With a victory in Friday’s Zero Carbon Bioethanol 150 at Phoenix Raceway, Kaden Honeycutt has extended his points lead over championship rival Layne Riggs, as the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series heads into the final three races of 2026. Honeycutt, who lost ground in the standings to Riggs last weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, was able to take the lead from the strategy-playing No.

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series championship rivals Layne Riggs and Kaden Honeycutt will share the front row for Friday’s Zero Carbon Bioethanol 150 at Phoenix Raceway, the fourth race in the Chase for the Truck Series title. Layne Riggs, driving the No. 34 Love’s RV Stops Ford F-150 for Front Row Motorsports, will be in control of the initial start, though, after posting a blazing lap of 27.039 seconds (133.141mph) to win the pole – his fifth of the year – by more than a tenth of a second.

Jordan Anderson Racing (JAR) has signed NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series veteran Brennan Poole to drive the No. 31 Chevrolet Camaro in 2027, the organization announced on Friday at Phoenix Raceway. After spending the last four seasons driving for the lesser-funded teams of JD Motorsports (2023) and Alpha Prime Racing (2024-2026), Poole has garnered a reputation for punching well above his weight across the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series garage.

The NASCAR Cup Series is back at Phoenix Raceway, making its second trip to the one-mile oval in Avondale, Arizona. It’s the sixth race of the NASCAR Cup Series Chase, and for the first time since 2020, not Championship Weekend, so Sunday’s 500-kilometer contest means more than just winner-takes-all. This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series trades the high-speed mile-and-a-half ovals for the flat, technical asphalt of Phoenix Raceway -- a place that has lived firmly in the wheelhouse of Team Penske this season.

Spire Motorsports development driver Tristan McKee seems to have his future mapped out. The heralded 16-year-old prospect from Virginia will run an expanded schedule in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series next year with Spire Motorsports, but, as announced on Friday, will also run part-time in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series for JR Motorsports. McKee will make his O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 13, 2027, piloting the No.

Tanner Gray will be working with a different crew chief in Friday’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series event at Phoenix Raceway, TRICON Garage has confirmed to JosephSrigley.com. Jeff Hensley, who has been leading the No. 15 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro team since the beginning of 2024, will not be making the trip to Avondale, Arizona this weekend due to an illness, and will thus hand over shot-calling duties to long-time TRICON Garage employee Jacob Hampton.

Austin Green is one of the strongest road course drivers in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series right now, but he’ll make his NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series debut later this month at a racetrack you probably wouldn’t expect. The 25-year-old son of David Green will get behind the wheel of the No. 77 Chevrolet Silverado RST for the Friday, October 23 event at Talladega Superspeedway, with sponsorship from Spire Motorsports partner GUNK.

Ryan Ellis is returning to Alpha Prime Racing as part of a multi-year agreement, starting with the 2027 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series campaign. The Ashburn, Virginia-native previously drove for Alpha Prime Racing from 2022 to 2024, helping the organization launch its No. 43. Now, Ellis returns to the team as they begin this new chapter fielding Ford Mustangs. Tablo TV will continue as the anchor partner for Ellis at Alpha Prime Racing, serving as a primary sponsor for at least 10 races in 2027.

We’ve officially reached the final four weeks of the NASCAR season, and while Silly Season is mostly finished for the Cup Series, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series is just getting started and taking control of the news cycle. There’s still a lot to figure out, since, as of October 14, only FIVE organizations have their full-time driver lineup signed, sealed, and delivered for 2027.

Blaine Perkins is joining Sam Hunt Racing for the 2027 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series campaign, the team confirmed on Wednesday. Perkins will get behind the wheel of the No. 24 Toyota GR Supra as part of a multi-year agreement with Sam Hunt Racing, and will begin working with crew chief Brian Gainey at Daytona International Speedway next February. The 26-year-old driver will serve as a teammate to multi-time NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series winner and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champion Sheldon Creed in 2026. Creed will drive the team’s flagship No. 26 Toyota GR Supra.

With a ‘Days of Thunder’ sequel – starring Tom Cruise and Anne Hathaway – confirmed to be racing into theatres in the Summer of 2028, could Cruise, a 64-year-old international movie star, find himself behind the wheel of a real-life race car sometime in the next two years? Apparently, if it were solely Cruise’s decision, the answer would be yes.

