Rising Star secures full-time ride with Rackley WAR for 2025 NASCAR season

18-year-old Dawson Sutton has secured a full-time position with Rackley WAR for the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season. This announcement was made at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Sutton, a native of Lebanon, Tennessee, will take the wheel of the No. 26 Rackley Roofing and WAR Shocks car as he competes in the full 25-race program. His journey begins with the season opener at Daytona International Speedway, a milestone in the series.

The young driver’s connection to the team is well known as he is the son of Curtis Sutton, co-owner of Rackley WAR. His full-time position follows an impressive stint late in the 2024 season when he entered the No. 25 Rackley Roofing Chevrolet previously driven by Ty Dillon.

During this time, Sutton quickly achieved his first top-five finish at Kansas Speedway – a performance that garnered some attention.

Sutton was excited about the opportunity and said the following:

“This is truly a phenomenal opportunity. I dreamed of this day and my goal is to get to the NASCAR Cup Series, which represents the best of the best. It’s all a bit hard to believe at the moment, but I know. “I have a big job to do and that’s exactly how I see it.”

Rackley WAR, co-owned by Curtis Sutton and Willie Allen, trusts Dawson to maintain the team’s reputation. Willie Allen praised Dawson’s work ethic:

“I really don’t think there’s anything he can’t do. He has a great work ethic; he doesn’t take any of it for granted. He works hard to do his best, no matter the situation.”

This show of trust from Allen certainly puts pressure on the young driver.

“When we started this three years ago, I specifically told him that he had three years to prove himself. He took this to heart and put in the work to improve his skills. I couldn’t teach him how to race. “I trusted him with the best I knew” by Willie Allen, Ron, Candice Hornaday and Joe Ryan to help me figure out if he really could do it.

Beyond his personal pride, Curtis Sutton continued.

“Racing is not just a business, it is certainly a family. Whether blood or not, it’s a family. But if it’s blood and the family does 50 or more races together a year, I’m not going to lie – it’s special.”

Sutton will share the track with NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick in the CARS Tour West Super Late Model event at the LVMS Bullring. Here’s what Dawson had to say about his collaboration with Harvick.

“I’m racing in Las Vegas this weekend with Kevin Harvick as my teammate in our Super Late Models [The Bullring]So it was really cool to work with him too. I’m excited to be back in the truck at the Homestead Miami race in a few weeks and then head on to Martinsville and Phoenix.”

These events will serve as crucial experiences on his path to achieving his goals in the racing hierarchy.

Moving forward, Rackley WAR is rumored to be announcing new partnerships for the 2025 season. This could be a very good time for the young rider to join them.