For just the third time in the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season, Spire Motorsports added a third entry this past weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Shane van Gisbergen drove the No. 71 Chevrolet in this race.
It was a tumultuous weekend for the team, to say the least, following the unexpected passing of two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch.
Busch had been lined up to drive the team's full-time No. 7 Chevrolet at Charlotte. Before his passing was announced, but after it was confirmed that he had been hospitalized, the team tabbed Corey Day to take over, and that plan did not change.
The change was made just days after Spire Motorsports voluntarily adjusted their own lineup, when they decided to have Carson Hocevar, one of their three full-time Cup drivers, focus only on Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at the track. Connor Zilisch drove the No. 77 Chevrolet instead, and he ended up running all three NASCAR national series races over the weekend because of it.
This weekend at Nashville Superspeedway, however, Spire Motorsports are back to their two full-time entries.
Shane van Gisbergen entry out at Nashville
The team's future plans for the No. 71 Chevrolet are not confirmed. Aside from SVG, the only other drivers to drive the No. 71 truck this year are also full-time Cup drivers. Daniel Suarez drove it to a 18th place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway in April, and Zilisch drove it to a runner-up finish at Watkins Glen International earlier this month.
Busch had initially been lined up to drive the No. 7 Chevrolet again this week. Rajah Caruth is instead set to drive that truck at the track where he won as a full-time driver for Spire Motorsports a year ago. He now runs full-time in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series for JR Motorsports and Jordan Anderson Racing.
Speaking of the O'Reilly Series, reigning champion Jesse Love is set to drive the No. 77 Chevrolet this weekend. He hasn't run a Truck Series race since 2023.
As for SVG, his 15th place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway is a career-high oval finish in the Truck Series. His only other oval start came in his series debut at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park back in 2023, when he placed 19th for Niece Motorsports.
The P15 result preceded a career-best performance in the Coca-Cola 600 as far as average running position is concerned as well; his 7.8 mark was his best ever on an oval. While his 11th place finish in that race was not his best ever result on an oval, it marked a significant step in the right direction, as he continues to dispel the narrative that he cannot run well on tracks with exclusively left turns.
Fox Sports 1's live coverage of the Allegiance 200 from Nashville Superspeedway is set to begin at 8:00 p.m. ET on Friday, May 29. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and catch all of the action!
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