For Gio Ruggiero, New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) has long felt like home.
Long before he was battling for wins in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS), the Seekonk, Mass. native spent his childhood racing Bandoleros on NHMS’s 0.25-mile mini oval located in turns one and two of “The Magic Mile,” dreaming of one day competing on the speedway’s 1.058-mile oval at the highest level.
That dream became reality last September when Ruggiero made his first NCTS start at his home track, competing all afternoon and finishing fourth. Now, less than a year later, he will return to Loudon as one of the series’ rising stars, carrying momentum from a breakout rookie season and a current championship bid…