Kyle Busch looking to defend his home track once more as the Truck Series travels to Las Vegas

After winning his 65th career race in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series last Saturday at Atlanta, Kyle Busch is back for more. 

The 38-year-old Las Vegas native is back in the Truck Series this weekend, driving the No. 7 truck for Spire Motorsports. Busch is the defending winner of the Truck Series race at Las Vegas, leading 84 laps in his win at the track last March. 

While Busch is the favorite to win every time he steps down to the Truck Series, he'll have plenty of formidable contenders, including defending Truck Series champion Ben Rhodes, who finished third to Busch in last year's race at the track. Young star Corey Heim finished fourth at Las Vegas one year ago, and Busch's teammate, Chase Purdy, finished eighth. However, Busch's biggest competitors in Friday's Victoria's Voice Foundation 200 may not be Truck Series regulars, but fellow Cup Series drivers in Christopher Bell and Zane Smith, both of whom are driving very competitive trucks. 

Bell, who is driving the No. 1 Toyota Tundra for TRICON Garage is making his first Truck Series start since Pocono last season. Before the North Wilkesboro race last May, his only other start in NASCAR's third-tier series in 2023, Bell hadn't raced in the Truck Series since 2018. Rust may play a factor in Bell's competitiveness on Friday night, but if he can shake off said rust in the first two stages, he'll have the truck underneath him to mount a charge. 

Smith, on the other hand, had raced full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series from 2020 to 2023, winning nine races and the 2022 series championship. 2024 is his first full-time season in the Cup Series, but with his last Truck Series start coming just last November in the championship race, rust won't be an issue like it could be for Bell. Like Bell and Busch, Smith has a very capable truck under him, with the McAnally-Hilgemann team that he's driving for winning multiple races in 2023 with young driver Christian Eckes behind the wheel.

With all that being said, it's safe to say that Rowdy is still the favorite for Friday night's race. Going for an unprecedented 66th win in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, we'll see if Busch can beat a slew of fast series regulars, along with fellow Cup drivers in Bell and Smith en route to another win at his hometown track of Las Vegas. 

The Victoria's Voice Foundation 200 will air at 9 p.m. ET on Friday, Mar 1 on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Practice for the race will air 4:35 p.m. ET on FS1, with the field being set in qualifying at 5:05 p.m. ET on FS1. 32 trucks are entered for Friday's race.