Niece Motorsports announced Friday that Ross Chastain will return to the team for a partial schedule in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2026, with plans to drive the No. 45 Chevrolet in more races this season.
RELATED: 2026 Craftsman Truck Series schedule | Truck Series’ 2025 in review
Chastain, a Cup Series regular for Trackhouse Racing, has scored all five of his Truck Series victories with the Niece organization. He competed in five races last season, but new competition guidelines for Cup Series veterans announced last November will permit him to enter as many as eight races in other national series. While his schedule has not been finalized, Chastain indicated that he intends to maximize his opportunities.
“It’s great to be back with Niece Motorsports in a larger capacity this year,” Chastain said in a team release. “When I heard about the rule change, I knew we had to run more races together. We’ve got a great core group of people here in Salisbury (N.C.), and I want to bring them all back to Victory Lane. I’m thankful to have the opportunity and appreciate the ownership group and our partners for making it happen, along with everyone at Trackhouse for allowing me to run in the Truck Series.”
Veteran Phil Gould will be the No. 45 Chevy team’s crew chief. Chastain will split time in the No. 45 seat with 19-year-old newcomer Landen Lewis — the CARS Tour Late Model Stock champion — and a third driver to be named later. The organization also said that primary partners for the No. 45 team will be announced later.
The Craftsman Truck Series begins the 2026 campaign on Feb. 13 (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Daytona International Speedway.