ROCKINGHAM — Six drivers have so far been booked for meet-and-greets at ThunderFest just ahead of NASCAR’s return to Rockingham Speedway.
According to a post made by Visit Richmond County on the ThunderFest event page on Facebook, drivers Matt Mills, Bayley Currey, Andres Perez de Lara, Dean Thompson, Kaden Honeycutt and Connor Mosack are “locked in” for the street festival on Thursday, April 17.
Honeycutt, a driver in the Craftsman Truck Series, had the second-fastest lap at 164.047 mph in 22.318 during the organizational test at the Rock on Jan. 28.
Competing in the truck series since 2022, Honeycutt has 11 top-10 finishes, including placing sixth last week in Atlanta as he did the year before. Last year, he had fourth-place finishes in both races at Kansas Speedway.
Kaden Honeycutt roars down the Thunder Alley backstretch at Rockingham Speedway Jan. 28 during an organizational test for NASCAR's Craftsman Truck and Xfinity series. See more photos on the RO's Facebook page. Photos by William R. Toler - Richmond Observer
Following his first test on Jan. 28, Honeycutt said on X (Twitter) he had one word to describe the experience: “WOW.”
“These stands at Rockingham need to be sold out for April’s race,” Honeycutt later tweeted. “This was one of the greatest experience(s) I’ve ever had in my lifetime. This race is going to be off the chain.”
Mills has competed in the truck series since 2016 and drove in the Xfinity Series from 2017-2023. He has three top-10 finishes in the truck series, with his best run being fourth in Charlotte last year.
Currey, who came in fourth in the Atlanta truck races in 2023 and 2025, has eight top-10 finishes in the Craftsman Truck Series and two in the Xfinity Series.
Perez de Lara, a 19-year-old from Mexico, has 1 top-10 finish in the truck series since starting in 2022, 34 in the ARCA Menards Series. He also placed in the top 10 in each of the cumulative 14 races he ran in ARCA’s East and West series.
Andres Perez de Lara leads Jake Garcia into the Thunder Alley backstretch at Rockingham Speedway on Jan. 28.
William R. Toler - Richmond Observer
Thompson’s top-10 finishes include: eighth in this year’s Daytona 300 Xfinity race; 11 in the Craftsman Truck Series; and 16 in all three ARCA series.
Mosack has finished in the top 10 three times in the Xfinity Series, four times in the truck series, and 22 times in the combined ARCA Series — including two wins at Kansas.
Honeycutt, Mills and Currey all drive for Niece Motorsports; Pérez de Lara drives for Spire Motorsports; Mosack, who drove for both Spire and Niece in 2023, is currently with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing; and Thompson is driving the Xfinity Series this year for Sam Hunt Racing.
Autographs will be available from 5-6:30 p.m.
“We’re expecting a lot more drivers,” said Tourism Director Meghann Lambeth, who is helping to organize ThunderFest alongside Rockingham Events Coordinator Kim Williams.
Dean Thompson's No. 26 Toyota sits in the Papa Joe Hendrick Garage at Rockingham Speedway during testing on Jan. 28.
William R. Toler - Richmond Observer
In addition to the NASCAR drivers, there will be another big name in downtown Rockingham for ThunderFest: Southern rock legends the Marshall Tucker Band will be performing from 7-9 p.m.
The South Carolina-based band has been touring for more than 50 years and is best known for songs “Can’t You See,” “Heard It In a Love Song,” “Fire on the Mountain” and “Take the Highway.”
Black’s Tire, sponsor of the truck race and co-sponsor of the Xfinity race, will be bringing its race truck and hauler, and Warriors in Motion — an organization that has been heavily involved with the speedway — will have several vehicles on display as well as a race simulator.
Other race cars and trucks will be on display from Old School Racing, Tadlock Racing, Dieffenbach GM Superstore, Tedder Trash Solutions, and the J.D. McDuffie Fan Club.
McDuffie, who was from Sanford, holds the record of most Cup race starts without a win at 653. He had 106 top 10 finishes, with third being the closest he ever came at Albany-Saratoga Speedway in 1971. McDuffie drove for 27 seasons until his death from a wreck in 1991 at Watkins Glen.
Rockingham Dragway will be operating the beer garden as a fundraiser for Rankin Museum of American Heritage, and FirstHealth of the Carolinas is sponsoring the Kids Zone. There will also be multiple food trucks for the event.
Connor Mosack takes a break from testing Jan. 28 at Rockingham Speedway.
William R. Toler - Richmond Observer
Promoter Track Enterprises announced the Xfinity and Craftsman Truck series races in late August of 2024 and a race in the ARCA Menards Series East was added in October.
The Black’s Tire 200 is scheduled for Friday, April 18, N.C. Education Lottery 250 for Saturday, April 19. The ARCA race will precede the Xfinity race on Saturday.
Track Enterprises also announced on Feb. 27 that FirstHealth of the Carolinas would be the official health care provider for the race weekend.
Tickets and more information are available at racetherock.com, or at Rockingham City Hall via cash or card payments from 8 a.m.-noon and 1-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday, or 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Fridays.
NOTE: This story has been updated to correct that FirstHealth is sponsoring the Kids Zone. Duke Energy/Piedmont Natural Gas is an event sponsor.
