Following a thriller at Rockingham Speedway, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway for the Tennessee Army National Guard 250, the final race of this year’s Triple Truck Challenge.
Scheduled for Friday, April 10, the event brings a packed 38-truck field, loaded with star power. Corey Heim enters as the reigning series champion, having already secured $150,000 in bonuses from the first two legs of the challenge. A win at Bristol would push his total to $500,000, but standing in his way is one of the toughest fields of the season.
Cup Series heavyweights like Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, and Daniel Suarez are among the names adding depth to the grid at “World’s Fastest Half-mile.”
Despite being mired in a 100-race winless streak in the Cup side, Busch found Victory Lane earlier this season with a win at Atlanta Motor Speedway in his lone Truck Series start. He now heads to Bristol Motor Speedway, aiming to add another, this time in the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet.
The two-time Cup champion already stands as the all-time winningest driver in both the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and the Craftsman Truck Series, but his record in Trucks at Bristol Motor Speedway is particularly strong. In 12 starts at BMS, Busch has delivered five victories, eight top-five finishes, and nine top-10s, while leading 649 laps and maintaining an average finish of 7.4.
Daniel Suarez will pilot the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet with Freeway Insurance backing his entry. Unlike some of his Cup counterparts, the Monterrey native has limited recent Truck Series experience – 28 races across four years with a sole win – making this more of a one-off return.
This race marks his first Truck outing since 2021, and his second since 2016.
Driving the No. 45 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet, Ross Chastain brings one of the most extensive Truck resumes among active Cup drivers. The Trackhouse Racing superstar has multiple Truck Series wins (5) in his career and is known for maximizing equipment.
Originally slated for eight starts with Niece in 2026, the Floridian has already shown solid form with the team, with his first outing coming at Darlington Raceway, where he was narrowly beaten after a late charge from Heim on the final lap.
In 2025, he recorded one top-five and three top-10 finishes across five Truck Series appearances.
Chase Briscoe will drive the No. 5 TRICON Garage Toyota Tundra, teaming up with Kaden Honeycutt and Heim, this Friday. Briscoe’s Truck Series background is solid, with wins and postseason experience earlier in his career. At Bristol, he has shown speed in the past, though consistency has varied.
In the No. 62 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota, Christopher Bell enters as one of the most statistically strong short-track racers in the field. Bell has multiple Truck Series wins (7) and has historically performed well at Bristol across different series, including a Cup Series win last fall. The 31-year-old’s first truck appearance this season came at Darlington, where he finished sixth.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. continues his limited Truck schedule with Niece Motorsports Chevrolet in the No. 4 . This will be his third Truck start of the season. The 2023 Daytona 500 winner has relatively limited Truck Series history overall, and Bristol represents another opportunity to build seat time. He opened his 2026 Truck schedule with a sixth-place finish at Daytona before following it up with a ninth at EchoPark Speedway.
Teaming up with Busch at Spire Motorsports in the No. 77 Chevrolet for the Bristol truck race, Carson Hocevar. The 23-year-old returns to a series where he previously competed full-time, picking up five wins and over 30 top-10 finishes. Delaware Life will power his truck in what will be his fifth truck race of the season.
His first appearance in the No. 77 came at Daytona International Speedway, where his race ended in a DNF. He followed that with a runner-up finish in the FR8 Racing 250, coming home second to the No. 7 Chevy of Busch. Hocevar then made two more starts at Darlington Raceway and Rockingham Speedway, finishing 20th in the former before another DNF at Rockingham.
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