Entering the 2026 NASCAR season, it had been confirmed that full-time Cup Series drivers, regardless of how experienced, would not be allowed to compete in the Craftsman Truck Series regular season finale or the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series regular season finale, even under NASCAR's relaxed restrictions on Cup drivers in lower series races.
However, that rule must have been changed at some point during the season, because three full-time Cup drivers appeared on the entry list for the Truck Series regular season finale at New Hampshire Motor Speedway three weekends ago, and all three competed in the race.
One of those drivers was rookie Connor Zilisch, who drove the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet to a fifth place finish. He also drove that truck to a runner-up finish at Watkins Glen International in May, and he drove the team's No. 77 truck in a third place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway later in the month.
Connor Zilisch entry out at Bristol
Even though he doesn't yet have three years of full-time Cup Series experience, Zilisch, like every other Cup Series driver, is not allowed to compete in any of the seven races on the Truck Series postseason schedule.
And Spire Motorsports will not be replacing him in this Thursday night's postseason opener at Bristol Motor Speedway, instead opting to stick with only their full-time No. 7 and No. 77 trucks.
Spire Motorsports currently have no plans to run the No. 71 truck at any point during the postseason, and it stands to reason, after the truck was driven exclusively by full-time Cup Series drivers during the regular season.
In addition to Zilisch's two starts, Daniel Suarez ran the race at Bristol in April, and Shane van Gisbergen competed at both Charlotte Motor Speedway in May and North Wilkesboro Speedway in July. Zilisch's runner-up finish at Watkins Glen was the entry's best finish of the regular season.
Thursday night's UNOH 250 is set to be shown live on Fox Sports 1 from Bristol Motor Speedway beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET. Begin a free trial of FuboTV and catch all of the action from the "Last Great Colosseum"!
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