While the Cup Series and the Xfinity Series have seen a couple of puzzle pieces put into place regarding the 2025 season, the Craftsman Truck Series has been next to radio silent.
There have been rumors floating around for months, most notably regarding Corey Heim’s future plans, but so far nothing has been announced. Not even contract extensions have been made known for 2025.
That changed on Friday, Aug. 23, when Daniel Dye was announced as Kaulig Racing’s newest full-time driver for 2025, taking one of the team’s vacant Xfinity seats for next season in a multi-year deal.
One ought to imagine that this is the catalyst for the Truck Series’ 2025 silly season to begin. But even still, there really isn’t a whole lot we know about who could be going where.
Time is running out for teams to finalize their 2025 lineups. So let’s take a look at what we know heading into the final six races of the 2024 season.
At Least One McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Ride is Now Available
Dye’s Xfinity promotion leaves his No. 43 (or whatever number MHR decides to use for next season) available for a driver to take. Who that might be is up for debate.
Of course, you could look at a Cup Series free agent who has already had affiliation with Chevrolet, such as Corey LaJoie. Maybe Zane Smith, who has already driven for the team in five races this season in its rotational No. 91. Perhaps the team gives Jack Wood a full-time opportunity instead of his mostly-full-time (but still part-time) gig he has this year.
Then there are some ARCA Menards Series drivers who could be in the running as well. Andres Perez might be the most Truck-ready Chevy driver the manufacturer has available to it. Lavar Scott could also be a long shot, but he might be better served having another year of ARCA under his belt. Connor Mosack has also made several starts in ARCA, Trucks and Xfinity for Chevy teams this season, and he could be in the running too.
Maybe MHR even poaches a fellow Chevy driver like Chase Purdy (who brings sponsorship) from Spire Motorsports to drive the truck. Either way, MHR might have some decisions to make, as Dye’s ride may not be the only one it has to fill next season.
Christian Eckes likely will also find himself with a promotion next season, as it would be silly of Chevy to not find a seat for him at the next level. One of the two championship favorites this season, Eckes is more than ready for the next level if he so wants it.
As such, he could stick with Dye as a teammate.
With both AJ Allmendinger and Shane van Gisbergen going Cup Series racing in 2025, that leaves two open full-time Xfinity seats at Kaulig. Dye is filling one of those, leaving the other wide open for Eckes to swoop in and snag.
In fact, Kaulig Racing is set to make another announcement regarding its 2025 Xfinity lineup at Darlington Raceway on Saturday, Aug. 31. That could be where Eckes slots into for 2025.
That would leave two spots open at MHR to be filled by any of the drivers listed above. Or perhaps somebody else not yet on anyone’s radar.
Taylor Gray vs. Corey Heim: Who Gets Promoted First?
The talk of the Truck Series the entire 2024 season (and really 2023) is Heim. The odds-on favorite each of the last two seasons, it’s never been a question of if he’ll be promoted, it’s when.
Between making starts with both Legacy Motor Club and 23XI Racing in the Cup Series this season (for both of whom Heim serves as a reserve driver), it seemed like it was full steam ahead for Heim to go Cup racing, likely in a third charter for 23XI.
However, Riley Herbst’s name has been thrown around for the third 23XI seat (should the team purchase a charter from the closing Stewart-Haas Racing), with the expectation that Heim may stay in the Truck Series for a third year, which at this point is wasting his talent.
His teammate Taylor Gray, meanwhile, made his Xfinity debut this season with Joe Gibbs Racing and has gone on to compete in nine races in JGR’s rotational No. 19. He has scored three top 10s so far, with a best finish of third at Richmond Raceway.
With the news that Sheldon Creed will be moving to Haas Factory Team’s Xfinity program in 2025, that leaves at least one JGR Xfinity ride open. Now, that’s expected to go to William Sawalich, who confirmed to Frontstretch last season that he would be full-time Xfinity racing in 2025. However, not only can plans change, but there could be more than one JGR ride opening up.
Amidst rumors that Chandler Smith is also moving on from JGR at season’s end, that could leave another ride open for Gray to slot into.
But why not Heim?
Well, to make a long story short, a bitter rivalry between Heim and Ty Gibbs (grandson of the team owner) back in ARCA basically leaves JGR as a non-option for Heim. Therefore, Gray may actually find himself out of the Truck Series before Heim, something I wouldn’t have thought at the beginning of this season.
At this point, Heim’s only route out of the Truck Series would be through Sam Hunt Racing, for whom Heim competes in the Xfinity Series part-time this season. Hunt has a little bit of funding, but the question would be if it has enough to put Heim in the car full-time.
However, if Gray moves up, then that leaves his ride at TRICON Garage open. In all honesty, I believe that should go to Sawalich, instead of Sawalich jumping up straight to Xfinity. Yes, he’s successful in ARCA, but he has been next to irrelevant in his limited Truck Series starts. I worry that jumping straight up to Xfinity won’t go as smoothly as it did for Jesse Love if Sawalich is struggling to produce results in the Truck Series.
Either way, then TRICON has to look at one of the Venturini Motorsports ARCA drivers to take Gray’s ride (or Heim’s if he moves up). We’ve covered those possibilities before, so I won’t dive too much into them.
But it would be a shame if Heim has to return to TRICON for a third year. Toyota would just be wasting his talent at that point.
Truckin’ Tidbits
While 2025 silly season is just beginning, we still have 2024 to worry about. Here are some news and notes you may have missed.
- Jason Burdett joined TRICON Garage as Tanner Gray’s crew chief for the remainder of the season, replacing Jerame Donley. Burdett’s first race was at the Milwaukee Mile this past Sunday (Aug. 25). Burdett started the season as a Cup Series crew chief, helming Jimmie Johnson’s part-time effort in the Legacy Motor Club No. 84. He was eventually let go amid personnel changes. Interestingly, TRICON chose to bring him in after the playoffs started (in which Gray barely missed out on) instead of trying to get him paired with the No. 15 team in its playoff push.
- As you may have seen on Sunday, the Truck Series is not expected to return to Milwaukee next season. However, the rumor mill states that Michigan International Speedway will return, as well as the long-awaited return to Rockingham Speedway. Additionally, a race in Connecticut may be on the horizon, with Lime Rock Park being the leading candidate. With the schedule release likely not far out, it could be an interesting 2025 calendar for the Truckers.
- With the Cup and Xfinity Series (in conjunction with the NASCAR Mexico Series) heading to Autodromos Hermanos Rodriguez in 2025, it’s time to consider bringing the Truck Series back to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Canada – hell, bring the NASCAR Canada Series as a support race. That way, the Trucks get their own international race back, and NASCAR’s American series can be represented all across North America.
Anthony Damcott joined Frontstretch in March 2022. Currently, he is an editor and co-authors Fire on Fridays (Fridays); he is also the primary Truck Series reporter/writer and serves as an at-track reporter. He has also assisted with short track content and social media, among other duties he takes/has taken on for the site. In 2025, he became an official member of the National Motorsports Press Association. A proud West Virginia Wesleyan College alum from Akron, Ohio, Anthony is now a grad student. He is a theatre actor and fight coordinator in his free time.
You can keep up with Anthony by following @AnthonyDamcott on X.