Pickups, not cars
The only NASCAR national series racing production-pickup-based stock cars: 206.5 in long on a 112 in wheelbase, 3,400 lb with driver and fuel. The bodies are Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado and Toyota Tundra, joined by Ram in 2026.
NASCAR's third national division
NASCAR Truck
Pickup-based stock cars, a four-speed manual and, in most of the field, a carburettor. NASCAR's cheapest way in is also its most stubbornly old-school — and the place a great many Cup careers started.
1995First season, as the SuperTruck Series
25Races in the 2026 season
10Drivers in the seven-race Chase
DriversThe ChaseTrucksRam's returnEngineering
What is the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series?
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is NASCAR's third national division and the only one that races pickup-truck-based stock cars. The 2026 season is 25 races long — 18 in the regular season, then seven in the Chase, contested by ten drivers. The trucks are steel-tube-frame stock cars with a naturally aspirated 5.86-litre pushrod V8, a four-speed manual gearbox and Goodyear control tyres, at a minimum 3,400 lb with driver and fuel. The series started in 1995 as the NASCAR SuperTruck Series presented by Craftsman and has carried the Craftsman name again since 2023.
- Founded
- 1995, by NASCAR
- 2026 season
- 25 races — 18 regular season, 7 in the Chase
- Reigning champion
- Corey Heim (2025), Tricon Garage
- Manufacturers
- Chevrolet, Ford, Ram, Toyota
01 — How it began
An off-road idea NASCAR did not ask for.
The Truck Series was not a NASCAR project. In 1991 four SCORE off-road racers — Dick Landfield, Jimmy Smith, Jim Venable and Frank “Scoop” Vessels — worried about the future of desert racing and decided a pavement truck series was the answer. They took it to NASCAR’s Western Operations vice-president Ken Clapp, who took it to Bill France Jr. The plan fell apart, and Clapp told them to go and build a truck first.
Bakersfield fabricator Gary Collins built the prototype. It appeared during Speedweeks for the 1994 Daytona 500, fans liked it, and a meeting in a Burbank hotel on 11 April 1994 created the SuperTruck Series.
Support came immediately from the Cup paddock: Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick and Jack Roush all ran truck teams, and Dale Earnhardt and Ernie Irvan fielded entries for others. Childress won the first championship with Mike Skinner. Of the teams that started that 1995 season, only FDNY Racing is still in the series.
The early races were short — most no longer than 125 miles — and several tracks had no pit road safe enough to use, so instead of pit stops the series ran a five-minute halftime break. Television liked it. It survived until 1998.
- Chassis
- Steel tube frame with roll cage
- Engine
- 5.86 L (358 cu in) pushrod V8, naturally aspirated
- Gearbox
- Four-speed manual
- Weight
- 3,400 lb (1,542 kg) minimum with driver and fuel
- Power
- 650–700 hp unrestricted, about 450 hp restricted
- Tyres
- Goodyear Eagle control tyres
- Fuel
- Sunoco 98 AKI unleaded, 15% ethanol
- Fuel capacity
- 18 US gallons (68 litres)
- Field
- 36 trucks in races with qualifying
02 — The essentials
What makes the Truck Series different.
Three national series, one of them races pickups. The differences go a long way past the bodywork.
A carburettor or a crate
Built engines still run a 390 cfm four-barrel carburettor. The alternative is a sealed crate engine with fuel injection. The Cup Series moved to injection in 2012 and never looked back.
The shortest season of the three
Twenty-five races against Cup's thirty-six, one race per weekend, and mostly on ovals — plus two street courses new to the series in 2026, at St. Petersburg and Coronado in San Diego.
One championship per driver
Since 2011 a driver may contest the title in only one national series. Cup drivers with three or more years' experience may enter eight regular-season races in 2026, up from five, and are barred from the Chase.
03 — Race weekend format
A race weekend, decoded.
One truck at a time
Single-truck qualifying: two laps at tracks of 1.25 miles or shorter with the faster one counting, a single timed lap at anything longer. Road courses use two-part knockout qualifying, top twelve from Q1 into Q2.
Three stages
Stage 1 is roughly the first quarter of the distance, stage 2 the second quarter, and the final stage the last half. The top ten at the end of each of the first two stages score, 10 points down to 1.
Seven races, ten drivers
From 2026 there are no cutoffs and no eliminations. The ten qualifiers reset to staggered points and race the last seven rounds straight through to Homestead.
Eldora ran a dirt race for the Truck Series from 2013 to 2019, with qualifying setting the grids for heat races. It is not on the 2026 schedule.
04 — How points are scored
The 2026 points scale.
| Pos | Points | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 55 | 6th | 31 |
| 2nd | 35 | 7th | 30 |
| 3rd | 34 | 8th | 29 |
| 4th | 33 | 9th | 28 |
| 5th | 32 | 10th | 27 |
A perfect race is 76 points
Fifty-five for the win, ten for each of the two stage wins and one for the fastest lap. Playoff points were abolished for 2026 and with them the win-and-you’re-in rule, so a race win no longer guarantees a place in the Chase.
