Kaulig Racing's first year in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with Ram Trucks has resulted in several veteran drivers returning to NASCAR for the first time in a long time.
Drivers such as Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman, and Elliott Sadler have all gotten the opportunity to drive the team's No. 25 truck as a part of their "Free Agent Program" at some point this year, after having spent a number of years without competing in any NASCAR series.
The latest driver to add his name to that list is Regan Smith, who became the 14th different driver to make at least one start in the No. 25 entry this year by competing in the season's 19th race this past weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The 2011 Southern 500 winner had not previously competed in a Truck Series race since the 2017 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, when he competed for RBR Enterprises, and he hadn't competed in any NASCAR national series race since he ran the 2019 road course race at Road America for JR Motorsports. He currently serves as a pit reporter for NASCAR on Fox.
Regan Smith replacement confirmed at Kansas
Smith placed 23rd at Bristol in his NASCAR return, and while he plans to return to the Truck Series later this year, it won't happen this weekend.
This weekend at Kansas Speedway, it's Conor Daly who is set to make his second start of the year in the No. 25 Ram. He placed 26th at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park back in late July.
Not including Saturday afternoon's Kansas race, there are five races remaining on the schedule in 2026, and the team have yet to confirm the No. 25 truck's driver for three of them. Smith is set to get another shot in the entry at Charlotte Motor Speedway two weekends from now, and Carson Ferguson is set to make his third start of the year at Martinsville Speedway in late October.
The truck still needs a driver for the October races at Phoenix Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway, plus the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November.
The truck's top finish of the year belongs to full-time Cup Series driver A.J. Allmendinger, who placed sixth at Watkins Glen International in May. Its top oval finishes belong to full-time Cup driver Ty Dillon, who placed 11th at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway) in February, and Parker Kligerman, who matched that effort at Texas Motor Speedway in May.
As for this weekend, tune in to Fox Sports 1 at 1:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, September 26 for the live broadcast of the RaceToStopSuicide.com 200 from Kansas Speedway. Begin a free trial of FuboTV today and catch all of the action from the second race of the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule!
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