Kyle Busch landed an eight-race deal with Spire Motorsports for the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season, his highest race total in a single Truck Series season since 2014 due to the fact that NASCAR relaxed what had become known as the "Kyle Busch rule" over the offseason.
Full-time Cup Series drivers with at least three years of Cup Series experience are still restricted from competing in lower divisions as much as they want, but the restrictions were relaxed from five races to eight in the Truck Series and from five to 10 in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, formerly known as the Xfinity Series.
Busch made his Truck Series season debut behind the wheel of the No. 7 Chevrolet this past weekend at EchoPark Speedway, formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway, and he extended his series record with his 68th win. Michael McDowell, one of Spire Motorsports' full-time Cup drivers, opened up the year in the truck at Daytona International Speedway one week prior.
Kyle Busch replacement confirmed for St. Petersburg
But this week, it's Connor Mosack who is set to make his season debut in the No. 7 truck. Busch is set to be competing at Circuit of the Americas, as this weekend marks the first of the year during which the Cup Series, O'Reilly Series, and Truck Series won't all be at one single venue. Busch competes full-time for Richard Childress Racing at the Cup level.
Spire Motorsports are set to have a totally new-look driver lineup for the Truck Series' inaugural street race in St. Petersburg, Florida. Mosack, who ran full-time in the series for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing a year ago, has not competed for Spire Motorsports since he ran six races for the team in 2024. His 2026 deal includes 12 events.
Mosack is set to join former IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe in the team's lineup at the 14-turn, 1.8-mile (2.897-kilometer) temporary street circuit. Hinchcliffe, who has never before competed in a NASCAR national series race, is set to drive the No. 77 Chevrolet after Carson Hocevar, another Spire Motorsports Cup Series driver, drove it at both Daytona and Atlanta.
As for Busch, his next Truck Series start isn't scheduled to come until the season's sixth race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday, April 10.
Tune in to Fox at 12:00 p.m. ET this Saturday, February 28 for the live broadcast of the OnlyBulls Green Flag 150 from the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. Start a free trial of FuboTV and catch all of the action from the first ever NASCAR Truck Series street race!