Thirty-six positions score and last place takes one point. The scale is identical to the one the Cup Series and the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series use for 2026.
05 — The Chase
The Chase opens at Bristol on 17 September and ends at Homestead–Miami on 6 November. The 2026 Chase.
| Round | Race | Track | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | UNOH 250 | Bristol Motor Speedway | 17 September |
| 20 | RaceToStopSuicide.com 200 | Kansas Speedway | 26 September |
| 21 | Ecosave 200 | Charlotte Motor Speedway | 9 October |
| 22 | Craftsman 150 | Phoenix Raceway | 16 October |
| 23 | Love's RV Stop 225 | Talladega Superspeedway | 23 October |
| 24 | Slim Jim 200 | Martinsville Speedway | 30 October |
| 25 | Baptist Health 200 | Homestead–Miami Speedway | 6 November |
The 18-race regular season ran from the Fresh From Florida 250 at Daytona on 13 February to the Team EJP 175 at New Hampshire on 22 August. Every Chase round is an oval — both street courses and both road courses fall in the regular season, and Charlotte moves off the roval back to the oval for the Chase.
06 — From 1994 to today
Series timeline.
1994
The idea becomes a truck
A prototype built in Bakersfield appears at Daytona Speedweeks. A meeting in a Burbank hotel on 11 April 1994 creates the SuperTruck Series.
1995
Twenty races and a halftime break
Mike Skinner takes the first title for Richard Childress with eight wins. With no safe pit road at several tracks, races use a five-minute halftime break instead of pit stops.
1999
Real pit stops
Competition cautions replaced the halftime break in 1998; full pit stops arrived in 1999, at first with a two-tyre limit.
2009
Craftsman leaves
Sears ends its sponsorship after 2008 and Camping World signs a seven-year deal. Four more names follow in fourteen years.
2011
One title per driver
NASCAR bars drivers from contesting championships in more than one national series — which is why the all-time win leader never won this championship.
2016
A playoff of its own
Eight drivers over seven races, expanded to ten drivers in 2020.
2023
Craftsman comes back
Stanley Black & Decker, which bought the brand from Sears in 2017, restores the original name.
2026
The Chase, and Ram
The elimination playoff gives way to the 2004–13 Chase format, Ram returns after fourteen years away, and the series races on a street course for the first time.
07 — The names
Six names, one championship.
NASCAR SuperTruck Series
Presented by Craftsman, and the only season under the SuperTruck name.
Craftsman Truck Series
Sears' tool brand, thirteen seasons.
Camping World Truck Series
A seven-year deal from 2009, extended in 2014.
Gander Outdoors Truck Series
Camping World moved the sponsorship to its own retail brand.
Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series
A one-season rename, then back to the parent brand.
Camping World Truck Series
The last two seasons before Craftsman returned.
Craftsman Truck Series
Stanley Black & Decker, which had acquired Craftsman in 2017.
08 — Champions and record holders
Racers who defined it.
Reigning Champion
Corey Heim
Won the 2025 championship with 12 wins from 25 starts and 10 poles. He is not defending it: in 2026 he races part-time in Trucks for Tricon Garage while driving part-time in the Cup Series for 23XI Racing — and has still won three of the first eighteen races.
ALL-TIME WINS
4 TITLES
2025 CHAMPION
No. 1 SEED
3 TITLES
3 TITLES
2024 CHAMPION
2 TITLES
Kyle Busch
Sixty-nine Truck Series wins across two decades, thirteen of them at Dover, without ever contesting the championship. The last came in May 2026.
69 wins
Ron Hornaday Jr.
The only four-time champion — 1996, 1998, 2007 and 2009 — with 51 wins. NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Champion 1996, 1998, 2007, 2009
Corey Heim
Twelve wins from twenty-five starts in 2025. Fifth on the all-time list at 26 wins, and a Cup development driver for 23XI from 2026.
26 wins
Layne Riggs
Six wins in the first eighteen races of 2026 for Front Row Motorsports, and the top seed going into the Chase. Son of former Cup driver Scott Riggs.
11 career wins
Matt Crafton
Champion in 2013, 2014 and 2019, and a full-time entrant every season from 2001 until he stepped back after 2025.
15 wins
Jack Sprague
Champion in 1997, 1999 and 2001. His 28 wins are level with Mike Skinner for third in series history.
28 wins
Ty Majeski
Took the 2024 title, then opened 2026 by putting his new No. 88 on the Daytona pole.
Champion 2024
Ben Rhodes
Champion in 2021 and 2023 with ThorSport Racing, the second of them by a single point.
Champion 2021, 2023
09 — Defining events
Turning points.
The one-championship rule
From 2011 a driver could chase only one national title. It stopped Cup regulars farming lower-series championships — and it is why Kyle Busch holds the all-time Truck Series win record with 69 without ever winning the championship.
