Cory Roper Making Daytona Truck Series Return

Cory Roper will return to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series this weekend at Daytona Int'l Speedway. (Photo by NKP/NKP photo)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Three years removed from his stunning third-place finish at Daytona Int’l Speedway in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Cory Roper is coming back for more.

Roper will attempt to qualify for Friday’s season-opening Fresh From Florida 250 at the 2.5-mile superspeedway, his first time returning to the World Center of Racing since 2021.

The 46-year-old driver and owner from Vernon, Texas, will wheel the No. 04 Chevrolet Silverado out of his own Roper Racing shop. It will be his first Truck Series appearance since Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway last September.

Through its FlyAlliance branding, Alliance Aviation – which specializes in private jet travel, jet card membership, and aircraft sales – will sponsor Roper’s Daytona effort.

Carquest Auto Parts, a subsidiary of Advance Auto Parts, will also be onboard the No. 04 Chevrolet.

Roper will be supported in his Daytona attempt by Cook Racing Technologies, which is partnering with Roper to field the No. 04 entry for Marco Andretti in seven Truck Series races later this year, starting at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on March 23.

First, however, comes a stop at the World Center of Racing for Roper Racing’s eponymous owner and driver.

“I’m pretty excited about this weekend,” Roper said. “Bruce Cook, his guys, and our entire Roper Racing team have built a great FlyAlliance/Carquest Chevrolet and updated everything that we possibly could. I think we’ll have a lot of speed this weekend and I’m excited to get back to Daytona again.”

Cory Roper (04) at Daytona Int'l Speedway in 2021. (Photo by NKP/NKP photo)

With 40 Truck Series entries attempting to qualify for 36 starting spots, Roper will likely have to make the race on speed as one of the fastest 31 drivers in Friday’s qualifying session, because the No. 04 team doesn’t have enough owner points to fall back on from last year after only running a partial schedule.

Roper isn’t sweating that part, however. He’s simply looking forward to returning to Daytona for another shot at taking home a trophy.

“I’m not sure how many more times I’m going to get to do this,” admitted Roper, a three-time top-10 finisher in his limited Truck Series career. “We’re hoping for a great outcome all around.”

Qualifying for the Fresh From Florida 250 is slated for 3 p.m. ET Friday afternoon, with live coverage on FS1 and the Motor Racing Network.

Race coverage begins later that night at 8 p.m. ET, on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.