In addition to their full-time NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series rides with Joe Gibbs Racing, both Brent Crews and William Sawalich have competed in select Craftsman Truck Series races for Tricon Garage throughout the 2026 season.
While full-time Cup Series drivers are not allowed to run postseason O'Reilly Series or Truck Series races, full-time drivers in either of those two series are allowed to run postseason races in any series, and both Crews and Sawalich have taken advantage with multiple starts in playoff Truck races.
Both drivers competed in this past weekend's race at Phoenix Raceway, with Crews finishing 10th and Sawalich matching his career-best effort from 2023 with a sixth place finish. But neither one will be competing this Friday at Talladega, with both set to focus on Saturday's O'Reilly Series race.
Replacements confirmed for Joe Gibbs Racing duo at Talladega
Set to replace Crews behind the wheel of the No. 1 Toyota is reigning series champion Corey Heim, who has split time in the Cup Series and Truck Series this year as he prepares to move to Cup full-time with 23XI Racing next year. His start in Friday's race is set to mark his eighth Truck Series start of the year, and he's already won three times.
Set to replace Sawalich behind the wheel of the No. 5 Toyota is Thomas Annunziata, whose only two career Truck Series starts thus far have come at the Lime Rock Park road course. He has, however, competed in multiple O'Reilly Auto Parts Series oval races, although none of those races were on superspeedways.
Beyond this weekend, Crews and Sawalich both plan to compete exclusively in the O'Reilly Series to wrap up the 2026 season at Martinsville Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway. Gavin Boschele is set to drive the No. 1 Toyota at Martinsville and Heim is set to wrap up the year in it at Homestead, while drivers for the No. 5 Toyota remain TBD for both races.
Live Love's RV Stop 225 coverage from Talladega Superspeedway is set to be provided by Fox Sports 1 beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET this Friday afternoon. Begin a free trial of FuboTV today and catch all of the action from the antepenultimate race of the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series postseason!
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