While Rajah Caruth is the primary driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, the car driven full-time a year ago by Connor Zilisch, the team only signed him for 23 of 33 races on the 2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series schedule.
The four full-time Hendrick Motorsports Cup Series drivers are also splitting time in the car this year, with Kyle Larson and William Byron both having already done so on multiple occasions.
Byron made his first start of the season at Phoenix Raceway in March and finished in 13th place, and after Larson competed at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Darlington Raceway, and Bristol Motor Speedway, Byron returned for this past weekend's race at Kansas Speedway.
After Byron's sixth place finish, Caruth is set to return to the No. 88 Chevrolet this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.
Rajah Caruth set to replace William Byron at Talladega
In the five races he's spent not behind the wheel of the No. 88 car this year, Caruth has been competing for Jordan Anderson Racing behind the wheel of the No. 32 Chevrolet. He is 12th in the standings, making him the final driver above the playoff cut line. He is 25 points ahead of the cutoff.
With Caruth back at JR Motorsports, full-time McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Craftsman Truck Series driver Tyler Ankrum is set to make his series debut in the No. 32 car this weekend.
As for the No. 88 car, there are five more races in which the Hendrick Motorsports Cup drivers are lined up to compete this year. Larson is set to run next weekend's race at Texas Motor Speedway, and Alex Bowman, who was supposed to compete at Darlington before Larson replaced him due to his vertigo diagnosis, is set to compete at Nashville Superspeedway in late May.
Byron is set to make his third and final start of the O'Reilly Series season at Pocono Raceway in June, while Chase Elliott is set to compete in the July races at Chicagoland Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Caruth is set to drive the No. 88 Chevrolet in the final two races of the regular season and throughout the entire nine-race postseason. Should he qualify for the playoffs, this full-time stint to close out the year should be a major boost, given the fact that the No. 88 team is second in the owner standings, whereas the No. 32 team is only 16th.
Saturday's Ag-Pro 300 is set to be shown live on the CW Network from Talladega Superspeedway beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss it!
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