Matt Mills - Black’s Tire 200 Race Preview
Event: Black's Tire 200 (200 laps / 188 miles)
Round: 7 of 25 (Regular Season)
Track: Rockingham Speedway
Location: Rockingham, North Carolina
Date & Time: Friday, April 18 | 5:00 PM ET
Tune-In: FOX Sports 1 | NASCAR Racing Network (NRN) | SiriusXM Ch. 90
Team Stats & Notes
- Rockingham ThunderFest: On Thursday, Matt Mills, Bayley Currey, and Kaden Honeycutt will all join in on the fun at the inaugural "Rockingham ThunderFest" event located in downtown Rockingham. The event begins at 4:00 PM local time, with driver autograph sessions running from 5:00-6:30 PM.
- Acing the Test: Back in January, the Niece Motorsports trucks brought loads of raw speed at the two-day organizational test at Rockingham. Basing off the cumulative speeds, Kaden Honeycutt posted the second-fastest lap time with Matt Mills in seventh-place.
No. 42 J.F. Electric / Utilitra Chevrolet Silverado RST
Driver: Matt Mills | Crew Chief: Mike Shiplett
- Mills' Rockingham Stats: Matt Mills will make his first-career start in any series at Rockingham Speedway on Friday evening.
- Shiplett's Rockingham Stats: Mike Shiplett is a past race winner at "The Rock". In his lone Truck Series start at the historic track in 2012, Shiplett guided Kasey Kahne to the victory for Turner Motorsports.
- On the Truck: Mills’ No. 42 Chevrolet Silverado RST will race with support from longtime partners J.F. Electric and Utilitra, who will serve as his anchor partners for the entire 25-race season.
- National Lineman Appreciation Day: Mills and team will celebrate National Lineman Appreciation Day in recognition of all lineman who serve their communities. The holiday happens to fall on race day, April 18th, and J.F. Electric encourages fans to share their appreciation using the hashtag, #ThankALineman, on social media.
- Where Were They Then?: Last time the Truck Series visited Rockingham in 2013, Matt Mills was only 16 years old. During that time, he was just at the start of his driving career in the short track ranks, competing in Outlaw Super Late Models at his local home tracks in Ohio and Michigan.
- Recapping Bristol: Matt Mills earned his personal-best NCTS finish at Bristol Motor Speedway. With qualifying cancelled due to weather, Mills started highest out of all the Niece Motorsports teammates in 15th. A costly pit road speeding penalty resulted in a loss of track position which put the team to the rear of the field. The Utilitra team made several adjustments to help free the No. 42 Silverado in traffic, and Mills went on to finish 20th.
- Points Rundown: Following the sixth race of the year at Bristol, Mills dropped four positions in the points standings down to 18th-place. Mills is in a heated battle heading into Rockingham, where he is currently tied with Andres Perez De Lara for 17th and only two points behind Jack Wood in 16th. The driver is 57 points below the Playoffs cutline driver, Jake Garcia.
- Quoting Mills: Since you had two days of testing and will have another 50 minutes of practice, how much is that extra track time going to help you?
“I think that’s going to be really good for us because we can go into the practice session based off the changes we made at the end of the test. We’ll have a notebook of what Ross (Chastain) also felt in the test, and that is going to be extremely helpful. That should put us in a good place to start because we were pretty good by the time we left. You can’t make a whole lot of changes in practice, so it’s mainly going to be about fine tuning and getting into a good rhythm to get used to the new track.”
About Niece Motorsports: Niece Motorsports is a professional auto racing team founded by United States Marine Corps Veteran Al Niece. In 2025, the team celebrates its 10th consecutive season competing in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) where it fields the Nos. 41, 42, 44 and 45. Since its founding in 2016, Niece Motorsports has garnered nine wins, 50+ top-fives, 100+ top-10s, 190+ top-15 finishes and made five playoff appearances. At its 80,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Salisbury, NC, Niece Motorsports is a trusted build shop for the Chevrolet Silverados of multiple NCTS teams as well as a customizable fabrication shop for any manufacturing needs.
Follow the Team: To keep up to date with the latest team news, visit niecemotorsports.com or connect on Facebook and Instagram (@NieceMotorsports) as well as X (@NieceMotorsport).
About J.F. Electric: J.F. Electric is an electrical contractor that provides engineering expertise, backed by construction and installation know-how in a diverse range of service offerings, from utilities and commercial projects, to industrial and telecommunications customers. When having a long family history in an industry, a company not only builds on its knowledge and experience, it takes pride in cultivating a solid understanding of client needs, all the while nurturing strong relationships with its employees. Evolving through five generations of the Fowler family, J.F. Electric has matured into a well-managed and thoughtfully diversified electrical contractor which is poised to continue its growth and expansion into the future.
About Utilitra: Utilitra is a woman-owned firm specializing in utility and technology solutions with a diverse team of specialized professionals. Utilitra is committed to solving their client’s unique challenges, whether one expert or a team of experts is needed. By adapting to the needs of their respective industries, Utilitra has built a range of services for their utility and technology partners.
