Tristan McKee turned 16 years old in early August and found himself in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race less than two weeks later, and the Spire Motorsports development driver, whom many believe has what it takes to ascend to the Cup Series one day, has impressed ever since.
He finished eighth in his Truck Series debut at Richmond Raceway and then bettered that effort with finishes of sixth at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and fifth at Bristol Motor Speedway. As a 16-year-old, he's still ineligible to run races at 1.5-mile ovals, so he did not return until this past weekend's race at Phoenix Raceway, which he finished 14th.
With Talladega Superspeedway being a four-turn, 2.66-mile (4.281-kilometer) superspeedway, he is also ineligible to compete this weekend.
Tristan McKee replacement confirmed for Talladega
Instead, it's Austin Green who is set to make his Truck Series debut behind the wheel of the No. 77 Chevrolet at Talladega on Friday afternoon. Green began the 2026 season as a full-time driver for Peterson Motorsports in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, after having run part-time in the series in 2024 and 2025.
But Green and the team recently parted ways, after he had run just three of the 13 most recent races behind the wheel of the No. 87 Chevrolet.
Green competed in the O'Reilly Series race at Talladega back in April and finished 10th, one of three top 10 finishes he has recorded this season. His career-best finish in the O'Reilly Series is second at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval in 2025.
As for McKee, he is already this year's ARCA Menards Series East champion, having won four times in eight starts in his first full season in the series. He earned three total ARCA Menards Series victories in a part-time schedule, including two that counted toward his East championship tally. He is also third in the ASA STARS National Tour championship with two races remaining on the 11-race schedule.
He is set to return for next weekend's Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway, with Martinsville being a four-turn, 0.526-mile (0.847-kilometer) oval, but will be ineligible to compete at Homestead-Miami Speedway to conclude the year.
While the goal is eventually for him to run full-time in the Truck Series, his 2027 schedule (and presumably 2028 schedule) with the team is also set to be limited due to his age, opening the door for full-time Cup driver Carson Hocevar to return to the series for select starts. Hocevar is notably set to be capped at eight Truck Series starts next year, since it is set to mark his fourth full Cup Series season.
Kasey Kahne is set to drive the team's No. 7 Chevrolet full-time in 2027. Sammy Smith, who competes full-time for JR Motorsports in the O'Reilly Series, is set to run it this weekend for the second time this year.
Friday's Love's RV Stop 225 is set to be shown live on Fox Sports 1 from Talladega Superspeedway beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET. Begin a free trial of FuboTV today and catch all of the action from the Lincoln, Alabama oval!
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