What to Watch: Xfinity takes center stage in Rockingham return
Track: Rockingham Speedway
Location: Rockingham, NC
Track length: 0.94 miles
When: Saturday, 4 p.m. ET
Where to tune in: The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Race purse: $1,651,939
Race distance: 250 laps | 235 miles
Stages: 60 | 120 | 250
Defending winner: Jamie McMurray, February 2004
Xfinity Series ready to rock with return to Rockingham
For the first time since 2004, the NASCAR Xfinity Series is racing at Rockingham Speedway. The 0.94-mile high-banked tri-oval is back, allowing North Carolina's Richmond County to host NASCAR national series racing once again for the first time since the Craftsman Truck Series returned for two years in 2012-13.
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At long last, Jamie McMurray's streak of four straight Xfinity wins at 'The Rock' will fall. The question is: Who will be the first new Xfinity winner at Rockingham since Jason Keller in 2002?
MORE: Xfinity Series standings | Full 2025 schedule
Sheldon Creed — still in search of his first Xfinity win — posted the best 10-lap average in Friday's 50-minute practice session, picking up where he and his Haas Factory Team left off after a mid-winter NASCAR test. But his overwhelming takeaway wasn't just his lap times — it was how much speed the track's new coat of pavement allows drivers to carry through the corner.
'It's just super fast,' Creed told NASCAR.com. 'Like, we're wide open at the quarter mark in (Turn) 3. It's so fast. And we're wide open at like the center in (Turns) 1 and 2 — in race trim. It's just really fast.'
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Defending series champion Justin Allgaier raced at Rockingham back in 2008 in ARCA Menards Series competition. With that experience came preconceived notions that may not be serving well, despite scoring the sixth-quickest single lap in practice.
'I think in my mind, I expected (the track) to do something,' Allgaier told NASCAR.com. 'And I think that's a tough spot to be in because a lot of these younger drivers that are coming in, they don't have a perception of what to expect, and I think that they're willing to do things that, while I'm not saying I'm not willing to do them, my thought doesn't even go there because I'm so used to how I think it should go.'
RELATED: Rockingham through the years
Matt DiBenedetto is one of those drivers who doesn't have much Rockingham experience, but he did test a Cup Series car for 600 miles at 'The Rock' a number of years ago. Walking into the track again Friday, only one came to DiBendetto's mind:
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'Legendary,' DiBenedetto told NASCAR.com. 'That's the word. I think it's cool, just because I grew up watching it as a kid on TV, and watching 'The Rock' and thought just how cool. I mean, this place is historic, legendary — kind of like going back to North Wilkesboro. It's got some of that same cool factor to it. …
'I've just always, as a fan, thought this place was cool for the history of it, and to be actually coming here, seeing an event here, seeing it sold out, and all the excitement and enthusiasm, all the people wanting passes — friends and everybody wanting to come to this one — it's just a good thing. It just shows how excited everybody is, especially locally too.'
From atop the pit box …
What do crew chiefs and pit crews have in focus to win Saturday's race?
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Though Rockingham is traditionally known for its high tire wear and abrasive surface, a 2022 repave smoothened the track significantly.
'The Rock' still has its quirks — a relatively long backstretch, steeply banked turns and a late apex in the tri-oval before diving into Turn 1 — but a lack of significant tire wear could play a role in how crew chiefs strategize for Saturday's 250-lap feature.
'If the fall-off model is low and we're not seeing it, you're going to see guys flipping stages and trying to hold that track position for the race win,' Jim Pohlman, crew chief of Justin Allgaier's No. 7 Chevrolet, told NASCAR.com. 'And if you get off cycle to take some tires or stay out, you might get your points, but man, it's going to be hard to get back through there. So unfortunately, we're probably going to see a split field when it comes to some of that, guys fighting for points right now.
'That becomes a qualm for all the crew chiefs as to what strategy (they choose) and how they want to play and where how your season's been so far. So yeah, I think track position — getting it and maintaining — it's gonna be a big priority.'
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RELATED: Rockingham race weekend hub
History tells us …
Chevrolets will be at the front of the field. Chevrolet teams have combined to lead 1,313 of 1,666 laps in the Xfinity Series this season. That should favor teams like JR Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing on Saturday afternoon.
He may not be the favorite to win, but watch out for …
NICK SANCHEZ. Of the 27 drivers and teams who posted a 10-lap average in Friday afternoon's practice, Sanchez was fourth-quickest on average. The Big Machine Racing rookie has posted top 10s every other week in 2025. Good news for the Florida native: The numbers say he's due for his fifth top 10 of the year in race No. 10.
Speed reads
Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.
• Welcome back, Kasey: Kahne, one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers, returns for Xfinity race| Read more
• Rocking out: Best photos from a doubleheader weekend at Rockingham | View gallery
• NASCAR Classics: Rewind with full-race Rockingham replays from the archives | Watch races
• Paint Scheme Preview: All the schemes on track for 'The Rock's' return | View gallery
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