For the 2026 ARCA Menards Series season, Nitro Motorsports will field three full-time drivers. One of them is Thomas Annunziata, who will pilot the No. 70 Toyota.

Annunziata made his series debut in the 2024 season opener at Daytona International Speedway and impressed with a second-place finish. Since then, he’s made four other national division starts, highlighted by a victory in the series inaugural race at Lime Rock Park in 2025.

In addition to his ARCA events, Annunziata competed part time in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2025. He drove for Cope Family Racing, owned by Derrike Cope. Now, in 2026, he drives full time for Nitro, owned by Cope’s cousin Nick Tucker.

At the ARCA test at Daytona in January, Frontstretch ARCA editor Mark Kristl spoke with Annunziata about his racing background, time at Nitro, goals for the season and more.

Mark Kristl, Frontstretch: It’s your first full-time season in ARCA. How are you feeling about it?

Thomas Annunziata: I’m excited. It’s my first full-time opportunity in anything in NASCAR. We’ve had some good runs over the course of my part-time career and I’m excited to put a full season together.

Kristl: Tell us about your racing background to this point.

Annunziata: I started racing in a random parking lot in New Jersey in a car 10 years ago. It was a hobby at first. I started getting good enough to where I was making my dad push me to keep going and I started winning, so we had no choice at that point. Eventually, I got into cars five years later, starting with Miata’s, then moving on to Trans Am, and then to ARCA, and it kept snowballing from there. And now my dad and I are living our dream.

Kristl: You’ve been with Tucker for several years. What has he meant for you thus far?

Annunziata: Seven years [chuckles]. He’s changed my life. He’s given me an opportunity I never would’ve had otherwise and I’m thankful that he saw the talent in me and my ability because without that, I don’t know where I’d be. So, he’s made my career happen, big time.

Kristl: On your name rail, it says Hollywood. How did you get Hollywood as a nickname?

Annunziata: It’s been around since go-karting, literally 10 years ago. When I showed up to my first race, I had 10 pounds of gel in my hair, dad sunglasses and a watch, and a brand-new suit, so everyone in the karting paddock started calling me that. So, when the Nitro guys moved with me from that to cars, they kept calling me that. That’s how it spread in the car paddock.

Kristl: Why now race full time in ARCA?

Annunziata: Because I never had another opportunity. This was my only chance to run full time. I would’ve chosen it to be earlier if I could.

Kristl: Last year, you ran about half of the O’Reilly Series season for Cope. How did that prepare you for this year, in your opinion?

Annunziata: Those cars are harder to drive, for sure. There’s less downforce so they’re more difficult. But the competition is stacked, especially on the ovals. So, I learned a lot on the ovals. Had a few top-20 finishes. I had a couple of good runs on road courses, looking for top 15, top-10 finishes. Other than that, it was a hard year, don’t get me wrong. It was a difficult year to start up an Xfinity team from scratch. But we did the best we could with what we had and it was a good learning experience.

Kristl: In your first ARCA start here, you finished second driving. What do you remember from that race?

Annunziata: I remember being nervous. I remember it being difficult. I didn’t know how to push or use the air around. I made a mistake on pit road where I left before we got fuel and I backed it in reverse there. So, I don’t even know how I got to the front at the end. It was scary, it was hectic, and we got through all the wrecks to the end in second. Nearly got that Cole Trickle paint scheme to victory lane. That was a big day.

Kristl: You’re working with crew chief Shannon Rursch, who won a championship with Jesse Love. How has your relationship with him been?

Annunziata: Honestly, so far, it’s like he’s a second dad, like a stepfather down in North Carolina. I live alone, and when my dad’s not there, I go to him [Shannon]. He’s an amazing guy. Obviously, he’s got a lot of history behind him and that only puts more pressure on me to live up to his expectations. But it’s an honor to work with such a decorated person.

Kristl: You moved to North Carolina. How has that adjustment been?

Annunziata: I live alone, I don’t have a wife or any friends there, so I cook, clean, do my own laundry now. While it is a little lonely at home, I’ve living the racing lifestyle. Of course, I’m in the race shop. I go to GoPro Motorplex once in a while. Obviously, I spend a lot of time at the Toyota facility.

Kristl: You signed a development deal with Toyota. How has it been working with them, their fitness, and their whole program?

Annunziata: It’s wild. It’s like having a second family. They legit take care of you. They know everything about you, your body, your mental side of it and so they know who you are. You’re calibrated into their system, so it is a huge help, a lot of support, and it makes my job easier.

Kristl: Now, I presume the championship is the goal for this year. Are there any other goals, though?

Annunziata: Win Daytona, hopefully get a few NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts at some point. Win as many races as we can, finish where we should and hopefully take the championship home.

Kristl: Other than Daytona, are there any other racetracks that you’re looking forward to going to?

Annunziata: Lime Rock and Watkins Glen International. I love the road courses. A lot of the other tracks, I haven’t been to yet. Phoenix Raceway, I’m looking forward to it because I’ve been there before. But other than that, I’ll find out when I get there.

Kristl: The dirt tracks – Love won at one in 2023 and Brenden Queen won one last year, so you’ve got to run well there to win the championship. How are you feeling about racing on a dirt track for the first time?

Annunziata: I’m excited for it. I’ve never run on dirt before in my life. I’ve never touched a dirt track before in my life. So, we’ll find out this year. But I feel like I got a good feel for how a racecar is supposed to handle, keep it on the racetrack and I feel like I know how to drive sideways for a while. So, I guess we’ll find out; I’m excited because I’ve never done it before.

Kristl: What’s something the average fan doesn’t know about you?

Annunziata: I’m very creative when it comes to art. That’s what I do in my free time. How I somewhat got into racing was that I started a NASCAR page called NASCAR Old Times from when I was 12 to 16 years old. I posted on that every day all year, built it to 60,000 followers, and that’s kind of how I got my gig in racing. People started noticing me, like Mark Martin, and they started watching me. I started as a NASCAR historian.

Kristl: So, you love the NASCAR history – who was your favorite driver growing up, then?

Annunziata: Growing up, it was Jeff Gordon. But when I really started paying attention, it was Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Brad Keselowski, who was once a villain. I liked those guys. I had respect for everyone else, but I felt like those guys brought a lot of personality to the sport.