NASCAR’s Star-Studded Truck Race at Bristol Features 7 Cup Series Drivers

The NASCARCraftsman Truck Series hits the track at Bristol on Friday night for the Tennessee Army National Guard 250. The race is absolutely star-studded in entries, featuring 7 Cup Series drivers riding part-time in the big race.

Cup Driver Entries for Truck Race at Bristol

Added — Corey Heim is driving part-time in the TRICON Garage No. 1 Truck tonight. Heim is part-time in both the Truck and Cup Series, seemingly winning every Truck race. On Friday night, Heim seeks $500k should he win the race and complete a clean sweep of the Triple Truck Challenge.

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Why So Many Part-Time Entries?

The race tonight is at one of the premier tracks in all of NASCAR — Bristol Motor Speedway. It is easy for teams to sell sponsors by slotting in big-name drivers.

Niece Motorsports will field 2 drivers, being Stenhouse Jr. and Chastain. Neice Motorsports has its business set on partnering with Cup drivers in the Truck series. Comprehensive Vehicle Logistics sponsors Stenhouse Jr., while J.F. Electric and Utilitra sponsor Chastain.

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Spire Motorsports is always set on winning in the Truck Series. Hocevar is a common name that they field in their No. 77 Chevrolet. Meanwhile, Busch hops into the No. 7 car, which he once owned before Spire Motorsports bought out his Kyle Busch Motorsports team. To round out a winning effort, Suarez jumps in the No. 71, sponsored by Freeway Insurance. Delaware Life sponsors Hocevar, while Busch represents HendrickCars.com.

Bell hops into the Halmar Freisen Racing No. 62 Toyota truck. Being a part of Toyota Racing Development, they take a stab at the race with Bell. By starting Bell, the team skyrockets their chances of winning the race, thus generating much-needed profit.

TRICON Garage is always mixing its lineup of drivers. Heim part-time drives the No. 1, while various other Toyota drivers feature in the series, often with the No. 5. Tonight, Briscoe hops in that car, and he will be a threat to win.

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Most of all, the Cup drivers take to this race to prepare for the big 500-mile affair on Sunday afternoon. Winning a race like the Food City 500 is a big deal. Anytime there is a tripleheader weekend, many Cup drivers will be found in either the Truck Series or O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.

Manufacturers control driver entries just as much as the teams. If Toyota and Chevrolet want to attack a race, they will work with the teams, find a sponsor, and ask drivers to take the green flag.

Truck Drivers Draw the Short End

There is definitely criticism in this, where the full-time truck drivers draw the short stick. While drivers like Kaden Honeycutt and Layne Riggs gun for race wins and the ultimate Truck Series Championship, they have to compete with drivers from two levels above.

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On one hand, these drivers get fantastic experience alongside NASCAR’s best drivers. On the other hand, they lack their ultimate chance to win the race and thus secure the big purse. Unfortunately for them, nothing is likely to change as the competition remains high at select high-end tracks.

This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Apr 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the Racing section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.