Axalta, in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Phoenix, will serve as the primary sponsor of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet for the final time (at least in name). And, in doing so, will have a paint scheme IDENTICAL to their first appearance in NASCAR. With help from Jeff Gordon and William Byron, both the current (Byron) and former (Gordon) driver of the No.

Daniel Suarez and Spire Motorsports have agreed to a contract extension to keep the Monterrey, Mexico-native in the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the 2027 NASCAR Cup Series campaign, the team announced on Tuesday. Suarez joined Spire Motorsports at the beginning of this season on a one-year deal and has taken nicely to the organization, going to Victory Lane in the Coca-Cola 600 – one of the most prestigious events in NASCAR – while also qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Chase.

Kasey Kleyn, who has run select NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series for Rackley WAR and will compete for Halmar Friesen Racing at Martinsville, has joined Nitro Motorsports to compete in the ARCA Menards Series West event at Phoenix. Kleyn will also run part-time with Nitro Motorsports in 2027. “I’m excited to join Nitro Motorsports, both for Phoenix and for next season,” said Kleyn in the press release.

Monster Energy is partnering with Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) and driver Ty Gibbs to bring The Big 12 Conference to NASCAR this weekend at Phoenix Raceway. In Sunday’s Freeway Insurance 500, Gibbs, one of the 16 drivers fighting for a championship in the NASCAR Cup Series Chase, will carry a special paint scheme on his No. 54 Toyota Camry XSE featuring the Big 12 Conference x Monster Energy co-branded logo.

Will Rodgers is returning to the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series for a three-race agreement to complete the 2026 campaign, the driver confirmed via social media on Tuesday. Rodgers will be joining forces with Big Machine Racing for events at Phoenix Raceway, Talladega Superspeedway, and Homestead-Miami Speedway, piloting the No. 53 Chevrolet Camaro (which, for owner’s points purposes, will be listed under Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen).

After three years piloting the No. 44 for Alpha Prime Racing, Brennan Poole is leaving the organization at the conclusion of the 2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series campaign. In three seasons with Alpha Prime Racing, Poole has recorded three top-fives and 11 top-10 finishes.

Carson Brown has made two starts and is poised to take the No. 2 car in 2027 after his run at Charlotte Motor Speedway for Jordan Anderson Racing. Before Charlotte, Brown only made one other career start in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, which was a 15th at Iowa Speedway in August. This weekend became a double-duty event for Brown between two different states.

Another race, another stunning drive by Hendrick Motorsports driver Corey Day. The 20-year-old driver of the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet parked his race car in Victory Lane for the fourth time this season in Sunday’s postponed Blue Cross NC 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, after a gutsy three-wide move on the race’s final restart that allowed him to take control of the race back from Jesse Love and Justin Allgaier.

While just about everybody was recovering from the epic battle for the victory (and subsequent photo finish) between Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe, there was some more drama happening in the middle of the pack, which extended beyond the checkered flag. As the laps wound down in Sunday’s 400-mile contest at Charlotte, Michael McDowell and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. were locked in an intense battle for position around the top-20, which included a couple of optimistic moves, and at one point, resulted in contact with the outside SAFER Barrier for McDowell.

Chase Briscoe has taken advantage of the rash of mile-and-a-half racetracks in the middle portion of the NASCAR Cup Series Chase, winning Sunday’s Bank of America 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway to go back-to-back for the first time in his career. However, the Mitchell, Indiana-native will likely tell you that, both times, the margin in which he’s won has been too slim for his liking.

William Byron and Bubba Wallace needed an outside chance to be a championship contender, but both drivers wrecked out in the NASCAR Cup Series race early at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Now, a miracle is needed for the No. 23 and No. 24 team to win the championship. On lap 76, Alex Bowman was on the bottom of Wallace when Bowman's No.

Peterson Racing has signed five-time NASCAR National Series winner Harrison Burton to pilot its second full-time entry in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, the team confirmed in an announcement on Saturday. Burton, the son of NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Jeff Burton, will be piloting the No. 78 Chevrolet Camaro, beginning with the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, February 20.

Frankie Muniz is a championship-winning race car driver. With a second-place class finish in Sunday’s season-finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Muniz and co-driver Tyler Stone were able to clinch the 2026 Pirelli GT4 America Am Class Championship in the No. 30 TechSport Racing Ford Mustang GT4 (S650). Known for his starring role in the popular 2000s sitcom Malcolm in the Middle, Muniz has been on a journey to achieve a lifelong dream of being a race car driver, which has taken him to the ARCA Menards Series, NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, and even the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, before choosing, with the help of Ford Racing, to split his time between the Truck Series and Sports Cars.

