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.

Well … that was awesome. NASCAR. pic.twitter.com/xN99W1NXdS

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 21, 2026

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