When it was officially announced, after months of seeming like a mere formality, that Connor Zilisch would indeed be promoted to Trackhouse Racing's NASCAR Cup Series team as the replacement for Daniel Suarez, Suarez's name immediately became linked with Zilisch's current JR Motorsports seat in the Xfinity Series.
The timing of it certainly contributed; Suarez had just won an Xfinity Series race in the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet earlier in the summer, his first win since winning the 2016 championship with Joe Gibbs Racing, in his one and only start on the 2025 schedule, and he was now officially left without a ride for 2026.
JR Motorsports' driver lineup has slowly but surely been coming together for the 2026 season. Justin Allgaier is set to return for an 11th season behind the wheel of the No. 7 Chevrolet, and Sammy Smith is set to return for a third behind the wheel of the No. 8 Chevrolet.
Those two drivers are set to be the team's only two full-time drivers, however. Carson Kvapil, who currently drives the No. 1 Chevrolet full-time, is set to share the No. 1 car with Zilisch in 2026, while Zilisch's current No. 88 Chevrolet is also set to be shared by multiple drivers.
The first of those drivers has now been confirmed, and it's not Daniel Suarez.
Rajah Caruth, who is currently competing for a Truck Series championship with Spire Motorsports, is set to replace Zilisch behind the wheel of the No. 88 Chevrolet next year, albeit on a part-time basis, leaving the ride open for at least one more driver to compete for an owner championship.
Caruth has competed in select Xfinity Series races in three of the past four seasons, including three this year. His best career finishes are 12th place finishes at Martinsville Speedway in 2022 and 2023 for Alpha Prime Racing. This year, his top finish of 18th came at Kansas Speedway for Hendrick Motorsports.
He is a two-time winner at the Truck level and qualified for the playoffs in both 2024 and 2025. He is currently second in the standings with just one race to go before the Championship 4. Whether or not he will return for a fourth Truck Series season (third with Spire Motorsports) in 2026 has not yet been confirmed.
While Suarez theoretically remains in play to join Caruth as one of the No. 88 car's part-time drivers next year, that recently became unlikely when he was linked to Spire Motorsports as the replacement for Justin Haley behind the wheel of the No. 7 Chevrolet. Haley's impending departure after the 2025 season is official.