JR Motorsports (JRM) revealed the full driver lineup of the organization’s No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro entry for the upcoming NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts (OAP) Series season.
Rajah Caruth, an incoming OAP Series’ Rookie-of-the-Year candidate from Washington, D.C., will be piloting the No. 88 entry in 23 of the 33-race schedule. Hendrick Motorsports’ competitors Alex Bowman, William Byron, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson will be splitting driving responsibilities of the No. 88 entry in the remaining 10 events that is not driven by Caruth. HendrickCars.com will be serving as a primary sponsor for the entry that will be led by crew chief Mardy Lindley.
Caruth’s OAP campaign with JRM commences with the first three-scheduled events of the 2026 season that include the season opener at Daytona International Speedway (February 14), EchoPark Speedway (February 21) and Circuit of the Americas (February 28). He will then return for back-to-back events at Martinsville Speedway (March 28) and Rockingham Speedway (April 4) before he competes at Talladega Superspeedway (April 25), Watkins Glen International (May 9), Dover Motor Speedway (May 16), Charlotte Motor Speedway (May 23), Naval Base Coronado (June 20) and Sonoma Raceway (June 27).
Beginning at Iowa Speedway (August 8), Caruth will assume the No. 88 entry for the remainder of the 2026 OAP Series season. This stretch includes the nine-race Chase schedule that commences at Darlington Raceway (September 5).
Byron, the 2017 OAP Series champion and the reigning two-time Daytona 500 champion from Charlotte, North Carolina, will make his first OAP Series start of the 2026 season in the No. 88 entry at Phoenix Raceway (March 7) before he returns to compete at Kansas Speedway (April 18) and Pocono Raceway (June 13). Larson, the reigning two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion from Elk Grove, California, will drive the No. 88 entry at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (March 14), Bristol Motor Speedway (April 11), Texas Motor Speedway (May 2).
Meanwhile, Bowman, a three-time Daytona 500 pole winner from Tucson, Arizona, will compete in the No. 88 entry at Darlington Raceway (March 21) and Nashville Superspeedway (May 30). Elliott, the 2014 OAP Series champion and the 2020 Cup Series champion from Dawsonville, Georgia, will then cap off the Hendrick Motorsports’ four-driver splitting duties of the No. 88 entry by competing at Chicagoland Speedway (July 4) and Indianapolis Motor Speedway (July 25).
During the 10-race stretch where all four Hendrick Motorsports’ competitors will be driving the No. 88 JRM entry, Caruth will be piloting the No. 32 Chevrolet Camaro entry for Jordan Anderson Racing.
The announcement comes as Caruth is coming off three consecutive seasons of competition in the Craftsman Truck Series division, with his latest two seasons occurring at Spire Motorsports while sponsored by HendrickCars.com. Over the previous two seasons, Caruth scored his first two Truck career victories (Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March 2024 and Nashville Superspeedway in May), thus joining the late Wendell Scott and Bubba Wallace as the only African-American competitors to win across NASCAR’s top three national touring series divisions. He also made the Playoffs during both seasons before finishing seventh and sixth, respectively, in the final driver’s standings.
In addition to his success from the Truck Series division, Caruth has made a total of 22 starts in the OAP Series between the 2022 and 2023 seasons along with the 2025 season. His current average-finishing result if 23.1 as he pursues his first victory and first opportunity to compete for the series’ championship on a full-time basis in 2026.
“We couldn’t be happier to welcome back all four of Hendrick Motorsports’ drivers into the JRM family to join Rajah (Caruth) behind the wheel of our No. 88 Chevrolet,” Kelley Earnhardt Miller, CEO of JR Motorsports, said in a released statement. “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.”
This past season, Bowman, Byron, Elliott and Larson accumulated a combined 10 top-10 results while splitting driving duties for Hendrick Motorsports in the OAP Series. During this stretch, Larson won at Bristol in April and Byron won at Charlotte in May. Now, the duo along with Bowman and Elliott will strive to achieve more on-track success in the No. 88 JRM entry that is technically affiliated with Hendrick Motorsports and was piloted to Victory Lane by Connor Zilisch 10 times in 2025.
“We’re looking forward to our program with JR Motorsports, both on and off the track,” Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports and chairman and CEO of Hendrick Automotive Group, added. “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.”
The 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season is scheduled to commence at Daytona International Speedway for the United Rentals 300 on February 14. The event’s coverage time is slated to start at 5 p.m. ET on the CW Network, MRN and SiriusXM.
