2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series

2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series

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Champions  |  Seasons

Jesse Love enters the season as the 2025 champion.

The 2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series will be the 45th season of the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, a stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season will start in mid-February with the United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway and will end with the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Championship Race at Homestead–Miami Speedway on November 7.

Jesse Love of Richard Childress Racing enters the season as the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion. ^[1]

This will be the first year under the new title sponsor, as Xfinity did not extend their sponsorship. ^[2] On August 18, 2025, it was announced that O'Reilly Auto Parts will serve as the series sponsor in 2026. ^[3]

Teams and drivers

Full-time teams

Manufacturer	Team	No.	Driver	Crew chief	Ref
Chevrolet	Big Machine Racing	48	Nick Sanchez	TBA	[4]
	Cope Family Racing	70	TBA	TBA	[5]
	Haas Factory Team	00	Sheldon Creed	Jonathan Toney	[6] [7]
		41	Sam Mayer	TBA	[6] [7]
	Hendrick Motorsports	17	Corey Day (R)	Adam Wall	[8]
	Jeremy Clements Racing	51	Jeremy Clements	TBA	[7]
	JR Motorsports	1	Carson Kvapil TBA	Rodney Childers	[9] [10]
			Connor Zilisch TBA
		7	Justin Allgaier	TBA	[11] [12] [13]
		8	Sammy Smith	Phillip Bell	[14] [15]
		88	Rajah Caruth (R)TBA	TBA	[16] [17]
			TBA
	Richard Childress Racing	2	Jesse Love	TBA	[18]
		21	Austin Hill	Chad Haney	[7]
	Viking Motorsports	99	Parker Retzlaff	Danny Efland	[19]
	Young's Motorsports	02	Ryan Ellis	TBA	[20]
		42	TBA	TBA	[21]
Toyota	Sam Hunt Racing	24	Harrison Burton	Brian Gainey	[22]
		26	Dean Thompson	Kris Bowen	[22]
	Joe Gibbs Racing	20	Brandon Jones	TBA	[7]

All other teams that ran full-time in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2025 have yet to announce their 2026 plans.

Part-time teams

Manufacturer	Team	No.	Driver	Crew chief	Races	References
Chevrolet	Jordan Anderson Racing	32	Rajah Caruth (R)	TBA	TBA	[17]
	JR Motorsports	9	Ross Chastain	TBA	TBA	[23]
			Shane van Gisbergen		TBA
		TBA	Carson Kvapil	TBA	TBA	[24]

Driver changes

Rookies

See also: NASCAR Rookie of the Year § Xfinity Series

• Rajah Caruth will move up from the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2026, driving a full-time split schedule for JR Motorsports ^[16] and Jordan Anderson Racing.
• Corey Day will run full time in 2026, driving the no. 17 for Hendrick full time. ^[8]

Moving between series

• Connor Zilisch will move up to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2026 driving full-time for Trackhouse Racing. ^[25]
• Leland Honeyman will move down to the ARCA Menards Series in 2026, driving for Nitro Motorsports. Both him and Thomas Annunziata, who will also run full-time in ARCA in 2026, ^[26] will not return to Cope Family Racing in 2026. ^[5]

Moving teams

• Harrison Burton moved from AM Racing to Sam Hunt Racing for 2026. ^{[27] [22]}
• Parker Retzlaff moved from Alpha Prime Racing to Viking Motorsports for 2026. Retzlaff replaced Matt Dibenedetto. ^{[28] [19]}

Moving to part-time schedule

• Connor Zilisch will run part-time for JR Motorsports in 2026, splitting the No. 1 car with Carson Kvapil. ^[9]

Team changes

Not participating

• Kaulig Racing is pausing their Xfinity Series program for the 2026 season. ^[29]

Expanding

• Sam Hunt Racing will field two full-time cars in 2026 with the No. 24 expanding from being fielded part-time to full-time. ^[22]

Crew chiefs

• Rodney Childers, a longtime Cup Series crew chief who most notably worked with Kevin Harvick at Stewart–Haas Racing for several years as a crew chief in the series, will join JRM in 2026 as the crew chief of the No. 1 car in which Kvapil and Zilisch will share. ^[9]
• Jim Pohlman, who was the crew chief for JRM's No. 7 car driven by Justin Allgaier, moved up to the Cup Series to crew chief the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing car driven by Kyle Busch. ^[13]

Manufacturers

• Haas Factory Team will switch from Ford to Chevrolet in 2026. ^[6]

Rule changes

• NASCAR Cup Series drivers with three or more years of experience can participate in ten (up from five) regular season races. They are still prohibited from the final race of the regular season, playoffs, and the championship race. ^[30]
• The minimum age to participate in an O'Reilly Auto Parts Series event is lowered to 17 years of age. The new rule applies, as in the case of the Truck Series minimum age rule, to short tracks and road courses only which account for 15 races at 12 tracks. Nashville Superspeedway, at 1.33 miles, and longer circuits still require drivers to be 18 years of age. ^[31]

Schedule

The 2026 schedule was released on August 20, 2025.

