Kyle Busch, driver of the #7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Fr8 Racing 208 at Echo Park Speedway on February 21, 2026 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
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NASCAR News: Kyle Busch makes it three straight Truck wins at EchoPark Speedway

Posted by AR1 staff

Kyle Busch added another chapter to his dominance in the Fr8 Racing 208 on Saturday afternoon at EchoPark Speedway.

Kyle Busch, driver of the #7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, celebrates with daughter, Lennix Busch son, Brexton Busch and wife, Samantha Busch in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Fr8 Racing 208 at Echo Park Speedway on February 21, 2026 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

A cloudy day that began with heavy rain in the morning ended with a race against the clock as Busch drove the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet to victory in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series for the third consecutive year at EchoPark Speedway.

It was Busch’s 68th career Truck Series victory in 181 starts, and his first win of the 2026 Truck Series season.

Persistent morning showers soaked the speedway and forced a delay to the start. With the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race to be held at 5 p.m., NASCAR established a hard stop time of 4:20 p.m. ET before the race began, adding urgency to make it to the finish.

Corey Heim claimed Stage 1, leading Ben Rhodes and Busch to the green-and-white checkered flag. The defending series champion showed good speed in his No. 1 Tricon Garage Toyota, but the complexion of the race would soon change.

With only two laps left in the second stage, Rhodes looked like he would cruise to the stage victory until his No. 99 ThorSport Ford ran out of fuel going into Turn 2. As Rhodes slowed from the lead and was forced to pit road, a charging pack of trucks swept past. Stewart Friesen edged Ricky Stenhouse Jr. at the line to win the stage, with Carson Hocevar also in contention during the frantic run to the stage finish.

The first significant incident occurred on Lap 100 when Cole Butcher’s No. 13 truck made contact with the outside wall. Dawson Sutton, attempting to avoid the accident, spun up the racetrack and hit the wall head-on along the frontstretch, bringing out a caution and tightening the field once again with the clock continuing to click down towards 4:20 p.m.

As the laps wound down and the cutoff time approached, Busch sliced his way back to the front of the pack with assistance from his Spire Motorsports teammate. Hocevar, driving the No. 77 Chevrolet, provided critical support in the closing laps, allowing Busch to maintain control of the lead en-route to a one-two finish for the organization.

“Huge help from behind,” Kyle Busch said following the victory. “Carson Hocevar was a great teammate today—early on in the race I was like, ‘wait a second, same ol’ Carson,’ but when it got towards the end we started working together and we started being able to maneuver our way through.”

Carson Hocevar, driver of the #77 Delaware Life Chevrolet, congratulates Kyle Busch, driver of the #7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Fr8 Racing 208 at Echo Park Speedway on February 21, 2026 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

Hocevar joined Busch on the front straightaway to celebrate the team victory.

“I thought it would be a good picture, good for the marketing team,” Hocevar said after the race. “I kept sputtering and the bottom kept surging, and I had no shot to win the race, so if I wasn’t going to have a shot, I was going to make sure the company had a shot—that was a business decision.

“Especially a year from here when he was hating my guts in the Cup race, I don’t think I would be excited to watch a Kyle Busch Truck win,” Hocevar continued. “But we’re teammates here. It worked out for us.”

Behind Busch and Hocevar, Gio Ruggiero delivered one of the drives of the afternoon. After starting at the rear of the field because of unapproved adjustments, Ruggiero advanced through the pack to finish third in his No. 17 Tricon Garage Toyota.

Rhodes recovered from his Stage 2 setback to finish fourth on his 29th birthday, salvaging a strong result after the fuel issue. Heim rounded out the top five.

With the result, Chandler Smith continues to lead the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series point standings by 28 points over Ruggiero.

