2026 Tennessee Army National Guard 250
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 6 of 25 in the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | April 10, 2026 | ||
| Location | Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 0.533 miles (0.858 km) | ||
| Distance | 250 laps, 133.25 mi (214.45 km) | ||
| Average speed | 66.644 miles per hour (107.253 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Tricon Garage | ||
| Time | 15.066 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Christian Eckes | McAnally–Hilgemann Racing | |
| Laps | 132 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver | Christian Eckes | McAnally–Hilgemann Racing | |
| Time | 15.429 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 62 | Christopher Bell | Halmar Friesen Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FS1 | ||
| Announcers | Jamie Little, Michael Waltrip, and Austin Cindric | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | NRN | ||
| Booth announcers | Brad Gillie and Mark Garrow | ||
| Turn announcers | Nick Yeoman (Backstretch) | ||
The 2026 Tennessee Army National Guard 250 was a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race held on April 10, 2026, at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. Contested over 250 laps on the 0.533 miles (0.858 km) short track, it was the sixth race of the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season, and the sixth running of the event.
After a controversial wreck involving Christian Eckes and Corey Heim on lap 179, Christopher Bell, driving for Halmar Friesen Racing, emerged in the final stage by leading the final 63 laps to earn his eighth career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win, and his first of the season.[10] Prior to the incident, Eckes dominated the majority of the event by winning the first stage and leading a race-high 132 laps.[11] Chandler Smith finished second, and Gio Ruggiero finished third. Ross Chastain and Eckes rounded out the top five, while Jake Garcia, Dawson Sutton, Kyle Busch, Carson Hocevar, and Brenden Queen rounded out the top ten.
This was the last of three races for the Triple Truck Challenge.[12] Since Bell won the race and was not eligible for Truck Series points, no driver was awarded the $50,000 bonus.
Background
The Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Despite its short length, Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all-concrete surface, two pit roads, and stadium-like seating. It has also been named one of the loudest NASCAR tracks.
Besides holding racing events, the track has hosted the Battle at Bristol, a college football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Virginia Tech Hokies on September 10, 2016, and the MLB Speedway Classic, an MLB baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Cincinnati Reds from August 2-3, 2025.
Tennessee Army National Guard was announced as the title sponsor on December 2, 2025.[13]
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
The first and only practice session was held on Friday, April 10, at 3:30 PM EST, and lasted for 50 minutes.[14]
Chase Briscoe, driving for Tricon Garage, set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 15.166 seconds, and a speed of 126.520 miles per hour (203.614 km/h).[15]
Practice results
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Chase Briscoe (i) | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 15.166 | 126.520 |
| 2 | 11 | Kaden Honeycutt | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 15.169 | 126.495 |
| 3 | 77 | Carson Hocevar (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 15.254 | 125.790 |
| Full practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Qualifying was held on Friday, April 10, at 4:35 PM EST.[14] Since Bristol Motor 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.[16]
Kaden Honeycutt, driving for Tricon Garage, qualified on pole position with a lap of 15.066 seconds, and a speed of 127.360 miles per hour (204.966 km/h).[17]
No drivers failed to qualify.
