Richard Childress Racing signed Carson Brown as a NASCAR development driver in November 2025, and just a few weeks after turning 18 years old in July, Brown made his NASCAR national series debut at Iowa Speedway earlier this month in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series.
Brown did not compete for RCR in this race, as they opted not to field their third car, the No. 33 Chevrolet. He instead drove the No. 32 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet to a respectable 15th place finish.
The New London, North Carolina, native has since been confirmed as the full-time driver of RCR's No. 2 Chevrolet in the O'Reilly Series for 2027, joining Chandler Smith in the team's two-car lineup. Smith currently competes for Front Row Motorsports in the Craftsman Truck Series.
Brown is set to replace Jesse Love, who is set to move to the Cup Series as the replacement for Josh Berry behind the wheel of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford, while Smith is set to replace Austin Hill, who was named the full-time replacement for the late Kyle Busch behind the wheel of the team's No. 8-turned-No. 33 Chevrolet at the Cup level.
Carson Brown replacement confirmed for Daytona
But beyond the Iowa race, Brown does not currently have any additional plans lined up for the 2026 O'Reilly Series season, and he will not compete in this Friday night's regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway.
Daniel Dye is set to make his first O'Reilly Series start since mid-March behind the wheel of the No. 32 Chevrolet in Friday's 100-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona Beach, Florida oval.
Dye started the year running part-time for AM Racing in the O'Reilly Series and full-time for Kaulig Racing in the Truck Series. He lost his ride with Matt Kaulig's team after being suspended and has since only made two Truck Series appearances with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, while also making his Cup Series debut and two additional starts for Live Fast Motorsports.
Dye ran full-time in the O'Reilly Series a year ago for Kaulig Racing and finished 20th in the championship standings, recording DNFs in both Daytona races. In this year's O'Reilly Series season opener at the track, he finished 21st.
The Winn-Dixie 250 is set to be shown live on the CW Network from Daytona International Speedway starting at 7:30 p.m. ET this Friday, August 28. Start a free trial of FuboTV today and tune in for all of the action from the 2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series regular season finale!
Add us as a preferred source on Google