NASCAR Cup trio heading to Dale Earnhardt Jr’s – Sports News
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the co-owner of JR Motorsports (Image: Getty)
With rising star Rajah Caruth set to run part-time within the No. 88 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s group, JR Motorsports, the teenager’s sponsor, Hendrick Motorsports, has stepped up to fill the remaining races for the 2026 O’Reilly’s Auto Parts Series.
Driven to victory lane 10 occasions final season by sensational rookie Connor Zilisch, now with Cup Series group Trackhouse Racing, the No. 88 will stay a full-time entry within the O’Reilly’s Series in 2026 courtesy of an settlement introduced with Hendrick, which is able to see Kyle Larson, William Byron, and Alex Bowman fill out the schedule.
Caruth, who completed sixth within the Craftsman Truck Series drivers’ standings final season with Spire Motorsports, will run a complete of 16 regular-season races with JRM, together with the opening three at Daytona, Atlanta Motor Speedway, and Circuit of the Americas (COTA).
The remaining 10 races can be cut up between the Hendrick trio, with reigning two-time Cup Series champion Larson set to compete at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, and Texas Motor Speedway. The 33-year-old can be trying to lengthen his dominance at Texas, having gained in place of Zilisch within the No. 88 there final season, because the teenager handled an harm.
Byron, in the meantime, will take to the No. 88 at Phoenix Raceway, Kansas Motor Speedway, and Pocono Raceway. The 28-year-old beforehand gained what was then the Xfinity Series crown in 2017 during his sole full-time season within the sequence with JRM, profitable 4 races that 12 months. Last season, he returned to the sequence with Hendrick, ending second at COTA and profitable at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Larson will compete in three races for JRM (Image: Getty)
As for Bowman, he’ll run simply the 2 races for JRM at Darlington Raceway and Nashville Superspeedway, having completed second in his sole sequence look in 2025 for Hendrick at Ohioenix Raceway. To date, Bowman’s solely sequence victory got here back in 2017 for Chip Ganassi Racing, taking the checkered flag at Charlotte.
Once the common season is full, with Caruth rounding out his schedule within the No. 32 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet, he’ll return to JRM full-time for the seven ‘Chase’ races.
“We couldn’t be happier to welcome back all four of Hendrick Motorsports’ drivers into the JRM family to join Rajah behind the wheel of our No. 88 Chevrolet,” JRM CEO Kelley Earnhardt Miller stated.
“Chase, William, Alex and Kyle all have such a unique history with us and it’s just a testament to the relationship that we have built with Mr. Hendrick, Hendrick Motorsports and HendrickCars.com that we can bring them all together with Rajah to race for an owner’s championship in 2026.”
As for Rick Hendrick, he stated his group was “looking forward to our program with JR Motorsports, both on and off the track.
“Having our four Cup Series drivers join Rajah in the No. 88 provides HendrickCars.com a powerful platform with a championship organization. This team is capable of competing for race wins throughout the 2026 season, and we’re excited about what’s ahead.”
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