Corey Day, piloting the No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado RST originally meant for Kyle Busch, will lead the field to green in Friday’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The 20-year-old driver inherited the first-place starting spot via the NASCAR Rule Book after persistent rain showers forced the sanctioning body to cancel both practice and qualifying for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Day wasn’t originally scheduled to compete in Friday’s NASCAR Truck Series event at Charlotte, but was tabbed as a replacement for Kyle Busch, who was hospitalized on Wednesday for a severe illness, which the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion eventually succumbed to. Busch was 41.
In honor of the winningest driver in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series history, who won the series’ most recent event at Dover Motor Speedway, all of the Spire Motorsports entries are carrying Kyle Busch Motorsports decals.
The Clovis, California-native will have the emotionally-heavy task of being Busch’s immediate replacement in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, but he’ll do so from Busch’s favorite spot — the lead.
Layne Riggs will start from the outside of the front row in the No. 34 Ford F-150 for Front Row Motorsports, with Kaden Honeycutt and Ty Majeski starting in third and fourth place. Brandon Jones, driving the No. 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for TRICON Garage, will round out the top-five.
Leland Honeyman, making his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start of 2026 in the No. 62 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for Halmar Friesen Racing, will roll from sixth-place, with Christian Eckes, Chandler Smith, Jake Garcia, and Corey LaJoie rounding out the top-10.
With 37 trucks entered for Friday’s 200-mile contest (the No. 90 of Justin Carroll withdrew during the week), only Caleb Costner and the No. 93 Costner Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST will not start Friday’s event.
The North Carolina Education Lottery 200 is scheduled for Friday, May 22 at 7:30 PM ET on FOX Sports 1, NASCAR Radio Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Photo: Jonathan Bachman, Getty Images
