Written by Ashleigh McGregor & Sean McKean
The long wait is over as the Xfinity and Truck Series’ finally return this weekend to the Daytona International Speedway. Through many team changes and driver swaps, all of NASCAR’s youngest talents will be taking on the 2.5-mile behemoth for the first time.
Daytona first opened in 1959 after a project to build the “biggest race track in the world” from at-the-time CEO Bill France. Despite a few repaves and barrier reconstructions, the track layout remains the same: a D-shaped, 2.5-mile oval that’s flat-out all the way through.
The defending winners of each race:
Trucks: No.2 - Nick Sanchez (Rev Racing)
Xfinity: No.21 - Austin Hill (Richard Childress Racing)
Below are the start times for each race plus lap count:
Trucks: Friday, 14 February, 19:30 local (00:30 UK) – 100 laps
Xfinity: Saturday, 15 February, 17:00 local (22:00 UK) – 120 laps
Xfinity Series: United Rentals 300 Preview
Written by Ashleigh McGregor
With 33 races this Xfinity season, drivers will be excited to battle it out across America for a championship title. Kicking off the first race of the season at the iconic Daytona International Speedway fans will be eager to see their favorite cars and drivers finally back on track.
With peak viewership of over one million happening for the Xfinity series in July 2024 the sport is hopeful that momentum will continue to grow as the new season begins.
Rookie Roundup
New season means new drivers and eight rookies have joined the Xfinity race:
Carson Kvapil (No.1 for JR Motorsports)
Daniel Dye (No.10 for Kaulig Racing)
Christian Eckes (No.16 for Kaulig Racing )
William Sawalich (No.18 for Joe Gibbs Racing)
Dean Thompson (No.26 for Sam Hunt Racing)
Nick Sanchez (No. 48 for Big Machine Racing)
Taylor Gray (No.54 for Joe Gibbs Racing)
Connor Zilisch (No.88 for JR Motorsports)
These rookies will not just be battling the rest of the grid but heavily with each other to try and secure the Rookie of the Year trophy. Drivers to keep an eye on this season are William Sawalich, Nick Sanchez, and Connor Zilisch.
Sawalich won the 2023 and 2024 ARCA Menards East Championship and has numerous wins under his belt. Sanchez is the 2022 ARCA Menards Series Champion and has driven in eight previous races for the xfinity series.
Zilisch claimed victory at his spectacular debut last year in the Xfinity series at Watkins Glen. Heading into this season Zilisch is going to be a favourite by many with spectators raising the idea of will this be the year of Connor Zilisch- NASCAR Xfinity's next superstar.
Reigning Champion
Justin Allgaier was finally crowned the 2024 Xfinity series champion. Securing the ultimate title has put him in a position to now defend it and Allgaier will be hungry to do so. Allgaier has hinted that the momentum within the team will only get stronger this year
Austin Hill who finished fourth in the championship last year is no rookie to the Daytona International Speedway. The last three opening races at Daytona for the Xfinity Series have been won by Hill. He will be looking to make history by making it a consecutive four time win.
Truck Series: Fresh From Florida 250 Preview
Written by Sean McKean
Now a whole winter separated from Ty Majeski’s title triumph in 2024, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series finally returns to action in Daytona this weekend. With Nick Sanchez moving up to the Xfinity Series with Big Machine Racing, this means we are guaranteed a brand new winner come Friday night.
Race Predictions
In 2025, there are many favourites remaining with their teams whilst big names from other series make the moves to other powerhouses in the series. Despite the grid shakeups, however, I believe that Corey Heim will come out on top. With his first win coming at a superspeedway in Atlanta in 2022 coupled with finishing in the top ten at Daytona in every attempt, Heim is surely the favourite for victory.
Storylines
Rapid expansion by Spire
Following the collapse of Rev Racing, Spire Motorsports now operate four trucks to run the full season: two full-time drivers and two rotational trucks. In those rotational trucks this weekend are Michael McDowell in the No.07 and Justin Haley in the No.7 – two superspeedway aces. Coupled with young, promising talents Rajah Caruth (No.71) and Andres Perez (No.77), expect Spire to be working together effectively the entire race.
Daniel Hemric returns to Trucks
After an uninspiring and anonymous season in the Cup Series last year, 2025 is a fresh start for 2021 Xfinity Series champion Daniel Hemric. Hemric joins McAnally-Hilgemann Racing in their flagship No.19 truck – a ride that Christian Eckes secured an average finish of 5.4 in last year. Given what this ride and team have shown they could do, this is the prime opportunity for Daniel Hemric to take Win No.2 in the top-three national series.
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