After it was announced that Connor Zilisch would be leaving the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet to join Trackhouse Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series, following a stellar rookie season in the O'Reilly Auto Parts (then Xfinity) Series, Rajah Caruth was confirmed as his replacement.
However, Caruth's deal only included 23 of the 33 races on the 2026 schedule, with the other 10 races split between the four Hendrick Motorsports Cup Series drivers.
Kyle Larson and William Byron have each made their three scheduled starts this year, and Larson has actually made two extra starts, taking over for Alex Bowman at both Darlington Raceway and Nashville Superspeedway.
Rajah Caruth replacement confirmed for Chicagoland
Chase Elliott has yet to make any O'Reilly Series starts this year, and he hasn't competed for JR Motorsports in the series since 2021. He hasn't run an oval race for the team since 2019.
But that is all set to change this weekend, as NASCAR's most popular driver is set to replace Caruth behind the wheel of the No. 88 Chevrolet for the first O'Reilly Series race at Chicagoland Speedway since 2019.
Caruth is still a full-time driver, as he's been in the No. 32 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet whenever the No. 88 car is occupied. He is currently 14th in the point standings, 26 points below the playoff cut line.
Beyond this weekend, there are just four races remaining on the regular season schedule, and Caruth is set to be in the No. 88 Chevrolet for all but one of them. Elliott is set to be back for the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in late July to conclude the Hendrick Cup lineup's involvement in that entry for this year.
Caruth is set to be in the No. 88 entry for all nine races on the playoff schedule, but he still needs to qualify for the 12-driver postseason to remain in the hunt for the championship. The No. 88 team is notably third in the owner standings, while the No. 32 team is 17th, so being in the No. 88 car throughout the playoffs should serve him well either way.
Tune in to the CW Network at 5:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 4 for the live broadcast of the Cuervo 300 fro Chicagoland Speedway. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action!
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