{"id":323284,"date":"2025-10-22T07:47:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T07:47:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/323284\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T07:47:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T07:47:14","slug":"nascar-us-news-jr-motorsports-finalizes-2026-oreilly-auto-parts-series-roster-with-mix-of-veterans-and-rising-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/323284\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR US news: JR Motorsports finalizes 2026 O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series roster with mix of veterans and rising stars"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"JR
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto by Jonathan Bachman\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

JR Motorsports has locked in its driver lineup for the 2026 O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series season, combining a pair of proven veterans with a deep bench of young talent and part-time superstars.<\/p>\n

The team announced Tuesday that Justin Allgaier<\/strong> will once again pilot the No. 7 Chevrolet full-time<\/strong>, extending his long-running tenure with the organization.<\/p>\n

Sammy Smith<\/strong> will return for his second full season in the No. 8<\/strong>, building on a promising 2025 campaign that featured wins and a deep playoff run.<\/p>\n

Beyond its two full-time contenders, JR Motorsports is set to rotate several drivers across its other entries, a strategy that has paid off in recent years for both driver development and sponsor exposure.<\/p>\n

Rajah Caruth<\/strong> will compete part-time in the No. 88<\/strong>, continuing his relationship with the team after several standout performances this year in the Truck Series.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Carson Kvapil<\/strong> and Connor Zilisch<\/strong> will split time in the No. 1<\/strong>, a pairing that blends Kvapil\u2019s short-track expertise with Zilisch\u2019s growing reputation as one of the sport\u2019s most versatile young drivers.<\/p>\n

Rounding out the lineup, Ross Chastain<\/strong> and Shane van Gisbergen<\/strong> will share the No. 9 Chevrolet<\/strong> in select events.<\/p>\n

Chastain, who has made starts for JRM in the past, brings a Cup Series edge and aggressive flair, while Van Gisbergen adds road course star power following his successful transition from Supercars to NASCAR competition.<\/p>\n

Team co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr.<\/strong> has often emphasized a balance between experience and opportunity within his program, and the 2026 roster reflects that philosophy.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve always tried to build a lineup that can win races and develop the next wave of talent,\u201d Earnhardt said in a statement. \u201cThis group gives us both \u2014 veterans who can lead and young drivers who can learn and compete at a high level.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

With Allgaier and Smith anchoring the effort full-time and a rotating cast of capable part-timers behind them, JR Motorsports looks poised to remain one of the top organizations in the O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series garage heading into 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo by Jonathan Bachman\/Getty Images JR Motorsports has locked in its driver lineup for the 2026 O\u2019Reilly Auto…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":323285,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[5229,42371,6162,5817,161497,1406,129743,11239,9314,62,67,586,132,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-323284","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nascar","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-carson-kvapil","10":"tag-chevrolet","11":"tag-jr-motorsports","12":"tag-justin-allgiaer","13":"tag-nascar","14":"tag-rajah-caruth","15":"tag-ross-chastain","16":"tag-shane-van-gisbergen","17":"tag-sports","18":"tag-united-states","19":"tag-united-states-of-america","20":"tag-unitedstates","21":"tag-us","22":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115416718426676242","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=323284"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323284\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/323285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=323284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=323284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=323284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}