Despite his full-time promotion to the NASCAR Cup Series with Trackhouse Racing after a sensational rookie season in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series with JR Motorsports, Connor Zilisch has remained active at NASCAR's second-highest level throughout the 2026 season.
It's no secret that it has been a rocky start to Zilisch's Cup career, so his additional O'Reilly Series starts have given him the opportunity to prove that, yes, he is still capable of driving a race car, and doing so at a very high level.
Zilisch, who was fittingly (but pretty much expectedly at this point) taken out in an opening-lap wreck during Sunday's Cup race at Chicagoland, made his ninth start of the O'Reilly Series season the night before at the same track and finished 10th behind the wheel of the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, giving him seven top 10 finishes in nine starts this year.
He won the races at Bristol Motor Speedway in April and Watkins Glen International in May, making him responsible for both of the victories that have the No. 1 team sitting third in the owner standings after 20 of 24 races on the regular season schedule.
Connor Zilisch replacement confirmed for Atlanta
But this weekend at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway), Zilisch is set to focus strictly on Sunday night's Cup Series race.
Carson Kvapil, who drove the No. 1 car full-time a year ago and remains its primary driver in 2026, is set to be back behind the wheel this weekend.
Kvapil remains a full-time driver in the series, despite no longer driving the No. 1 Chevrolet on a full-time basis. JR Motorsports have added the part-time No. 9 Chevrolet for him on select occasions when Zilisch has been in the No. 1 car, and when the No. 9 car has also been occupied, Kvapil has driven the No. 91 Chevrolet for DGM Racing with Jesse Iwuji Motorsports.
This weekend's shift from the No. 9 car to the No. 1 car marks the 10th consecutive race for which Kvapil has switched cars. He hasn't driven the same car from one weekend to the next since April, when he drove the No. 1 Chevrolet at both Kansas Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.
Despite hopping from car to car pretty much all season, Kvapil finds himself very much in contention for the championship, even as he continues to pursue his first career victory. He's seventh in the standings with five top five finishes and six additional top 10 results, and he's had success in all three cars he's driven. He's comfortably 147 points above the playoff cut line.
As of now, it's expected that Kvapil will wrap up the 2026 season in the No. 1 car, with no more car or team changes expected from this point forward. Zilisch is not currently lined up to make any additional O'Reilly Series starts this year, although that remains subject to change.
EchoPark Speedway is scheduled to host the Focused Health 250 this Saturday, July 11, with live coverage set to be provided by the CW Network beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and catch all of the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series action from Atlanta!
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