2026 FaithFest 250
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 15 of 25 in the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | July 18, 2026 | ||
| Location | North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 0.625 miles (1.006 km) | ||
| Distance | 250 laps, 156.25 mi (251.46 km) | ||
| Average speed | 91.627 miles per hour (147.459 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Front Row Motorsports | ||
| Time | 18.502 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Chandler Smith | Front Row Motorsports | |
| Laps | 105 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver | Chandler Smith | Front Row Motorsports | |
| Time | 19.148 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 38 | Chandler Smith | Front Row Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FS1 | ||
| Announcers | Brent Stover, Michael Waltrip, and Todd Bodine | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | NRN | ||
| Booth announcers | Brad Gillie, Nick Yeoman, and Ross Chastain | ||
| Turn announcers | Pat Patterson (Turns 3–4) | ||
The 2026 FaithFest 250 presented by Mercer Transportation was a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race held on Saturday, July 18, 2026, at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Contested over 250 laps on the 0.625-mile-long (1.006 km) asphalt short track, it was the 15th race of the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season, and the fourth running of the event.
Chandler Smith, driving for Front Row Motorsports, pulled off a dominating performance in the final stage, leading the final 105 laps to earn his ninth career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win, his second of the season, and his second consecutive win at North Wilkesboro.[9] Layne Riggs won the first stage, leading 25 laps, while Ty Majeski won the second stage, leading 23 laps. At race's end, Riggs finished second to give FRM a 1-2 finish, and Shane van Gisbergen finished third. Christian Eckes and Landen Lewis rounded out the top five, while Gio Ruggiero, Chase Elliott, Stewart Friesen, Corey Heim, and Majeski rounded out the top ten.
Report
[edit]Background
[edit]
North Wilkesboro Speedway is a 0.625 miles (1.006 km) paved oval short track in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. The track has hosted a variety of racing events since its inaugural season of racing in 1947; primarily races sanctioned by NASCAR. It has been owned by Speedway Motorsports, LLC (SMI) since 2007 with Ronald Queen serving as director of operations. North Wilkesboro Speedway is served by U.S. Route 421.
The track has currently a capacity of 25,000 as of 2023, down from its peak of 60,000 in 1996. NWS retains a vintage aesthetic from the 1990s as part of an effort to preserve the historical value of the track. As a result, the facility retains some of its original buildings built before the track's first closure in 1996, including buildings featuring Winston Cigarettes sponsorship and suites built in the 1980s. Developers in recent years have also added other amenities as part of a revival effort that started in 2022.
On April 23, 2026, it was announced that FaithFest, a Christian music festival in the North Wilkesboro area, along with North Carolina trucking company Mercer Transportation, would assume naming rights for the 2026 race.[10]
Entry list
[edit]- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
[edit]The first and only practice session was held on Friday, July 17, at 2:00 PM EST, and lasted for 50 minutes.[11]
Carson Hocevar, driving for Spire Motorsports, set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 18.639 seconds, and a speed of 120.715 miles per hour (194.272 km/h).
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 77 | Carson Hocevar (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 18.639 | 120.715 |
| 2 | 62 | Christopher Bell (i) | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota | 18.643 | 120.689 |
| 3 | 11 | Kaden Honeycutt | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 18.716 | 120.218 |
| Full practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
[edit]Qualifying was held on Friday, July 17, at 3:05 PM EST.[11] Since North Wilkesboro Speedway is a short track, the qualifying procedure used was a single-car, two-lap system with one round. Drivers were on track by themselves and had two laps to post a qualifying time, and whoever set the fastest time won the pole.[12]
Layne Riggs, driving for Front Row Motorsports, qualified on pole position with a lap of 18.502 seconds, and a speed of 121.608 miles per hour (195.709 km/h).[13]
Two drivers failed to qualify: Landon Huffman and Timmy Hill.
