance at Bristol, where he led 276 of 300 laps. Larson will be in this race as well, though under different circumstances – he will this time be in the #88 as the selected substitute driver for Connor Zilisch, who suffered a back injury in his final-lap wreck last Saturday in Talladega.
DRIVER CHANGE: #19-Joe Gibbs Racing
Another Cup driver on the list is Riley Herbst, who challenged for a top-five finish late in last Sunday’s Cup race at Talladega. This week, he returns to the XFINITY Series in place of 33rd-place finisher Aric Almirola, whose miscue at Talladega left him with a bent-up Toyota. This will be Herbst’s second XFINITY start of the year, his first since a 13th-place run with the same team in COTA, and sees Monster Energy continue as sponsor.
MISSING: #24-Sam Hunt Racing
Jeffrey Earnhardt is not among this week’s entries after a 32nd-place finish following a late-race pileup in Talladega. The SHR team will instead focus on their primary #26 entry for full-time rookie contender Dean Thompson, 18th last week.
MISSING: #29-RSS Racing
The RSS Racing team will likewise not field their part-time #29 entry with which Jake Garcia failed to qualify for his XFINITY Series debut last week.
TEAM UPDATE: #32-Jordan Anderson Racing
MISSING: #87-Jordan Anderson Racing / Peterson Racing
Austin Green will not attempt this week’s race as the Jordan Anderson / Peterson Racing effort has not fielded the part-time #87 entry this week. Katherine Legge will continue to campaign the #32 once driven by Green, and this time boasts backing from Desnuda Tequila.
DRIVER SWAP: #35-Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen
DRIVER CHANGE: #53-Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen
MISSING: #66-MBM Motorsports
Last week saw Mason Maggio qualify Carl Long’s Chevrolet into the XFINITY Series race by just one-thousandth of a second. This week, Long focuses on his Cup entry and has not fielded a XFINITY car (see below). However, Maggio will run this week in the Joey Gase #53, the team with which Gase earned his career-best 4th-place qualifying run last week on the big track. Gase will also run this week, and this time takes the place of a struggling Greg Van Alst in the #35. Denssi Energy Pouches, which backed Maggio with Long last week in Talladega, will sponsor both Maggio’s #53 and serve as an associate on Long’s Cup car for Sunday.
DRIVER CHANGE: #45-Alpha Prime Racing
Mason Massey is back for his sixth XFINITY start of the year and first since a 25th-place finish at Bristol, which was three spots short of tying his season-best mark of 22nd at Phoenix. Massey takes the place of Caesar Bacarella, who finished multiple laps down in 30th due to a mechanical issue.
RETURNING: #74-Mike Harmon Racing
The Harmon team was not among the entrants at Talladega, one week after struggles in Rockingham left both team and driver Dawson Cram with their latest DNQ. But both driver and team return for another bid this week, seeking their third start of the year and first since a 32nd-place showing in Las Vegas. Cram has a pair of XFINITY starts at this track, including a track-best 21st for Harmon in the fall of 2023.
DRIVER CHANGE: #91-DGM Racing x JIM
Josh Bilicki is set to make his 115th XFINITY Series start as he rejoins Mario Gosselin’s #91 team for the first time since his 17th-place showing at Rockingham – his second-best finish so far in 2025. Bilicki takes the place of Jesse Iwuji, whose return to racing saw him finish 20th two days before he was again on duty with the United States Navy Reserve.
RETURNING: #92-DGM Racing x JIM
While other teams aren’t bringing their part-time entries to Texas, the DGM x JIM effort will bring their own, putting the #92 back on track for the first time since Atlanta. The driver will be a returning C.J. McLaughlin, who drove that car to a 25th-place finish in that Atlanta race. McLaughlin then finished 31st in the #91 at Bristol, his 47th and most recent series start.
DRIVER CHANGE: #07-SS-Green Light Racing
Nick Leitz is back in the series for the first time since his 27th-place showing in Darlington, and this time takes the place of 12th-place Talladega finisher Patrick Emerling in the #07.
CUP INVADERS: #19-Riley Herbst, #88-Kyle Larson
Sunday, May 4, 2025 (Green Flag 3:30 P.M. ET, FS1)
CUP Race 11 of 36
Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas
2024 Last-Place Finisher: Austin Hill
ENTRY LIST
There are 38 drivers entered for 40 spots in Sunday’s Cup race.
MISSING: #44-NY Racing Team
The #44 entry will not join the action this week in Texas following a 32nd-place finish in Talladega after he was shaken out of the lead draft in the closing laps.
DRIVER CHANGE: #62-Beard Motorsports
The Beard team makes a rare non-superspeedway start with Jesse Love in his second Cup start – this following a 31st-place run for Richard Childress Racing in his series debut at Bristol. Love, who was part of the three-wide battle for last Saturday’s win, comes to the Beard team on a high. Last Sunday’s race in Talladega saw Anthony Alfredo lead 19 laps – at one point more than any other driver in the field – and only finished 28th after he came down pit road by himself.
RETURNING: #66-Garage 66
As Carl Long brings his Cup team back to the track for the first time since Josh Bilicki’s last-place finish in Bristol, the team will have its fourth different driver in the team’s fourth attempt of 2025. This time, Long welcomes back one of his longtime drivers in Chad Finchum, who on Sunday will make his 10th career Cup start across eight seasons. He most recently finished 36th in last fall’s Phoenix finale, also driving for Long, and took 35th in his lone Cup start at Texas in 2020.
MISSING: #78-Live Fast Motorsports
B.J. McLeod will not attempt this week’s race after an errant washer pierced his car’s radiator last week in Talladega, leaving him a disappointing 33rd.
TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (May 2, 1959): Rex White picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in the Hickory 250 at the Hickory Speedway when his #5 1957 Chevrolet, owned by fellow driver Tiny Lund, lasted just 27 laps before transmission issues. White had qualified 5th in the field of 21. White would finish last in just two more races during his championship-winning career.