Since first entering NASCAR in 2016, Kaulig Racing has always had the mantra “Trophy Hunting”. The organization successfully managed to collect 29 victories in the decade since (two in the NASCAR Cup Series and 27 in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series), but in 2026, decided to tackle the major undertaking of becoming RAM’s re-entry point to NASCAR.

Austin Cindric confirmed that he is returning to drive the No. 2 car for the 2027 season in the NASCAR Cup Series. During a media availability for the NASCAR Cup Series drivers at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Cindric dispelled any rumors that he is leaving Penske Racing after the 2026 season. When asked where those rumors came from, he said, "I'm not sure, to be honest."

Saturday’s on-track activity from Charlotte Motor Speedway is a wash. The rain has arrived in Concord, North Carolina, and it’s not going to be leaving anytime soon, forcing NASCAR to scrap all on-track activity from Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway – including NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series practice and qualifying, NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying, and the Blue Cross NC 300.

The rain has arrived in Concord, North Carolina, and NASCAR’s plan to shift its on-track schedule for Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, unfortunately, did not work. With lots of rain in the area, NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series practice and qualifying have been cancelled. After dueling it out in a fantastic run to the finish last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Carson Kvapil and Corey Day will start on the front row for Saturday’s Blue Cross NC 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

On Friday, the entire NASCAR industry gathered (both in-person and around their televisions) to pay tribute to two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, with a Celebration of Life ceremony taking place on the frontstretch at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Several of the most important people in Busch’s life and NASCAR career were on hand and took the time to speak about the memories they had of Kyle Busch, both as one of the best race car drivers NASCAR has ever seen, and as an all-around human.

Layne Riggs is officially back… Well, he technically never left, but after two subpar weekends back-to-back to start the 2026 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Chase, the Front Row Motorsports (FRM) driver finally has some positive momentum on his side after winning Friday’s Ecosave 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Riggs paced the field for 47 of 134 laps, and won Stage 1, but in the middle portion of the event found himself falling behind points leader Kaden Honeycutt.

Bayley Currey's day job is being the car chief for the No. 1 truck, but he made the most of his second start of the season for Tricon Garage. Currey has made one other start this season, which was a 2nd at Bristol Motor Speedway. At Charlotte Motor Speedway, Currey finished 7th in Stage 1 and 10th in Stage 2 in the No.

The last time the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series raced at Charlotte Motor Speedway was right after Kyle Busch's passing. Returning five months after Busch's passing, several teams are paying tribute to him. When Busch ran in the Truck Series, competitors knew he was the driver to beat, as Busch won 69 of the 184 races that he entered. Busch's accomplishments seem endless in modern-day NASCAR.

While piloting a throwback paint scheme to honor the late Kyle Busch, Connor Mosack, driver of the No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado RST for Spire Motorsports, will lead the field to green in Friday’s EcoSave 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Searching for his first career victory in the NASCAR Truck Series, Mosack was the only driver in the 36-truck field to dip into the 29-second bracket in qualifying, posting a fast time of 29.961 seconds (180.234mph) to win the pole.

Tyler Ankrum will not be returning to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing in 2027. The San Bernardino, California-native confirmed to JosephSrigley.com’s Jared Haas during a NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series media scrum at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday that he would not be reclaiming his seat in the No. 18 Chevrolet Silverado RST next season. Ankrum is an eight-year veteran of the NASCAR Truck Series, competing for several different championship-caliber organizations including David Gilliland Racing, GMS Racing, Hattori Racing Enterprises, and most recently, McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, the team he’s been competing with since 2024.

Cole Custer will continue as the NASCAR Cup Series pilot for Haas Factory Team in 2027, the team announced on Friday. The Ladera Ranch, California-native, a former champion of the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, will be returning for a third consecutive season as the driver of the No. 41 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at NASCAR's top level. In the last two seasons of competing for HFT in the NASCAR Cup Series, Custer has recorded a pair of top-five finishes (a fourth at Daytona in the Summer of 2025 and a fifth at Talladega in the Fall of 2025), as well as four top-10 results.

