Return of The Rock: Seven Drivers with Prior Experience at Rockingham

Of the seven drivers who have made starts at Rockingham, only Enumclaw, Washington-native Kasey Kahne has tackled the racetrack during its original tenure on the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule.

The return to Rockingham Speedway also coincides with Kahne’s return to NASCAR National Series competition , where he’ll drive the No. 33 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, seven years after making his last NASCAR Cup Series start.

Kahne has recorded a total of seven NASCAR National Series starts at Rockingham – one in the NASCAR Cup Series, five in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and one in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – and managed to win the Truck Series’ return to the racetrack in 2012.

Aside from NASCAR’s return from Rockingham, Kahne is arguably the second-biggest story of the race weekend.

Jeb Burton - #27 Jordan Anderson Racing (NXS)

When the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series went to Rockingham Speedway in back-to-back seasons in 2012 and 2013, Jeb Burton was just getting his feet wet in NASCAR’s National Series, making his second career start in the inaugural event in 2012.

Burton, driving part-time in the No. 27 for Hillman Racing, finished an impressive 11th-place in the event, before returning to Rockingham the following season to sit on the pole position and finish seventh for Turner Scott Motorsports in 2013.

Burton is set to return to ‘The Rock’ this weekend, driving the No. 27 Chevrolet for Jordan Anderson Racing Bommario Autosport in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. It’ll be the Halifax, Virginia-native’s first Xfinity Series event at the racetrack where his father, Ward Burton, won a NASCAR Winston Cup Series event in 1995.

Ryan Sieg - #39 RSS Racing (NXS)

Both Ryan Sieg and RSS Racing have become a fixture of the mid-pack in the NASCAR Xfinity Series over the last decade, piloting the No. 39 that has become synonymous with the Tucker, Georgia-native’s personal brand. But, before he got into the Xfinity Series, Sieg was a regular in the Truck Series.

His time driving an entry in the NASCAR Truck Series included 2012 and 2013, where the now 37-year-old driver competed in both of the series’ events at Rockingham Speedway, finishing a solid 22nd-place each time.

Now, Sieg, more than a decade into his NASCAR National Series career, is on the hunt for his first career win, something he has been looking for over the course of the last several seasons. Earlier this year, in testing at Rockingham, the No. 39 Ford Mustang had an absolute bullet.

Could a historic track bring a historic milestone for Ryan Sieg?

Norm Benning - #6 Norm Benning Racing (NCTS)

73-year-old Norm Benning is the oldest driver in the field for Friday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Rockingham Speedway, and his experience at the iconic racetrack goes far beyond a pair of NASCAR Truck Series starts in 2012 and 2013.

Benning attempted to qualify for four NASCAR Cup Series events at Rockingham Speedway, driving for a variety of organizations, but was never able to successfully make a start at the 1.017-mile racetrack. He also attempted to make the penultimate Xfinity Series event at the track in 2003, but came up short.

With only 35 on the entry list for this weekend’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event, Benning is guaranteed to put his No. 6 Norm Benning Racing Chevrolet in the show, allowing him to collect another start at the historic racetrack.

Matt Crafton - #88 ThorSport Racing (NCTS)

There aren’t many racetracks where Matt Crafton, a 25-year veteran of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, hasn’t competed. So, with the series returning to Rockingham Speedway for the first time in a decade, you can guarantee the ThorSport Racing driver still has a leg up on the youngsters.

Not only was Crafton still in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series when the series ran at the track in 2012 and 2013, but he was driving for the exact same organization (ThorSport Racing), with the exact same primary sponsor (Menards).

Crafton was pretty successful in those two events, finishing sixth and third and is the only driver competing in Friday’s Truck Series event that has led laps at the 1.017-mile racetrack. The only detriment for Crafton, is that the track’s repave makes it a lot faster and different than it was more than a decade ago.

Grant Enfinger - #9 CR7 Motorsports (NCTS)

Yes, Grant Enfinger did compete in the inaugural NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Rockingham Speedway in 2012. But, the Fairhope, Alabama-native didn’t get very many laps, after qualifying ninth in the No. 60 Turn One Racing Chevrolet.

Enfinger got the opportunity to run 12 laps around the 1.017-mile short track in 2012, before heading to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series garage with transmission issues, netting him a last-place finish.

When Enfinger got the opportunity, the now 40-year-old driver hadn’t gotten much experience in the NASCAR Truck Series and was bouncing between organizations – running events for Bragg Racing Group, Turn One Racing, Allgaier Motorsports, and Brad Keselowski Racing.

In Friday’s Black’s Tire 200 at Rockingham, Enfinger will drive the No. 9 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet Silverado RST for CR7 Motorsports.

Parker Kligerman - #75 Henderson Motorsports (NCTS)

This weekend at Rockingham Speedway, Parker Kligerman’s previous experience at the historic short track of Rockingham Speedway will be paying off in two very different ways.

On Friday, Kligerman will compete in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Rockingham, driving the No. 75 Appalachian Sucker Punch Chevrolet Silverado RST for Henderson Motorsports. But, the following afternoon, Kligerman will be in the booth calling the NASCAR Xfinity Series event on The CW.

The Westport, Connecticut-native competed in the inaugural NASCAR Truck Series event at Rockingham in 2012, driving for Brad Keselowski Racing, where driving the No. 29 RAM he started sixth and finished ninth.

Kligerman will look to make up for a lost win at Daytona International Speedway with a triumph at Rockingham.

BONUS: Norm Benning, Justin Allgaier, Brad Smith, Jeremy Clements, Grant Enfinger, Parker Kligerman, Josh Williams, and Timmy Hill, all of whom will be competing in one of the three events at Rockingham Speedway this weekend, have competed in an ARCA Menards Series event at Rockingham before, when they ran at the racetrack from 2008 to 2010.