2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Season Preview
2024 Fresh From Florida 250: Photo By Craig White, TobyChristie.com
The 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Season was full of excitement. From domination we haven't seen since the series’ inception, to a short-track guy finally getting his happy ending, 2024 was entertaining from start to finish. 2025 has a lot of expectations to live up to but we believe that 2025 could be even better than 2024. Here are some stories we think will make 2025 an interesting season.
Will It Finally Be Heim Time?
Corey Heim has been one of the, if not the best driver in the Craftsman Truck Series over the last three years, racking up 11 wins in that time, and 37 top 10s in 52 truck series starts. To say Heim has been dominant is an understatement, the only driver close to him stats-wise during this time was Christian Eckes, who is now driving for Kaulig Racing in the Xfinity Series. However, Heim has no championships at this time to show for that dominance. An incident with Carson Hocevar in 2023 and getting bested by Ty Majeski in 2024 have kept Corey from taking home that illustrious championship. Now, Heim once again enters a Craftsman Truck Series season as the clear championship favorite, with some people expecting a potential double-digit win season during a 25-race season. Heim’s stock is at an all-time high and if he cannot bring home a championship in 2025, what will be in store for him in 2026, another season in trucks, or will he finally get to climb the ladder? The expectations are high for Corey Heim in 2025, will he come up short once again or will the third time be the charm and will he finally finish this chapter of his career?
Photo from Tricon Garage’s Facebook.
Toni Breidinger’s Impact
Toni Breidinger is one of NASCAR’s biggest stars, but not for the reasons you would think. Despite only having a few truck starts and a few full-time seasons in the ARCA Menards Series, Toni has become one of NASCAR’s most followed drivers on social media platforms. She has been a part of the Toyota Development program for the last three years and has finally been given the call to drive full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with Tricon Garage with the #5 truck. Her truck should stand out as she carries a number of popular brands such as Raising Cane’s, Sunoco, and Celsius as sponsors. There are not many expectations for Toni’s first season in the Truck Series as this is seen as the first step of the next part of Toni’s NASCAR journey; we’d say the main goal of the 2025 season for Toni is to keep the truck in one piece and run as many laps as she can throughout the year. Toni still has a long road ahead of her and we look forward to seeing what she is capable of during her rookie season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Photo from Tricon Garage’s Facebook.
Ty Majeski Repeat
Photo from Ty Majeski’s Facebook.
2024 saw Ty Majeski take home gold. Majeski proved to the racing world that a short-track guy can become a NASCAR National Series champion by becoming the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion. Majeski had to work hard to get where he is, from grinding on iRacing to working on his own late models to signing a deal with Roush Fenway Racing to getting fired from Niece Motorsports midseason, to finally landing a ride at Truck Series powerhouse, ThorSport Racing. Majeski faced setback after setback, rides shutting down, teams releasing him due to lack of funding, and scrapping for rides wherever he could get them. Majeski likely never thought he’d get a full-time shot again, but ThorSport was willing to take a shot on the talent they saw within Majeski, to which he answered the call. In his rookie season in 2022, Majeski won 2 races and made it to the Final 4 at Phoenix Raceway with a shot to fight for a championship. While a late spin cost him his shot at the title, Majeski showed that he deserved his seat and would be a playoff contender every year. He was not immune to the sophomore slump however as he had a down year in 2023, finishing 8th in points with only 1 win, but that was only the calm before the storm. In 2024, Majeski won the last two races of the regular season to clinch his ticket to the playoffs, he then quietly made his way to the Final 4 and was given the lowest chance to win that championship, but he proved everyone wrong by dominating Phoenix to take home his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship. Majeski had conquered what could potentially be his biggest challenge yet, but now, he comes into 2025 with a target on his back. He’s the guy everyone wants to beat now. So while he looks to do what only his teammate Matt Crafton has done before in the Truck Series, the rest of the field will be coming for the title of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion.
Front Row Motorsports Dynamic Duo
Front Row Motorsports (FRM) has been a dominant force in the Craftsman Truck Series since the program began in 2020. They have won 10 races and a championship in 2022 with Zane Smith. In 2025, FRM will start a new chapter of its tCraftsman Truck Series journey by running two full-time trucks, Layne Riggs moves over to the new #34 truck and Chandler Smith returns to the Truck Series to drive the flagship #38 truck. Chandler was a perennial championship contender during his last stint in the Truck Series with Kyle Busch Motorsports, winning at Phoenix in 2021 and making the Final 4 in 2022. Chandler remained a contender in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at both Kaulig Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing as well, making the Round of 8 both years. Chandler is looking for a fresh start with Front Row and is one of the favorites to potentially contend for a championship at season's end. Layne Riggs on the other hand is coming off of a strong end to his rookie campaign, collecting two wins at The Milwaukee Mile and Bristol Motor Speedway to end the season along with 6 top 10s in the last 8 races. With a world of momentum following Layne Riggs could re-ride this high to a second championship for Front Row Motorsports. FRM is one of the best setup teams for the 2025 season and could end up with both of their cars fighting for a championship come Phoenix at the end of the season.
Photo from Front Row Motorsports Facebook.
New Faces in New Places
Photo from Bill McAnally Racing’s Facebook.
The Truck Series offseason is always busy with a lot of faces going to new places, and this past offseason was no exception. As mentioned earlier, Toni Breidinger joins Tricon Garage in the #5 Toyota Tundra and Chandler Smith has returned to the Truck Series with Front Row Motorsports in the #38 Ford F-150, but there were plenty more. Along with Toni Breidinger, Tricon Garage has signed another rookie to drive the #17 truck, Toyota development driver Gio Ruggiero. McAnally-Hilgemann Racing enters 2025 with three new full-time drivers to partner the returning Tyler Ankrum, Daniel Hemric leaves the Cup Series to drive the #19, Connor Mosack will compete in his rookie season in the new #81, and Jack Wood gets the call to drive the #91. At Spire Motorsports, ARCA Menards Series Champion Andres Perez de Lara takes over the #77 for the 2025 season to partner with Rajah Caruth as the full-time drivers at Spire along with their two superstar cars, the #7 and #07. Kayden Honeycutt got the call to drive the #45 full-time for Niece Motorsports full time this year along with Matt Mills in the #42 and Bayley Curey and Christian Rose who will split the #44. Hollywood star Frankie Muniz will make the jump to full-time action in 2025 in the #33 for Reaume Brothers Racing. Dawson Sutton will begin his first full-time season for Rackley W.A.R. in the #26. Plus, Parker Kligerman returns to Henderson Motorsports, Akinora Ogata has started his own truck team, Akinori Performance, and Stefan Parsons & Nathan Byrd will run part-time for Young’s Motorsports. A busy off-season could lead to a lot of excitement throughout the field and new faces coming to the front.
All of these stories plus many others are some of the many reasons we are excited for this season. There is a lot of excitement and expectations for the 2025 season and we cannot wait to watch along with you all.
