NASCAR names latest track to be added in Truck Series schedule

NASCAR is set to debut at Lime Rock Park with the Craftsman Truck Series this weekend. The pickup truck-based series is hosting 100 laps around the track, while the Cup and Xfinity Series are racing at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway).

Situated in Lakeville, Connecticut, the Lime Rock Park is a 1.478-mile road course with seven turns. The track opened in 1957 and hosted several racing series, including the IMSA SportsCar Championship. As for NASCAR, it is the Truck Series' first road course race of the 2025 season.

The stock car racing series introduced its inaugural race at Lime Rock Park on X and wrote:

“Introducing the newest stop on the @NASCAR_Trucks schedule.”

Dubbed LIUNA 150, the 100-lap race at the Connecticut circuit is holding a 34-truck entry list, including debuting Truck Series drivers Thomas Annunziata (#07 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet) and Jordan Taylor (#7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet). Moreover, Cam Waters is set to return to the series in the #66 ThorSport Racing Ford.

Corey Heim is entering the race as the top-seeded driver despite only finishing 23rd due to a flat tire issue at Pocono Raceway last week. Chandler Smith follows Heim in the points standings, with Daniel Hemric, Layne Riggs and Grant Enfinger in the vicinity.

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Lime Rock Park in 2019 - Source: Getty

The LIUNA 150 is happening on Saturday (June 28) at 1:00 p.m. ET. Meanwhile, the Xfinity Series at EchoPark Speedway is scheduled for Friday ahead of the Cup Series race the following day.

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“It just raises the overall level of competitiveness”: NASCAR Insider on Ram joining Truck Series

Aside from a new race track, the NASCAR Truck Series is welcoming Ram as its latest manufacturer. Ram, a pickup truck brand under Stellantis, is joining the series next year, which NASCAR Insider Jordan Bianchi believes would increase the level of competitiveness among manufacturers, including Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota.

In an episode of The Teardown podcast with Jeff Gluck, Bianchi said (via Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Dirty Mo Media on YouTube):

“What more OEMs do is that it raises the level of competitiveness in the garage, it helps, it injects money to midpack teams [...] It elevates those teams that go from second or third in those respective manufacturer camps, to all of a sudden, they're P1 in that camp.” [58:59]

It just raises the overall level of competitiveness, plus there's the marketing side. New OEM comes in, they spend a lot of money, they do things in the fans, they spend money on commercials, they help promote the sport. It also helps the other OEMs want to see this as well because it pushes them to do better and to be more competitive,” he added.

With Ram joining NASCAR next year, Dodge is looking to return to the Cup Series following its exit in 2012 when Brad Keselowski won the championship for the brand. Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis told former NASCAR champion Kevin Harvick that Dodge could enter the premier series as soon as 2027 in the Daytona 500.