What’s Happening?

Amidst ongoing speculation about Carson Kvapil’s 2026 plans, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has stepped up to clarify that the standout rookie will have a full-time ride in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series for the coming season.

One of the biggest questions surrounding the 2026 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series silly season was the 2025 Rookie of the Year runner-up, Carson Kvapil.

Despite a solid start to his first year at NASCAR’s second-highest level, on September 24, JR Motorsports announced that Kvapil would seemingly scale back his 2026 effort, sharing the No. 1 with Connor Zilisch.

At the time, fans disliked this move, citing that though Kvapil did not have any wins this past season, he was one of the series’ most consistent drivers.

However, as the year progressed, Kvapil continued to advance through NASCAR’s playoff system, eventually securing his position as the only winless driver to make the Championship Four.

Prior to last week’s championship race, Kvapil joined JR Motorsports owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. to announce that, due in part to his success this season, he would race full-time in 2026, though not in the No. 1.

Regardless of this positive news, fans were left with even more questions after the interview, specifically, who these other entries would be with. After all, Kvapil did say during the Dale Jr. Download that he would “make it happen either way or the other.”

Could they be in the Chevrolet camp, or with his rumored ties to Team Penske, in the Ford camp?

Though it was fun to theorize about the route Kvapil could take, the answer to where he will race in 2026 may not be as exciting as most expected.

Re-Shuffling the Deck

During this week’s episode of The Dale Jr. Download, Dale Earnhardt Jr. clarified that Kvapil will remain in-house at JR Motorsports, saying, “Yes, he’ll be driving JR Motorsports cars.”

Earnhardt also cleared the air about the team potentially sending cars to other teams to field, reminding fans that it is not necessary, as the team has a fifth, part-time car, the No. 9.

“We do have a fifth entry here. A lot of people are like, ‘Wow, he’s going to be driving JR Motorsports cars. They’re gonna build cars and send them to other teams and all that.’ You know, people forget, we got a fifth car here.” — Dale Earnhardt Jr.

That No. 9 is currently slated to field Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen and Ross Chastain in select races next season, but, in the event of conflicts with the No. 1, JRM could even have a third option for Kvapil.

As part of JR Motorsports’ 2025 plans, Rajah Caruth is racing the majority of the season in the No. 88, splitting races with Jordan Anderson Racing’s No. 32, leaving that car an option for weekends in which Kvapil cannot drive the No. 1 nor the No. 9, he could even flex to the No. 88.

Unfortunately, the NASCAR legend did confirm that Kvapil won’t have the consistency of racing the No. 1 all season, with Earhardt saying that due to contractual obligations, “We can’t. We just can’t.”

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