NASCAR suspends truck series team manager indefinitely 

NASCAR announced an indefinite suspension for team owner/driver Cory Roper on Wednesday (February 22).

Roper has violated sections 4.1 and 10.1.A of the NASCAR rulebook, dealing with the Substance Abuse Policy. NASCAR hasn't made public the substance that resulted in the violation.

Cory Roper, the team owner and manager of the Roper Racing team, is a part-time driver. The 45-year-old driver has previously participated in the NASCAR Truck series. Roper made his Truck Series debut at the age of 40, driving the #4 Ford F-150 for his own team in 2018.

Cory Roper has made 43 starts over four years, one podium, and three top-ten finishes. Roper grabbed the podium spot in the 2021 NextEra Energy 250. Roper’s most recent race was the 2021 season finale in Phoenix.

Roper did not participate in the 2023 series opener. Kaden Honeycutt piloted the #4 Ford for the team in the season opener. However, Honeycutt failed to qualify for the grid and is scheduled to drive for the team for the next five Truck Series races.

The team hasn't released any statement regarding the suspension. Roper could return to racing if he completes NASCAR’S Road to Recovery program. The last driver to be suspended for substance abuse was Caesar Bacarella, the team owner/driver of Alpha Prime Racing.

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NASCAR Truck Series champion Zane Smith off to a strong start

Reigning Truck Series champion Zane Smith won the season opener at Daytona, booking his spot for the playoffs. Smith has made a strong start to his championship defense season.

Speaking about the team's momentum, the #38 driver spoke after the race:

"I mean, that was something we kind of joked about, I mean, really from the final half of the year last year and then rolling into this year, I just felt like we just had so much momentum."

Smith added:

"I knew our trucks were going to be good, and firing off practices yesterday was probably the best speedway truck I’ve had. I wasn’t too worried about qualifying much as just worried about getting caught up in someone else’s mess."

"Sure enough, they were not too smart in the beginning, and I just kind of hung around right behind them and waited for their mistakes."

"Obviously, I didn’t know the rain was going to come and shorten the race, but I knew that how we kept coming in and topping off that we were setting ourselves up to lead that final stage. That’s what we did."

Zane Smith finished in 13th position in his debut Cup Series outing at Daytona 500. As the Truck series returns to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Zane Smith hopes to build on the momentum.