For the seventh consecutive season, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will race at Richmond Raceway this weekend. This event has the second largest entry list of the season, with 39 trucks currently entered for 36 spots. Among these 39 entries are a plethora of storylines from NASCAR Cup Series drivers, a top prospect making his debut, and more.
Cup Series Drivers
Two current NASCAR Cup Series drivers will return to familiar teams in the Richmond Truck Series race. First, Christopher Bell will continue his part-time schedule for Halmar Friesen Racing. Bell has piloted the team’s No. 62 Toyota in five races so far with one win, two top-fives and four top-10s. Bell has never raced at Richmond in a truck, but he has three NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series wins in five starts at the track as well as four top-fives and seven top-tens in ten Cup Series starts. Notably, the No. 62 sits 16 points outside the owner’s points Chase cutline. A strong run from Bell might be what the team needs to secure a spot in the Chase.
Like Bell, Shane van Gisbergen will return to the Truck Series for the first time since North Wilkesboro. Van Gisbergen has made three starts this season with two third-place finishes. One was unsurprising at the road course in Watkins Glen, but the other came in a surprisingly stellar North Wilkesboro race. Van Gisbergen will move from Spire’s part-time No. 71 Chevrolet to their flagship No. 7 in a start initially planned for the late Kyle Busch. The No. 7 is all but locked into the owner’s Chase and is only three points behind Front Row Motorsports’ No. 38 Ford.
While not technically a Cup Series driver, Brickyard 400 winner Corey Heim will return to the Truck Series in the No. 5 Tricon Garage Toyota. In two starts in the No. 5, Heim has one win and two top-10s. He also has two wins this year in the No. 1, and is the defending Richmond Truck Series winner. The No. 5 sits 74 points outside the owner’s Chase cutline, and will need two great runs to have a shot. Heim, who has the second most Truck wins this season despite running part-time, is a strong candidate to give it one.
Top Prospect Debut
Shane van Gisbergen will have a young teammate, as Tristan McKee will make his series debut in Spire’s No. 77 Chevroelt. McKee has two ARCA Menards Series wins in six starts this season, but has never raced at Richmond. One of those wins did come at a similar short track in Iowa Speedway, and McKee has shown adaptability and plenty of speed. So long as the 16-year-old does not get overly aggressive – a recurring woe in ARCA this season – he should have a strong chance at an impressive first showing. The No. 77 has a 30-point cushion on the owner’s Chase cutline, but an early mistake from McKee could put them right on the bubble entering New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Sadler and Spurlock Return
Elliott Sadler will pilot the No. 25 ‘Free Agent Truck’ for Kaulig Racing. This is Sadler’s first NASCAR race since 2019, when he drove for Kaulig in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Sadler was a full-time driver for Dodge in the Cup Series from the summer of 2006 to the end of 2008. He never won for the manufacturer, but did secure multiple top-fives.
Dystany Spurlock, the first ever Black female NASCAR driver, will move to Team Reaume to pilot their No. 2 Ford. Spurlock has made two Truck attempts and one start for MBM Motorsports, which was cut short by an early spin. Spurlock, who cut her teeth in NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle Racing, has also driven a partial ARCA schedule for MBM.
Additional Entries
Nick Leitz will return to the No. 1 Tricon Garage Toyota for the first time since his 17th-place finish at North Wilkesboro. Leitz has two Truck Series starts at Richmond, but neither entry was as competitive as Tricon Garage.
Connor Hall will make his second start of the season in the Niece Motorsports No. 4 Chevrolet. Hall made his debut at Richmond two seasons ago and secured a top-10. The 29-year-old also finished 20th in his only other career start at Rockingham Speedway earlier this season. Parker Eatmon will join him in the No. 42 Chevrolet for his fourth start of the season. The 20-year-old’s best finish so far is 12th at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Mason Massey, who is coming off a win in the ARCA Menards Series West, will make his first start of the season in the No. 20 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet. Massey has a top-20 in O’Reilly competition and two Truck starts at the venue, all for less competitive teams. This will be Massey’s first national series start in winning equipment.
One of Spurlock’s teammates is Derek Lemke, who is making his second start of the season in Team Reaume’s No. 22 Ford. In only two NASCAR starts this season, Lemke has turned heads. He finished 21st at Nashville Superspeedway for Team Reaume, as well as a respectable 26th-place run at Iowa for DGM Racing in O’Reilly competition. Lemke’s Truck Series debut came at Richmond in 2023 for Reaume, but only yielded a 33rd-place finish.
Kasey Kleyn will make his second career start in the same Rackley-WAR No. 27 he drove to a 35th-place finish at North Wilkesboro earlier this year.
Timmy Hill, Justin Carroll, and Caleb Costner will all return as driver-owners. Hill has made seven starts in nine entries with three top-20s including one at IRP, another short track. Hill also finished top-20 in his last series start at Richmond in 2024 and will return in his own No. 56 Toyota. Carroll is looking to avoid his fourth DNQ of the season in his seventh attempt driving his family-owned No. 90 Toyota. Like Hill, Carroll returns to Richmond for the first time since 2024, when the 30-year-old finished 27th. Costner will make his eighth entry of the season in his No. 93 Chevrolet, seeking an improvement on his 30th-place result in the 2025 race with Mike Harmon Racing.
Qualifying Preview and Race Outlook
Because 39 trucks are entered, three teams will miss the starting lineup. Carroll, Klyen, and Costner are the three entries in ‘go or go home’ territory. If any of them qualify top-31, then Massey, Hill, and Lemke are the next three in danger of missing the field.
If Heim, Bell, or van Gisbergen want to win, they will have to beat several series regulars to do it. The two Front Row Motorsports drivers will be dangerous. Chandler Smith has wins at Richmond in both O’Reilly and Trucks, while Riggs has been dominant on short tracks this season. ThorSport Racing’s Ty Majeski is hoping to break a nearly two-year winless streak, having arguably had the truck to beat in 2025 at Richmond. Though he’s still winless on short tracks, Kaden Honeycutt has been dominating late model races across the country this year. The No. 11 Toyota is a strong truck, so Honeycutt could easily secure his second career victory.
To see which drivers miss the race, tune into FS2 on Friday, August 14, at 2:05 p.m. Later that evening, tune into FS1 at 7:30 p.m. to see who comes out on top at Richmond.
