Spire Motorsports has announced that Connor Zilisch will be replacing Carson Hocevar when NASCAR visits Charlotte this week.
Hocevar was slated to run Friday's Truck Series race ahead of the Coca-Cola 600 but was scratched from the entry list this week, with the No. 77's driver simply listed as 'TBA'.
Spire revealed on Tuesday that the rising star's seat will be filled by an even younger driver – with Zilisch stepping in for his first Truck Series race at an oval since 2024.
The teenager has an averaging finishing position of 22.2 at ovals in the Truck Series (albeit over just five races, in his first year in NASCAR) compared to 4.75 at road courses.
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Spire swap out youth for...more youth
While Spire have not put out an official reason for the switch – which will see Zilisch run triple duty for the second time in three weeks – FOX's Bob Pockrass reported on Twitter that the team wanted Hocevar's focus this weekend fully on the Coke 600.
The 23-year-old will likely be back and racing in the Truck Series again soon, with no restrictions on how many races he can run and an apparent willingness from the team to give him more or less as many drives as he wants.
NASCAR Truck Series entry list for Charlotte
| Entry | Car No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | #1 | Brandon Jones (i) | TRICON Garage | Toyota |
| 2 | #2 | Luke Baldwin | Team Reaume | Ford |
| 3 | #4 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (i) | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 4 | #5 | William Sawalich (i) | TRICON Garage | Toyota |
| 5 | #7 | Kyle Busch (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 6 | #9 | Grant Enfinger | CR7 Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 7 | #10 | Corey LaJoie | Kaulig Racing | RAM |
| 8 | #11 | Kaden Honeycutt | TRICON Garage | Toyota |
| 9 | #12 | Brenden Queen | Kaulig Racing | RAM |
| 10 | #13 | Cole Butcher | ThorSport Racing | Ford |
| 11 | #14 | Mini Tyrrell | Kaulig Racing | RAM |
| 12 | #15 | Tanner Gray | TRICON Garage | Toyota |
| 13 | #16 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | RAM |
| 14 | #17 | Giovanni Ruggiero | TRICON Garage | Toyota |
| 15 | #18 | Tyler Ankrum | McAnally Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet |
| 16 | #19 | Daniel Hemric | McAnally Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet |
| 17 | #22 | Josh Reaume | Team Reaume | Ford |
| 18 | #25 | Travis Pastrana | Kaulig Racing | RAM |
| 19 | #26 | Dawson Sutton | Rackley W.A.R. | Chevrolet |
| 20 | #33 | Frankie Muniz | Team Reaume | Ford |
| 21 | #34 | Layne Riggs | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 22 | #38 | Chandler Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 23 | #42 | Conner Jones | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 24 | #44 | Andres Perez De Lara | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 25 | #45 | Ross Chastain (i) | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 26 | #52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota |
| 27 | #56 | Timmy Hill | Hill Motorsports | Toyota |
| 28 | #62 | Leland Honeyman | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota |
| 29 | #71 | Shane Van Gisbergen (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 30 | #76 | Spencer Boyd | Freedom Racing Enterprises | Chevrolet |
| 31 | #77 | Connor Zilisch (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 32 | #81 | Kris Wright | McAnally Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet |
| 33 | #88 | Ty Majeski | ThorSport Racing | Ford |
| 34 | #90 | Justin S. Carroll | Terry Carroll Motorsports | Toyota |
| 35 | #91 | Christian Eckes | McAnally Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet |
| 36 | #93 | Caleb Costner | Costner Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 37 | #98 | Jake Garcia | ThorSport Racing | Ford |
| 38 | #99 | Ben Rhodes | ThorSport Racing | Ford |
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