Regan Smith will be driving Kaulig Racing’s No. 25 ‘Free Agent’ RAM 1500 entry in two NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events this season.
The 2011 Southern 500 champion from Cato, New York, will make his first Truck start with Kaulig at Bristol Motor Speedway for the UNOH 250 on September 17 before he returns for his second start at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Ecosave 250 on October 9.
Smith currently works as a pit reporter and analyst for FOX Sports. His latest start across NASCAR’s top-three national touring series dates back to 2019, where he made a pair of O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts with JR Motorsports at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Road America, where he finished 21st and 13th, respectively.
Smith made his first national touring series career start at Memphis Motorsports Park in October 2002. Since then, he has campaigned in a total of 468 events between the Craftsman Truck, O’Reilly Auto Parts and Cup Series divisions, to date. In 224 Cup starts, the New York native achieved his lone Cup victory at Darlington Raceway for the prestigious Southern 500 in May 2011. He has also registered four top-five results, 14 top-10 results, 64 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 24.9, all while making starts for organizations like Dale Earnhardt Inc., Furniture Row Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Phoenix Raceway, Stewart-Haas Racing, Tommy Baldwin Racing, Richard Petty Motorsports and Leavine Family Racing.
In 208 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts, Smith notched six victories, all while driving for JR Motorsports between 2012 and 2015. He also accumulated a pole, 30 top-five results, 79 top-10 results, 638 laps led and an average-finishing result of 17.4, with his highest-points result being second place in 2014.
Smith has also made 36 starts in the Craftsman Truck Series division. During his starts, he notched his highest-finishing result of fifth place at World Wide Technology Raceway in September 2007 while driving for Morgan-Dollar Motorsports. He has also finished in the top 10 seven times, led four laps and notched an average-finishing result of 19.5. His latest Truck start was during the 2017 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he finished 11th while driving for RBR Enterprises on a part-time campaign.
Ahead of his two-race campaign, Smith expressed his excitement about returning behind the wheel within NASCAR competition and adding his contributions towards Kaulig Racing’s Truck Series program with RAM as the organization’s first full-time campaign in the series nears its conclusion.
“Climbing back into a race truck is always pure fun, but having the chance to help build and elevate this whole Kaulig Racing truck program alongside Ram’s return makes it even better,” Smith said. “I love racing at places like Bristol and Charlotte. I am excited to jump into the Ram Free Agent Driver Program, offer my feedback to these guys, and just enjoy being back out there competing at a high level.”
“Trading in the microphone for a helmet and stepping down from the broadcast booth back into the cockpit gives you a whole different perspective,” Smith added. “I report on these drivers and setups with Fox, so getting to take that insider knowledge, strap in, and actually execute behind the wheel at Bristol and Charlotte will be a blast.”
Kaulig Racing launched its free-agent driver program ahead of its inaugural Craftsman Truck Series campaign in November 2025. The program features various competitors from multiple racing divisions and disciplines. Each will compete in at least one Truck event in one of Kaulig’s RAM 1500 entries numbered 25. The competitors who compete in the entry would not compete for the 2026 Truck Series driver’s championship. They will, however, be evaluated by their on-track performance for a season-ending program prize.
Currently, Kaulig Racing’s No. 25 entry, which is led by crew chief Dan Stillman, is ranked in 25th place in the 2026 owner’s standings after 18 of the 25-race schedule. The entry is one of five that is fielded by Kaulig. It competes alongside the No. 10 entry piloted by Corey LaJoie, the No. 12 entry piloted by rookie Brenden “Butterbean” Queen, the No. 14 entry piloted by newcomer Timothy “Mini” Tyrrell and the No. 16 entry piloted by Justin Haley.
Tony Stewart, Ty Dillon, Colin Braun, Corey LaJoie, Carson Ferguson, Parker Kligerman, AJ Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer, Travis Pastrana, Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman, Conor Daly and Elliott Sadler have piloted the entry at least once. Dillon, Ferguson, Kligerman and Braun have each piloted the No. 25 entry multiple times, with Braun being the latest competitor to drive the entry as he is coming off a 24th-place result at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on August 22. Allmendinger has recorded the entry’s highest-finishing result of sixth place at Watkins Glen International in early May.
Kaulig’s selection and reveal of drivers for five of the remaining seven events of the 2026 season remains to be determined.
Regan Smith’s first Truck campaign with Kaulig Racing is scheduled to occur on September 17 at Bristol Motor Speedway for the UNOH 250 at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, NASCAR Racing Network and SiriusXM. Smith’s second start is scheduled to occur on October 9 at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Ecosave 250 at 5 p.m. ET on FOX, NASCAR Racing Network and SiriusXM.
