Kyle Busch returns to the Truck Series with eight races in 2026

Kyle Busch will compete in eight NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races with Spire Motorsports during 2026, taking full advantage of the maximum limit set by NASCAR in its recent rule change, with sponsorship from HendrickCars.com on the No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado.

For years prior to 2011, Busch regularly competed in what is now the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series and the Truck Series using his own teams, Kyle Busch Motorsports and Kyle Busch Racing. This gave him total control over vehicle preparation and race strategy, leading to a dominance that limited opportunities for developing drivers, which prompted NASCAR to implement a five-race annual restriction in lower series to preserve their developmental character.

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Fourteen years later, NASCAR modified that rule and last season raised the limit to eight races in the Truck Series and ten in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, arguing that the participation of established drivers financially benefits teams with limited budgets by attracting sponsors. Busch will take advantage of the new cap by running exactly eight races.

"I'm excited that NASCAR amended the 'Kyle Busch rule' and I was able to work it out with Jeff Dickerson, Brian Pattie and everyone at Spire Motorsports to increase my number of races up to the eight allowed this year," Busch explained in the team's statement.

HendrickCars.com, a company owned by Rick Hendrick (Chairman and CEO of Hendrick Automotive Group), will fund all eight entries. "HendrickCars.com is proud to support Kyle and Spire Motorsports," Hendrick commented. "Kyle is one of the best drivers of his generation and Spire has a winning track record in the Truck Series."

Eight Races in Seven Months

Busch will begin his schedule on February 21 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he won his most recent Truck race in 2025 with Spire, and will continue at Bristol (April 10), Texas (May 1), Dover (May 15), Charlotte (May 22), Nashville (May 29), North Wilkesboro (July 18), and Richmond (August 14).

"With the schedule we've put together, I have wins at most of these tracks, but there are a few where I haven't won yet in the Truck Series and I'll look to add them to the list," noted Busch.

Over the last two seasons, Busch has made ten Truck starts with Spire, recording three wins, five top-five and six top-ten finishes, with Brian Pattie once again overseeing vehicle preparation as crew chief.

Records in All Three National Series

Busch has accumulated 67 wins in the Truck Series (the category's all-time record) with an average finishing position of 6.7. In the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, he has 102 wins (also a historical record) plus the 2009 championship. In the Cup Series, he has 63 victories, including the Brickyard 400 (2015, 2016), Southern 500 (2008), and Coca-Cola 600 (2018).

He qualified for the Championship 4 for five consecutive seasons between 2015-2019, becoming one of three active drivers with multiple Cup Series championships. In August 2010, he won all three of NASCAR's national series in the same weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, a feat he repeated in August 2017, also at Bristol. The 2026 Truck Series season includes 25 total races.