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.
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Chastain, a Cup Series regular for Trackhouse Racing, earned 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 allow him to compete in up to eight races in other national series. Although his schedule has not been finalized, Chastain said he intends to maximize his opportunities.
“It’s great to be back with Niece Motorsports in a bigger 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 have a core group of great people here in Salisbury (NC), and I want to bring them all back to Victory Lane. I’m grateful for the opportunity and I appreciate the ownership group and our partners for making this possible, as well as everyone at Trackhouse for allowing me to race in the Truck Series.”
Veteran Phil Gould will be the crew chief for the No. 45 Chevrolet team. Chastain will split time in the No. 45 seat with newcomer Landen Lewis, 19 – the CARS Tour Late Model Stock champion – and a third driver to be named later. The organization also indicated that the main partners of the No. 45 team will be announced at a later date.
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.
