The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series 2026 season opener at Daytona has a different buzz to it.
A new manufacturer will debut. Grassroots superstars are earning their first major national series opportunities. NASCAR Cup Series aces line the field. A Hall of Famer makes his highly anticipated return to NASCAR.
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Is it possible that Friday’s Fresh From Florida 250 (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) features the most stacked field ever in over 30 years of Truck Series competition?
Here’s what we’re keeping an eye on ahead of 100 heart-stopping laps on the high banks of Daytona, and how the kickoff race will set the stage for a thrilling 2026 campaign.
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Familiar faces in different places
Many drivers return to their seats occupied during the 2025 season, but a few significant contenders from a year ago shift into new rides.
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Most notably, Kaden Honeycutt takes over the No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota, which was piloted by Corey Heim for the last three years. Heim shifts into a part-time ride at the Cup Series level with 23XI Racing, but his departure leaves a significant void in the Truck Series as he drove to a record 12 victories and the championship. Honeycutt, meanwhile, ran the full 2025 schedule with three different teams and took over Halmar Friesen Racing’s No. 52 entry in August after a dirt modified injury to Stewart Friesen. The 22-year-old from Texas led the team to the Championship 4 and ultimately finished third in driver’s points. Friesen expects to return to race action for the first time at Daytona.
Additionally, Ty Majeski pivots to ThorSport Racing’s flagship No. 88 Ford after three-time champion Matt Crafton stepped away from full-time racing. Majeski spent three seasons in the No. 98 truck and earned the 2024 championship by winning three races. Jake Garcia moves over to the No. 98 machine, and rookie Cole Butcher will wheel the No. 13 Ford for all 25 races.
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Welcome back, Ram!
For the first time since 2013, Ram is competing in NASCAR, partnering with Kaulig Racing for five entries in 2026. Of those five, four are occupied by full-time drivers:
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Brenden “Butterbean” Queen in the No. 12
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Mini Tyrrell in the No. 14
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Justin Haley in the No. 16
Three of the four drivers are familiar faces to the Kaulig organization. Dye piloted one of Kaulig’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series entries in 2025, and Queen, a former CARS Tour Late Model Stock champion, also made five O’Reilly starts with the team. Haley previously spent several years under the Kaulig banner, running three full-time O’Reilly seasons and two Cup Series seasons from 2019-23.
Tyrrell, the final driver just announced on Friday, won Ram’s ‘Race for the Seat’ reality TV show competition, outlasting 14 other drivers over a series of on and off-track events. The 21-year-old is a longtime CARS Tour veteran.
Kaulig’s fifth entry, the No. 25 Ram, is under the Free Agent Driver Program, where the team and manufacturer land a rotating cast of drivers from all forms of motorsports. Hall of Famer and three-time Cup Series champion Tony Stewart will drive at Daytona, making his first NASCAR start in nearly 10 years since his retirement at the end of the 2016 season. Stewart previously owned Stewart-Haas Racing in the Cup Series and currently competes in NHRA’s Top Fuel division.
Announcements for competitors in the Free Agent Driver Program will come closer to each specific race, but setting the tone with Stewart will certainly be tough to top.
the nascar craftsman truck series races at daytona
Other big-name drivers in the field
In addition to Stewart, a mix of Cup Series regulars and other notable motorsports icons help shape a loaded field at “The World’s Most Famous Beach.”
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Legacy Motor Club’s John Hunter Nemechek, a 13-time Truck Series winner, will drive the No. 62 Toyota for Halmar. Additionally, Spire Motorsports drivers Michael McDowell and Carson Hocevar will pilot a pair of Silverados for the team at Daytona, driving the Nos. 7 and 77, respectively. McDowell is the 2021 Daytona 500 champion, and Hocevar, fresh off a contract extension into the next decade, commences a 13-race slate in 2026. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., another former Daytona 500 winner, will make his series debut in Niece Motorsports’ No. 45 Chevrolet.
Corey LaJoie will additionally enter the event with Henderson Motorsports. The former full-time Cup Series driver — and current “Stacking Pennies” host — continues his Truck Series swing from 2025, when the 34-year-old North Carolina native raced in nine contests and tallied three top fives and seven top 10s with Spire Motorsports.
X Games legend Travis Pastrana will drive Niece Motorsports’ No. 42 Chevrolet, and internet personality Cleetus McFarland (aka Garrett Mitchell) will attempt the race in the No. 4 Chevrolet. Pastrana ran the full O’Reilly Auto Parts Series schedule in 2013 and made the Daytona 500 with 23XI Racing three years ago. McFarland is scheduled for his series debut, and the 30-year-old Florida native made four ARCA Menards Series starts in 2025.
Toni Breidinger and Rackley WAR will team up for a partial schedule in 2026, and the 26-year-old California native will begin that slate in Daytona as pilot of the No. 27 Chevrolet.
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How Daytona sets the tone for The Chase — and who could contend?
Friday’s race in Daytona Beach kicks off a new era for the Truck Series, and for the first time in its history, The Chase postseason format will determine the champion come November.
Eight of the top 10 drivers from last season’s standings return to Trucks in 2026:
Keep in mind that under this new format, race winners collect 55 points instead of 40, putting an additional premium on finding Victory Lane. That said, with Daytona opening the season and another drafting track in EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway) to follow, an early-season victory for a full-time driver could go a long way toward positioning for The Chase.
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But to succeed in The Chase, consistency as equally important. Of returning drivers from a year ago, Riggs had the best average finish at 9.1, followed by Majeski (9.8), Ankrum (10.8), Smith (11.8) and Hemric (11.9). Excluding Heim, Front Row Motorsports teammates Riggs (three) and Smith (two) are the only drivers who banked multiple victories in 2025. So by combining winning with consistency, the blue oval duo immediately rises toward the top of potential 2026 contenders. And if Majeski can return to his winning ways after a shutout 2025 season, that creates three surefire candidates for the championship come Homestead-Miami Speedway in November.
Ankrum, Hemric and Gio Ruggiero each scored wins in 2025, and throw Honeycutt and the Ram trio into the mix, we could be looking at one of the most exciting championship battles in Truck Series history.
Twenty-five races make up the 2026 calendar, and with a star-studded field expected to hit the track in the opener, Daytona will set the tone for a highly anticipated Truck Series season.