Kyle Busch, driver of the #7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Fr8 Racing 208 at Echo Park Speedway on February 21, 2026 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Race Results

Fin Str No. Driver Team Laps Led Laps Status
1 3 7 Kyle Busch(i) HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 37 125 Running
2 18 77 Carson Hocevar(i) Delaware Life Chevrolet 0 125 Running
3 10 17 Giovanni Ruggiero First Auto Group Toyota 0 125 Running
4 2 99 Ben Rhodes Campers Inn RV Ford 70 125 Running
5 20 1 Corey Heim Robinhood Toyota 6 125 Running
6 22 38 Chandler Smith QuickTie Ford 0 125 Running
7 1 98 Jake Garcia Quanta Services/Curb Records Ford 2 125 Running
8 12 62 John Hunter Nemechek(i) Halmar International Toyota 0 125 Running
9 5 45 Ricky Stenhouse Jr(i) J.F. Electric/Utilitra Chevrolet 0 125 Running
10 25 16 Justin Haley RAM RAM 0 125 Running
11 26 25 Ty Dillon(i) RAM RAM 0 125 Running
12 8 5 Adam Andretti TopLiner Toyota 0 125 Running
13 30 10 Daniel Dye Mopar RAM 0 125 Running
14 4 18 Tyler Ankrum LiUNA! Chevrolet 0 125 Running
15 9 44 Andres Perez De Lara Acceptance Insurance Chevrolet 0 125 Running
16 28 12 Brenden Queen # Cummins RAM 0 125 Running
17 27 42 Tyler Reif Precision Vehicle Logistics Chevrolet 0 125 Running
18 21 81 Kris Wright F.N.B. Corporation Chevrolet 0 125 Running
19 29 14 Mini Tyrrell # RAM RAM 0 124 Running
20 16 52 Stewart Friesen Halmar International Toyota 10 124 Running
21 11 11 Kaden Honeycutt Safelite Toyota 0 123 Running
22 14 9 Grant Enfinger Grant County Mulch Chevrolet 0 123 Running
23 33 2 Clayton Green Guardian Lifts Ford 0 123 Running
24 31 22 Josh Reaume Aerial Titans Ford 0 123 Running
25 32 33 Frankie Muniz Aerial Titans Ford 0 123 Running
26 24 76 Spencer Boyd Interstate Classic Cars Chevrolet 0 120 Running
27 19 34 Layne Riggs BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing Ford 0 119 Running
28 7 88 Ty Majeski Slim Jim/Menards Ford 0 119 Running
29 34 69 Tyler Tomassi Tomassi Law Ford 0 119 Running
30 17 15 Tanner Gray Factory Canopies Toyota 0 116 Running
31 6 13 Cole Butcher # Atlantic Tilt Load Ford 0 100 Accident
32 23 26 Dawson Sutton WAR Shocks/Rackley Roofing Chevrolet 0 100 Accident
33 36 93 Caleb Costner AUTOBANK RV Sales & Service Chevrolet 0 99 Handling
34 13 19 Daniel Hemric NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet 0 88 Suspension
35 35 90 Justin Carroll Carroll’s Automotive Toyota 0 65 Rear Gear
36 15 91 Christian Eckes NAPA Nightvision Chevrolet 0 2 Transmission

Average Speed of Race Winner:  131.027 mph.

Time of Race:  1 Hrs, 28 Mins, 9 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.114 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  3 for 18 laps.

Lead Changes:  14 among 5 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   B. Rhodes 1-35;K. Busch(i) 36;B. Rhodes 37;C. Heim 38;K. Busch(i) 39;C. Heim 40-44;B. Rhodes 45-78;S. Friesen 79-86;J. Garcia 87;S. Friesen 88;J. Garcia 89;K. Busch(i) 90-117;S. Friesen 118;K. Busch(i) 119-125.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Ben Rhodes 3 times for 70 laps; Kyle Busch(i) 4 times for 37 laps; Stewart Friesen 3 times for 10 laps; Corey Heim 2 times for 6 laps; Jake Garcia 2 times for 2 laps.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 1,99,7,77,88,52,44,11,19,17

Stage #2 Top Ten: 52,45,77,38,7,17,98,44,1,34