The 1994 Joe Diffie classic “Pickup Man” says it best: “You can set my truck on fire and roll it down a hill And I still wouldn’t trade it for a Coupe DeVille”
Trucks are some of the most loved vehicles around, every kid dreams of owning one and for some they get to race them. Enter the Great Lakes Truck Tour, which takes over promotions of the former CRS Truck Series in 2025.
Owned by the Maggio family, the owners of Lorain Raceway Park and The Painesville Speedway, the Great Lakes Truck Tour looks to build on the tradition of truck racing in Ohio and the surrounding states, a tradition started in the 1999 with the ARCA Truck Series and carried on with the CRS Truck Series. Built around mid-sized trucks and V6 engines originally, the series has grown to include full-size truck bodies and V8 engines in the past decade.
With new ownership comes renewed excitement about the series for 2025. The Maggio family has a proven track record of success, reopening closed speedways in Painesville and South Amherst, Ohio in the past eight years and making them viable businesses with an exciting product, a growing driver pool and growing fanbase. A few schedule updates are expected in the near future, with the tour expected to compete in around 12 races in 2025.
The acquisition didn’t come quickly as Randy Maggio, Sr. and Jr. have been in talks with Billy Strehle (CRS Truck Series) over the past year or so about acquiring the CRS Truck Series. The Maggio’s truly see the value in the Truck Series, in the trucks themselves, the drivers and the people surrounding the series.
“We plan to have a meeting in the very near future with all past, present and future teams and officials to iron out any needed details for the upcoming season” said Maggio, Jr. “We are very excited for this new chapter under the #2Tracks1Family and Northeast Ohio Racing Association (NORA) banner in 2025. While 2025 will be a season of change and hopefully growth we are already working towards growing the tour for 2026 and beyond. That comes with the support of drivers, teams, promoters and of course the fans”.
Tour Officials will meet with drivers and team owners on Saturday, April 26th at Lorain Raceway Park. The meeting will begin at 9AM in the Clubhouse.
The Great Lakes Truck Tour kicks off Saturday, May 10th at Lorain Raceway Park. The tour intends to run the previously announced schedule but has not confirmed any dates outside of Lorain Raceway Park and Painesville Speedway. Maggio, Jr. has great relationships with track promoters at already established dates at Ona Speedway, Anderson Speedway and Lake Erie Speedway and looks forward to building relationships with even more promoters as the tour expands.
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