If the average points scored by the No. 9 JR Motorsport Chevrolet in each race were multiplied out over the full 24-race 2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series regular season, the entry would have finished second in the regular season owner standings behind only the No. 7 JR Motorsports of Justin Allgaier.
The No. 9 car has found victory lane three times in 16 races this year, twice with Shane van Gisbergen behind the wheel on road courses and another time with Ross Chastain behind the wheel at Charlotte Motor Speedway to collect his first O'Reilly Series win since 2019.
But the No. 9 Chevrolet is not a full-time entry, and after a 15th place finish in the regular season owner standings, it continues to be a part-time entry during the nine-race postseason, and without the advantage of full-time Cup drivers such as SVG and Chastain being able to drive it.
JR Motorsports not running the No. 9 car at Gateway
In the playoff opener at Darlington Raceway, it was Jake Finch who made his second start of the 2026 season and placed 18th, one spot shy of his career-best finish of 17th at Dover Motor Speedway when he made his series debut a year ago.
Finch is set to return for three more postseason races at Bristol Motor Speedway later this month and at both Charlotte and Talladega Superspeedway next month, but he will not drive the No. 9 Chevrolet this weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
With Finch currently being the only driver lined up to drive the No. 9 car at any point between now and the end of the season, the car is not even on the entry list this weekend.
Aside from Finch, only two non-Cup drivers have driven the No. 9 car at all this year, and one of them is Carson Kvapil, who is a full-time JRM driver but has simply split time in multiple entries this year. Kvapil is set to be behind the wheel of the No. 1 Chevrolet for the entire postseason, following a two-win regular season which saw him place second in points behind Allgaier.
The other is Lee Pulliam, whose only start of the year came at Martinsville Speedway in March, so it is unlikely that the No. 9 Chevrolet will be added to any more races on the 2026 schedule, other than those which Finch is set to run.
Pulliam is set to return at Martinsville in late October, and he's also set to compete at Las Vegas Motor Speedway earlier in the month, but for Peterson Racing, rather than JRM.
JR Motorsports' full-time lineup consists of Kvapil in the No. 1 car, Allgaier in the No. 7 car, Sammy Smith in the No. 8 car, and Rajah Caruth in the No. 88 car. All four qualified for the 12-driver playoffs, despite Kvapil and Caruth spending time with multiple teams.
Saturday's Nu Way 225 is set to be shown live on the CW Network from World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action!
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