Seven full-time NASCAR Cup drivers -- six of which have won at the highest level of the sport -- will all be racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend.
With NASCAR increasing the number of races Cup drivers can run in the lower divisions entering the 2026 season, most expected to see an increased presence in O'Reilly and Truck races, and that is precisely what is happening.
The field will also feature reigning NCTS series champion Corey Heim, who leads the championship despite only running part-time (so he's not eligible for the Chase). But he still has a lot to race for, as a third consecutive win this weekend as part of the Triple Truck Challenge will earn him $500,000 in prize money -- $150,000 of which he's already secured through wins at Darlington and Rockingham.
“I don’t really think about it in the truck but being able to reflect on it – it would be cool to be the first person to sweep all three if we are able to do it,” said Heim, who won the 2023 Bristol Truck race, and even earned his career-best Cup finish there (sixth in 2025). “There is a lot of motivation for these guys in the No. 1 camp with Celsius as our primary (at Bristol), so super excited about that.”
But this will likely be the hardest race to win of them all. Here's a look at the current full-time Cup drivers that Heim will be facing off with in this weekend's race:
Kyle Busch -- No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
The two-time Cup champion has more wins at the Cup level than any other active driver (63), and he's also the winningest Truck Series driver in history with 68 wins. He already won in his only truck start so far in 2026, taking the checkered flag at Atlanta. Busch also has five Truck wins at Bristol, but none since 2017.
Ross Chastain -- No. 45 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet
The defending winner of the Coca-Cola 600 and 2022 Cup Series championship runner-up has six wins at the Cup level. He also has five Truck wins, and is the 2019 Truck Series championship runner-up. Just a couple of weeks ago, he lost the Darlington Truck race when Heim passed him in the final corner.
Christopher Bell -- No. 62 Halmar-Friesen Racing Toyota
Bell has 13 Cup wins and seven Truck wins, and is also a former Truck Series champion, winning the title in 2017. He's also placed inside the top five in the Cup standings for the past four consecutive years.
Chase Briscoe -- No. 5 Tricon Garage Toyota
Briscoe has five Cup wins and is the back-to-back winner of the Southern 500 winner at Darlington. He's also a proven winner in Trucks with two victories there, but this will be his first Truck start in about three years. Last year, he placed third in the final Cup standings.
Carson Hocevar -- No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Hocevar is the 2024 Cup Series Rookie of the Year, and while he's the only driver on this list without a win at the highest level of the sport, he has been very close. In the Truck Series, he has five wins, reaching Victory Lane with both Niece and Spire. In 2023, he was a Truck title finalist and placed fourth in the standings.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -- No. 4 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet
Stenhouse is the 2023 Daytona 500 winner and has four wins in the Cup Series. However, he had never started a Truck race prior to the 2026 season. This will be his third start of the year with Niece, placing sixth and ninth in his first two appearances.
Daniel Suarez -- No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Suarez hasn't run a Truck race in five years, but he does have a win in Trucks. He's also the only foreign-born driver to win races across all three national divisions, including two in the Cup Series.