We're officially halfway through the Chase for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship, and this weekend brings us to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Bank of America 400. Kyle Larson has a commanding lead in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings over Denny Hamlin, as the series comes to the final of three straight mile-and-a-half races in the post-season. Track & Race Overview…

Kasey Kahne is officially back on the NASCAR circuit. The 46-year-old driver, who competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2004 to 2018, is set to compete full-time in the NASCAR FedEx Freight Truck Series for Spire Motorsports in 2027, driving the No. 77 Chevrolet Silverado RST. Kahne abruptly retired toward the end of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series campaign because of health concerns, then pivoted to sprint cars and dirt racing, but returned to the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Rockingham in 2025.

Team Reaume is bringing a fourth Ford F-150 across the country to Phoenix Raceway for the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series’ annual trip to the one-mile short track in Avondale, Arizona, the organization confirmed on Wednesday. The No. 23 Team Reaume Ford F-150 will make its first-ever appearance on October 16, with Jackson Lee behind the wheel. Lee, the son of INDYCAR on FOX pit reporter Kevin Lee, has run four NASCAR Truck Series events this year on road courses with Team Reaume, collecting a best finish of 13th at Lime Rock Park.

Jeb Burton, a veteran of NASCAR's National Series, is joining RSS Racing for the 2027 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series campaign, the driver confirmed via social media on Tuesday. The Halifax, Virginia-native is the son of 2002 DAYTONA 500 winner Ward Burton, and in honor of his father's legacy, will pilot the No. 22 Chevrolet Camaro for the Sieg family in 2027 -- using a similar font to that of Bill Davis Racing in the mid-2000s.

Halmar Friesen Racing is joining several industry personnel in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series garage this weekend in paying tribute to the late Kyle Busch at Charlotte Motor Speedway, running throwback schemes to honor the winningest driver in series history. The multi-truck NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series team, which fields the No. 52 and No. 62 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro full-time, revealed a pair of throwback schemes on Tuesday, honoring Busch and his time in the Truck Series with Kyle Busch Motorsports.

Alpha Prime Racing (APR) announced Tuesday that the organization will launch an ARCA Menards Series program in 2027, utilizing the Ford Mustang and expanding the team’s long-term competition and development strategy. “We have been deliberate about building the next phase of Alpha Prime Racing in a way that is competitive and sustainable,” said Jusan Hamilton, President of Alpha Prime Racing. “ARCA gives us another meaningful platform to develop people, serve partners, and create a clearer pathway within our organization.

With just five races remaining in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series campaign, Kyle Larson, who finished seventh place in the regular-season points standings, finds himself leading the championship by a healthy 40-point margin after a stellar start to the post-season. The driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro placed fifth in the Chase-opener at Darlington Raceway, and in the first half of the Chase, has only gotten better, recording four consecutive top-two results (at Gateway, Bristol, Kansas, and Las Vegas).

Caution flags were a rare sight in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Only four cautions flew, including stage breaks, even though two different spins occurred during the race. At the start of the race, the outside row of cars stacked up. At the tail end of the field were Cody Ware starting 34th and Noah Gragson, in a backup car, starting 36th.

After a devastating loss at Kansas, just seven short days ago, Chase Briscoe managed to get his redemption, winning Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway by holding off a hard-charging Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick. Briscoe, who paced the field for a race-high 175 of 267 laps, had command of the entirety of the final run of the race – first against Bubba Wallace, then against Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick – and managed to maintain the top spot despite valiant efforts by the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion.

Brandon Jones, driving the No. 20 Menards Toyota GR Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing, has been disqualified by NASCAR following Saturday’s Focused Health 302 for the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, after it was discovered that the car had more than four loose lug nuts. Jones, one of the 12 drivers in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase, retired from Saturday’s fourth race of the Chase after only 54 laps, when a loose wheel caused an accident heading into Turn 1, which saw the Joe Gibbs Racing driver crash and collect championship contender Justin Allgaier.

Corey Day put on a performance worthy of a Las Vegas residency in Saturday’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, working every single lane of the racetrack to hold off Carson Kvapil and park the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet in Victory Lane. The Clovis, California-native led a race-high 136 of 201 laps on the evening, and was the dominant driver, but looked as though he faded late in the final stint of the race, allowing Kvapil to close in on the Hendrick Motorsports driver.