It’s been a strong start to the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series campaign for third-year driver Jake Garcia, with the ThorSport Racing driver already on track to smash his previous best numbers in several stat categories.
The Monroe, Georgia-native didn’t get to park it in Victory Lane on Friday at Rockingham Speedway, coming up one spot short to fuel economy expert Tyler Ankrum, but the return to the iconic North Carolina short track also coincided with the best run of Garcia’s NASCAR National Series career.
Behind the wheel of the No. 13 Quanta Services Ford F-150, Garcia backed up the speed that ThorSport Racing initially put on display during the pre-season test session at Rockingham Speedway in January to earn his first career pole position.
That speed clearly was not a fluke, as the 20-year-old driver paced the field for the opening 43 laps of the event – a career-high for Garcia in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – before continuing to run inside the top-five throughout the remainder of the afternoon.
After Jeriod Prince, the crew chief of the No. 13 Ford F-150, elected to wait until Lap 119 to bring Garcia to pit road for the final time on the afternoon, the youngster had some trucks to pass and some ground to make up, all while balancing a delicate fuel situation.
“It was a good day, and obviously want to be one spot higher, but I’m proud of our guys, we brought a really fast truck to the racetrack,” said Garcia. “Strategy deal at the end, maybe we should have pitted that first caution, but hard to say how it happens. Really thought he was going to run out there but guess not.”
Ankrum, who made his final pit stop seven laps earlier than Garcia and the majority of the lead-lappers, was able to make an incredible fuel economy run and stretch his tank 88 laps to the finish, netting himself his first victory in six years.
The second-place finish Friday at Rockingham not only marks the second top-five result for Garcia in the last three NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events but also continues a career-best streak of top-10 finishes, which is now extended to four races (Homestead, Martinsville, Bristol, and Rockingham).
“We’ve just been bringing fast trucks to the track, these guys work really hard and put together really nice pieces for me to come drive, and I think I’ve got good trucks under me now and can get them up front,” Garcia said. “Especially after last year, it wasn’t a great year for us, and I don’t know that I improved a whole lot driver wise, maybe a little, but we’re running 20 spots better every week so this is certainly refreshing, I was getting down on myself a little bit there.”
“Happy to have fast tracks and happy to be at ThorSport Racing.”
Leaving Rockingham, Garcia is currently sitting seventh in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series point standings, and is the second-best driver from ThorSport Racing, only a few points behind defending NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Ty Majeski.
Next on the schedule for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a trip to Texas Motor Speedway, the racetrack where Garcia secured his first-ever top-five finish during his rookie season with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing.
