Ross Chastain was unable to repeat his last-to-first Coca-Cola 600 performance from a year ago this past Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, as he was knocked out in a late wreck from the rain-shortened NASCAR Cup Series race, but he still found victory lane in a NASCAR national series for the first time this year.
Chastain is taking advantage of the fact that full-time Cup Series drivers with at least three years of Cup experience are now allowed to compete in up to 10 O'Reilly Auto Parts Series races per season, up from the previous limit of five.
His start in the Charlotte O'Reilly Series race was his seventh series start of the season and third behind the wheel of the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, and he was able to find victory lane for the first time at the sport's second highest level since he won at Daytona International Speedway for Kaulig Racing in July 2019.
Ross Chastain entry dropped for Nashville race
Chastain's victory was the car's second of the year, as Shane van Gisbergen, one of his Trackhouse Racing Cup Series teammates, won at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) back in early March. But the No. 9 car, despite being 15th in the series owner standings, is not a full-time entry.
The No. 9 car has appeared in just nine of the 2026 season's first 15 races, and it will not appear in the 16th at Nashville Superspeedway this weekend.
Beyond this weekend, JR Motorsports do have plans to enter the No. 9 car several more times before the season ends.
Jake Finch's five-race deal is set to begin with the July race at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway), and Carson Kvapil, who is sharing the team's No. 1 Chevrolet with Trackhouse Cup driver Connor Zilisch this year, is set to drive the No. 9 car at least once more this year, given Zilisch's schedule in the No. 1 car.
While Chastain does not currently have any more starts lined up in the No. 9 car this year, it would not be surprising to see that change. He is currently lined up to make another start in the No. 32 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet at Sonoma Raceway in late June, meaning he could technically add two more starts to hit 10 total for the year.
Live coverage of the Sports Illustrated Resorts 250 from Nashville Superspeedway is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET this Saturday, May 30 on the CW Network. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss the 2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series season's 16th race!
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