Despite having run just 20 of the 32 races contested so far during the 2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series season, the No. 9 JR Motorsports team is 17th in the owner standings, thanks to its three wins, four additional top five finishes, and two additional top 10 finishes.
The three wins came courtesy of full-time Trackhouse Racing Cup Series drivers, with Shane van Gisbergen winning the road course races at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) and Sonoma Raceway and Ross Chastain winning the oval race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Those two drivers combined to make eight starts for the No. 9 team this year, and three others have combined for 12. Carson Kvapil, who is the primary (and now full-time) driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet was moved to the No. 9 car in select races during which full-time Cup driver Connor Zilisch drove the No. 1 car during the regular season. Kvapil made a total of five starts in the No. 9 car.
Lee Pulliam ran one, that being the March race at Martinsville Speedway, while Jake Finch, whose schedule was originally set to consist of five races, ran six races behind the wheel of the No. 9 Chevrolet. He did not compete this past weekend at Martinsville after running three consecutive races at Charlotte, Phoenix Raceway, and Talladega Superspeedway, all of which resulted in DNFs.
No. 9 team won't compete at Homestead; 2027 full-time plans TBD
The No. 9 Chevrolet is also not on the entry list for this weekend's season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, meaning that the next time it is entered, it is set to be entered as a full-time entry at Daytona International Speedway to open up the 2027 season.
Sam Mayer is set to return to the team after spending two years with Haas Factory Team and take over behind the wheel of the No. 1 Chevrolet, while Kvapil is set to move to the No. 8 Chevrolet, as Sammy Smith is set to move to the Craftsman Truck Series with Tricon Garage.
Justin Allgaier is set to remain in the No. 7 Chevrolet, and Rajah Caruth is set to become the full-time driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet. Caruth is a full-time driver already, but he spent 10 races with Jordan Anderson Racing, as Hendrick Motorsports' Cup drivers split time in the No. 88 entry during those events.
Plans for the No. 9 entry have not yet been announced, but don't be surprised if the team continue to run it with a rotation of Cup stars, possibly from both Trackhouse and Hendrick.
Saturday's 2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series season finale is set to be shown live on the CW Network from Homestead-Miami Speedway beginning at 5:00 p.m. ET. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action from the Hard Rock Bet 300!
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