Qualifying results
[edit]Race
[edit]Race results
[edit]Stage Results
[edit]Stage One Laps: 70
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 34 | Layne Riggs | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 77 | Carson Hocevar (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 3 | 38 | Chandler Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 62 | Christopher Bell (i) | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 5 | 7 | Chase Elliott (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 6 | 5 | Corey Heim | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 11 | Kaden Honeycutt | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 91 | Christian Eckes | McAnally–Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 17 | Gio Ruggiero | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 9 | Grant Enfinger | CR7 Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage Two Laps: 70
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 88 | Ty Majeski | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 38 | Chandler Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 91 | Christian Eckes | McAnally–Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 19 | Daniel Hemric | McAnally–Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 44 | Andrés Pérez de Lara | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 17 | Gio Ruggiero | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 5 | Corey Heim | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 7 | Chase Elliott (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
Final Stage Results
[edit]Stage Three Laps: 110
| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | 38 | Chandler Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 250 | 105 | Running | 73 |
| 2 | 1 | 34 | Layne Riggs | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 250 | 25 | Running | 45 |
| 3 | 19 | 71 | Shane van Gisbergen (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 250 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 4 | 18 | 91 | Christian Eckes | McAnally–Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | 0 | Running | 43 |
| 5 | 16 | 45 | Landen Lewis | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 250 | 0 | Running | 32 |
| 6 | 5 | 17 | Gio Ruggiero | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 250 | 0 | Running | 36 |
| 7 | 6 | 7 | Chase Elliott (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 250 | 1 | Running | 0 |
| 8 | 10 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota | 250 | 0 | Running | 35 |
| 9 | 4 | 5 | Corey Heim | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 250 | 0 | Running | 35 |
| 10 | 27 | 88 | Ty Majeski | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 250 | 23 | Running | 37 |
| 11 | 7 | 11 | Kaden Honeycutt | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 249 | 0 | Running | 30 |
| 12 | 30 | 42 | Tyler Reif | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 249 | 0 | Running | 25 |
| 13 | 15 | 98 | Jake Garcia | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 249 | 22 | Running | 24 |
| 14 | 22 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 249 | 0 | Running | 31 |
| 15 | 3 | 62 | Christopher Bell (i) | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota | 249 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 16 | 17 | 26 | Dawson Sutton | Rackley W.A.R. | Chevrolet | 249 | 0 | Running | 21 |
| 17 | 12 | 1 | Nick Leitz | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 249 | 0 | Running | 20 |
| 18 | 14 | 15 | Tanner Gray | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 249 | 0 | Running | 19 |
| 19 | 24 | 18 | Tyler Ankrum | McAnally–Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 249 | 0 | Running | 18 |
| 20 | 21 | 19 | Daniel Hemric | McAnally–Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 249 | 0 | Running | 22 |
| 21 | 23 | 12 | Brenden Queen (R) | Kaulig Racing | Ram | 249 | 0 | Running | 16 |
| 22 | 11 | 13 | Cole Butcher (R) | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 249 | 0 | Running | 15 |
| 23 | 20 | 44 | Andrés Pérez de Lara | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 248 | 0 | Running | 18 |
| 24 | 25 | 25 | Ryan Newman | Kaulig Racing | Ram | 248 | 0 | Running | 13 |
| 25 | 8 | 9 | Grant Enfinger | CR7 Motorsports | Chevrolet | 248 | 0 | Running | 13 |
| 26 | 13 | 16 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Ram | 248 | 0 | Running | 11 |
| 27 | 2 | 77 | Carson Hocevar (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 248 | 74 | Running | 0 |
| 28 | 28 | 14 | Mini Tyrrell (R) | Kaulig Racing | Ram | 248 | 0 | Running | 9 |
| 29 | 34 | 10 | Corey LaJoie | Kaulig Racing | Ram | 247 | 0 | Running | 8 |
| 30 | 26 | 81 | Kris Wright | McAnally–Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 247 | 0 | Running | 7 |
| 31 | 35 | 22 | Clayton Green | Team Reaume | Ford | 246 | 0 | Running | 6 |
| 32 | 36 | 33 | Frankie Muniz | Team Reaume | Ford | 246 | 0 | Running | 5 |
| 33 | 29 | 2 | Luke Baldwin | Team Reaume | Ford | 245 | 0 | Running | 4 |
| 34 | 33 | 76 | Nathan Nicholson | Freedom Racing Enterprises | Chevrolet | 242 | 0 | Accident | 3 |
| 35 | 31 | 27 | Kasey Kleyn | Rackley W.A.R. | Chevrolet | 203 | 0 | Electrical | 2 |
| 36 | 32 | 4 | Donovan Strauss | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 134 | 0 | Overheating | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||||
Race statistics
[edit]- Lead changes: 7 among 6 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 4 for 34 laps
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 1 hour, 42 minutes and 19 seconds
- Average speed: 91.627 miles per hour (147.459 km/h)
Standings after the race
[edit]
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Notes
[edit]- ↑ previously scheduled to be Kyle Busch
References
[edit]- ↑ "2026 schedule". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved July 17, 2026.
- ↑ "NASCAR releases 2026 schedule, adding Chicagoland and shifting All-Star to Dover". NASCAR. August 20, 2025. Retrieved July 11, 2026.
- ↑ "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. July 17, 2026. Retrieved July 17, 2026.
- ↑ "Practice Results" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. July 17, 2026. Retrieved July 17, 2026.
- ↑ "Qualifying Results" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. July 17, 2026. Retrieved July 17, 2026.
- ↑ "Starting Lineup" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. July 17, 2026. Retrieved July 17, 2026.
- ↑ "Race Results" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. July 18, 2026. Retrieved July 18, 2026.
- ↑ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. July 18, 2026. Retrieved July 18, 2026.
- ↑ "Chandler Smith races to dominant NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Wire Service. July 18, 2026. Retrieved July 18, 2026.
- ↑ "FaithFest Named Entitlement Sponsor of NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway". Jayski's Silly Season Site. April 23, 2026. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
- 1 2 "2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series North Wilkesboro Race Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved July 17, 2026.
- ↑ "2026 NASCAR Qualifying Procedures". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved July 17, 2026.
- ↑ Christie, Toby (July 17, 2026). "Starting Lineup: 2026 NCTS Faith Fest 250 at North Wilkesboro". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved July 17, 2026.