The money
The series has always been the cheapest way into NASCAR and the hardest place to break even. Richard Childress Racing closed its truck team after 2013 despite 31 wins. Brad Keselowski said his team lost $1 million in 2014, a season it won a race, and shut it down after 2017. Sealed engines and five-man pit crews were introduced to hold costs down.
Kyle Busch
Busch's 69th and final Truck Series win came at Dover on 15 May 2026, six days before he died on 21 May, aged 41. It was also his last NASCAR victory.
10 — The Chase field
The ten racing for the 2026 title.
The 2026 story
Kaulig Racing
Runs Ram's return to NASCAR after fourteen years away, including a rotating entry launched as a Ram "free agent" programme that has put Tony Stewart, Jamie McMurray, Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman and Elliott Sadler back in a truck. No Ram wins yet — the marque is fourth of four in the manufacturers' standings, behind Ford on 756, Toyota on 728 and Chevrolet on 693.
#1
2100
Layne RiggsSix wins, and the only driver with the +100 seeding bonus
#2
2075
Kaden HoneycuttTwo wins — Watkins Glen and Richmond
#3
2065
Chandler SmithTwo wins — the Daytona opener and North Wilkesboro
#4
2060
Christian EckesFourth on points without a win
#5
2055
Gio RuggieroFifth on points without a win
#6
2050
Ty MajeskiThe 2024 champion; took the Daytona pole, still looking for a 2026 win
#7
2045
Grant EnfingerOne win, at Lime Rock — the 13th of his career
#8
2040
Daniel HemricEighth on points; set the fastest lap in the Daytona opener
#9
2035
Ben RhodesTwo-time champion, winless in 2026
#10
2030
Tyler AnkrumLast seed, 70 points behind Riggs
11 — Frequently asked
Series FAQ.
What is the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series?
NASCAR's third national division, and the only one that races pickup-truck-based stock cars. The 2026 season is 25 races: 18 in the regular season and seven in the Chase.
Why is it called the Craftsman Truck Series?
Sears sponsored the series through its Craftsman tool brand from 1995 to 2008. Stanley Black & Decker bought Craftsman in 2017 and put the name back on the series from 2023.
What was the series called before?
The Camping World Truck Series from 2009 to 2018 and again in 2021–2022, and the Gander Outdoors and then Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series in 2019 and 2020. The 1995 season was the NASCAR SuperTruck Series presented by Craftsman.
How is it different from the Cup and O'Reilly Auto Parts series?
The vehicles are pickups, the season is 25 races instead of 36, there is one race per weekend, and built engines still run a carburettor rather than fuel injection.
How does the Chase work in the Truck Series?
Ten drivers qualify on regular-season points after 18 races and reset to staggered totals — 2,100 for the leader down to 2,030 for the tenth seed — then race the last seven rounds. From 2026 there are no elimination cutoffs and no win-and-you're-in.
How many points does a race win pay?
Fifty-five, with 35 for second and one fewer for each place after that down to 36th. A perfect race is 76 points: the win, both stage wins and the fastest lap.
Who is the reigning champion?
Corey Heim, who won twelve of the twenty-five races in 2025 for Tricon Garage.
Is Corey Heim defending his title in 2026?
No. He races part-time in Trucks while driving part-time in the Cup Series for 23XI Racing, so despite three wins he is outside the Chase ten.
Who has won the most Truck Series races?
Kyle Busch, with 69. He never won the championship: since 2011 a driver may contest only one national title.
Who has won the most championships?
Ron Hornaday Jr., with four — 1996, 1998, 2007 and 2009. Jack Sprague and Matt Crafton have three each.
Can Cup Series drivers race in the Truck Series?
Yes, within limits. Cup drivers with three or more years' experience may enter eight regular-season races in 2026, up from five, and are barred from Chase races.
Which manufacturers compete in 2026?
Chevrolet, Ford, Toyota and Ram, which returned in 2026 after last competing in 2012. Ford leads the manufacturers' standings with eight of the first eighteen wins.
Does the series race on road courses?
Yes — Watkins Glen and Lime Rock Park in 2026, plus two street courses new to the series, at St. Petersburg and Coronado in San Diego. Every Chase round is an oval.
What engine and gearbox do the trucks use?
A naturally aspirated 5.86-litre (358 cu in) pushrod V8 making 650–700 hp unrestricted, driving a four-speed manual gearbox. Minimum weight is 3,400 lb with driver and fuel.
Sources
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series · Wikipedia
- 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series · Wikipedia
- List of NASCAR Truck Series champions · Wikipedia
- NASCAR Chase · Wikipedia
- List of NASCAR points scoring systems · Wikipedia
- Craftsman · Stanley Black & Decker
- Photo: Tyman9348, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · Wikimedia Commons
- Photo: Monday Morning Racer, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · Wikimedia Commons
Independent fan guide: NASCAR changes formats, sponsors and schedules often. Verify current sporting information with NASCAR directly. Championship, team and driver names belong to their respective rights holders.
12 — The collection
Truck Series collection.
No products are assigned to NASCAR Truck yet. Add products to this series in the product editor.