Editor's note: The contents of this article, including the title and the body, have been modified from their original state to reflect Kyle Busch's tragic passing.
For whatever it's worth, it feels almost insensitive to write this article right now, because racing takes a backseat to the unspeakable tragedy that took place on Thursday night.
But what's also insensitive at a time like this is speculation, and based on what we know now about Friday night's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, it's our job to keep fans updated on both the human side and the racing side of this business. The Truck Series race is set to take place as planned on Friday night.
When Kyle Busch was first hospitalized due to a severe illness, and it was confirmed shortly thereafter that he would not be partaking in any of his scheduled activities this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Spire Motorsports put out a statement which included confirmation that Corey Day would step in for him behind the wheel of the No. 7 Chevrolet this weekend.
Corey Day will be in the Spire Motorsports No. 7 truck at Charlotte for Kyle Busch (severe illness) https://t.co/vbrTAzPzPG
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) May 21, 2026
Hours later, NASCAR put out a statement confirming that Busch had tragically passed away at the age of 41.
Busch had been lined up to compete in both Sunday's Coca-Cola Cup Series race at the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Concord, North Carolina oval, and also Friday night's Craftsman Truck Series race.
With heavy heart, Corey Day in line for Truck Series start
As far as what we know now, Day remains in line to compete in Friday nights' race. Naturally, that could change, and whatever decision ends up being made by the team is one that all fans should respect.
Busch, who was known for dropping down to NASCAR's lower levels and absolutely dominating whenever he did, entered the 2026 season aiming to compete in eight Truck Series races for Spire Motorsports this year, after NASCAR increased the limit from five to eight races for full-time Cup Series drivers with at least three years of Cup Series experience.
Busch won at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway) and Dover Motor Speedway and also recorded finishes of eighth at Bristol Motor Speedway and second at Texas Motor Speedway.
He remains the all-time winningest driver in Truck Series history with 69 victories, with his final win coming at "Monster Mile" a week ago.
It marked Spire Motorsports' second unplanned driver change of the week, in addition to their addition of the No. 71 Chevrolet for Shane van Gisbergen.
Carson Hocevar had been lined up to run the No. 77 Chevrolet, just as he's done in all but one race so far this season, but the team opted to have him place his full focus on Sunday's Coca-Cola 600, so Connor Zilisch is set to replace him.
Rather than pivot back to Hocevar or have one of their other full-time Cup drivers, Daniel Suarez or Michael McDowell, fill in, they turned to the driver who ran a partial schedule for them a year ago in the Truck Series and who has emerged as an O'Reilly Series championship threat this year in his first full season with JR Motorsports.
The No. 7 team currently leads the Truck Series owner standings and is the only team with two wins through nine races this year.
Both wins came courtesy of Busch, whose success in the Truck Series will likely never come close to being topped.
Austin Hill, who competes full-time for Richard Childress Racing's O'Reilly Auto Parts Series team, got the call to step into the No. 8 Chevrolet for Sunday's 400-lap Cup Series race. Again, we are only basing this information on what we know, and nobody would fault the team if plans change.
Friday night's North Carolina Education Lottery 200 is set to be shown live on Fox Sports 1 from Charlotte Motor Speedway starting at 7:30 p.m. ET. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss it.
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