For the fourth consecutive season, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. This race currently has the second biggest 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 to debuts, returns, and much more.
Cup Drivers Entered
Four full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers are entered in this event. Carson Hocevar and Christopher Bell will continue their partial schedules in the Spire Motorsports No. 77 and Halmar Friesen Racing No. 62 respectively. This will be Hocevar’s tenth start of the season and Bell’s fifth. In nine starts, Hocevar has earned one win, three top-5s, and four top-10s. His only North Wilkesboro Truck start back in 2023 saw a fourth place result for Niece Motorsports. Additionally, the 23-year old won the All-Star Open in 2025. In four starts this season, Bell has earned one win, two top-5s, and is yet to finish outside the top ten. While this is the 2017 NCTS champion’s debut at North Wilkesboro, Bell won the 2025 All-Star Race at the venue.
Spire Motorsports will see an all-cup driver lineup, as Chase Elliott and Shane van Gisbergen will race their No. 7 and No. 71 trucks. SVG makes his third Truck start of the season and second in Spire’s No. 71, while Elliott makes his first series start since 2023. The Kiwi finished 15th-place in his other oval start this season at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and earned a podium finish at Watkins Glen. SVG did not advance to the All-Star Race in 2025 and has never made a start at this track. Like SVG, Elliott makes his Truck Series debut at North Wilkesboro but is racing as a fill-in for the late Kyle Busch. In three All-Star starts at NWS, Elliott has two top-5s and three top-10s.
Debuts and Long Awaited Returns
Two drivers will make their first career starts. First, CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car driver Donovan Strauss will make his series debut in the Niece Motorsports No. 4. Strauss has one CARS Tour start at Wilkesboro and finished 12th-place and currently races for AK Performance. Second, Kasey Kleyn will make his debut in Rackley W.A.R’s No. 27. Kleyn drives full-time in the ASA Stars National Tour and has made one career ARCA Menards Series West start.
While not a series debut, Nathan Nicholson will make his first ever oval start for Freedom Racing Enterprise. Nicholson, a Mazda MX-5 Cup driver, has served as a road course ringer for FRE this season. In three road course starts, Nicholson has earned a best finish of 20th-place.
Ryan Newman is the latest driver of the Kaulig Racing “Free Agent” No. 25 truck. Newman is an 18-time Cup Series winner, but only has seven career Truck starts. This is the 48-year old’s first start since 2018, and his fifth race at North Wilkesboro. In three career SMART Modified Starts at the venue, Newman has one win, two podiums, and three top-10s. Newman’s only NASCAR experience at the track is a 12th-place finish in the 2023 NASCAR All-Star Open.
Also returning is Landon Huffman, who will make his sixth career start and first since 2019 for Henderson Motorsports. He will pilot their No. 75 with sponsored from Cleetus McFarland. The 30-year old is a CARS Tour regular, with a best points finish of fourth place in 2025 and a best Wilkesboro finish of 13th in four starts. Huffman is coming off of a weekend sweep at Wake County Speedway in the twin 45 events.
Other Part Time Drivers
Nick Leitz has become a fixture of the mid-field of the Truck and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, but that will change this weekend. Defending series champions Tricon Garage has signed him to a four race deal to drive their No. 1 truck. Leitz has one other start for Tricon this season, an 11th-place finish in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway, and is making his North Wilkesboro debut. Defending race winner Corey Heim will pilot the No. 5 for the first time since his win at Darlington Raceway. In five Truck starts this season, Heim has won three races.
Luke Baldwin and Clayton Green will continue their part-time seasons for Team Reaume in the No. 2 and No. 22 trucks. Baldwin will make his 10th career start and fifth of the season, and finished 13th in the 2025 race for Thorsport Racing. In two NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts at the track, Baldwin has one runner-up and two top-10s. Green made his series debut at the track in 2024, and looks to improve on a season best of 23rd place in seven starts and a track best of 34th-place.
Similarly, Niece Motorsports will bring two of their part-time drivers back. Tyler Reif returns to the series for the first time since his near-win at Naval Base Coronado, and looks to improve on a season best 14th-place finish in his North Wilkesboro debut. Landen Lewis will also make his track debut, and looks to earn his first career win in his fifth start of the season after back-to-back top-5s at Coronado and Lime Rock Park.
Timmy Hill will return for an eighth attempt in his own No. 56. Hill has two series starts at North Wilkesboro with a best finish of 26th-place in 2024. Hill’s longtime team, MBM Motorsports, will field Jonathan Schafer in their No. 69 truck. Schafer has attempted two other races this season and has failed to qualify for both.
Qualifying and Race Outlook
Since 39 trucks are entered, three will have to go home. The 69, 27, and 75 trucks currently sit in “go or go home” territory. If any of these entries qualify, then the 56, 71, 22, 2, and 4 trucks are next in line.
If any of these part-time drivers want to win, they will have to face a formidable field of series regulars. The Front Row Motorsports duo of Chandler Smith and Layne Riggs both had strong runs in 2025, with the former capturing the win. Tricon’s Kaden Honeycutt will also be a force, as will short track aces Ty Majeski and Christian Eckes.
Ram has potential for a season-best race. Justin Haley and Corey Lajoie both have cup experience at this venue, Brendan Queen earned a top-5 at North Wilkesboro on debut in 2024, and Mini Tyrell visits a familiar track for the first time all season.
Tune into FS1 on Saturday, July 18 at 12:30 p.m., to see who earns the victory. Before that, tune into FS2 that Friday at 3:05 p.m. to see which drivers even make the race.