Notes: Race names and title sponsors are subject to change. Not all title sponsors/names of races have been announced for 2026. For the races where a 2026 name and title sponsor has yet to be announced, the title sponsors/names of those races in 2025 are listed.

O Oval track

R Road course

S Street course

No	Race title [32]	Track	Location	Date	TV	Radio
1	United Rentals 300	O  Daytona International Speedway	Daytona Beach, Florida	February 14	CW	MRN
2	Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250	O  EchoPark Speedway	Hampton, Georgia	February 21		PRN
3	Focused Health 250	R  Circuit of the Americas	Austin, Texas	February 28
4	GOVX 200	O  Phoenix Raceway	Avondale, Arizona	March 7		MRN
5	The LiUNA!	O  Las Vegas Motor Speedway	Las Vegas, Nevada	March 14		PRN
6	Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200	O  Darlington Raceway	Darlington, South Carolina	March 21		MRN
7	US Marine Corps 250	O  Martinsville Speedway	Ridgeway, Virginia	March 28
8	North Carolina Education Lottery 250	O  Rockingham Speedway	Rockingham, North Carolina	April 4
9	SciAps 300	O  Bristol Motor Speedway	Bristol, Tennessee	April 11		PRN
10	Kansas Lottery 300	O  Kansas Speedway	Kansas City, Kansas	April 18		MRN
11	Ag-Pro 300	O  Talladega Superspeedway	Lincoln, Alabama	April 25
12	Andy's Frozen Custard 340	O  Texas Motor Speedway	Fort Worth, Texas	May 2		PRN
13	Mission 200 at The Glen	R  Watkins Glen International	Watkins Glen, New York	May 9		MRN
14	BetRivers 200	O  Dover Motor Speedway	Dover, Delaware	May 16		PRN
15	BetMGM 300	O  Charlotte Motor Speedway	Concord, North Carolina	May 23
16	Tennessee Lottery 250	O  Nashville Superspeedway	Lebanon, Tennessee	May 30
17	Explore the Pocono Mountains 250	O  Pocono Raceway	Long Pond, Pennsylvania	June 13		MRN
18	TBA	S  Coronado Street Course	San Diego, California	June 20
19	Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250	R  Sonoma Raceway	Sonoma, California	June 27		PRN
20	TBA	O  Chicagoland Speedway	Joliet, Illinois	July 4		MRN
21	Focused Health 250	O  EchoPark Speedway	Hampton, Georgia	July 11		PRN
22	Pennzoil 250	O  Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Speedway, Indiana	July 25
23	Hy-Vee PERKS 250	O  Iowa Speedway	Newton, Iowa	August 8		MRN
24	Wawa 250	O  Daytona International Speedway	Daytona Beach, Florida	August 28
25	TBA	O  Darlington Raceway	Darlington, South Carolina	September 5
26	Nu Way 200	O  World Wide Technology Raceway	Madison, Illinois	September 12
NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Playoffs
Round of 12
27	Food City 300	O  Bristol Motor Speedway	Bristol, Tennessee	September 18	CW	PRN
28	Focused Health 302	O  Las Vegas Motor Speedway	Las Vegas, Nevada	October 3
29	Blue Cross NC 250	R  Charlotte Motor Speedway (Roval)	Concord, North Carolina	October 10
Round of 8
30	TBA	O  Phoenix Raceway	Avondale, Arizona	October 17	CW	MRN
31	United Rentals 250	O  Talladega Superspeedway	Lincoln, Alabama	October 24
32	IAA and Ritchie Bros. 250	O  Martinsville Speedway	Ridgeway, Virginia	October 31
Championship 4
33	NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Championship Race	O  Homestead-Miami Speedway	Homestead, Florida	November 7	CW	MRN

Schedule changes

• Homestead–Miami Speedway will return to its traditional date as the finale for all three national series. ^[33]
• The series will join the Craftsman Truck Series and the Cup Series at the Coronado Street Course. ^[34]
• The series will not return to Portland International Raceway, Chicago Street Course, and Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez for the first time since 2021, 2022, and 2025, respectively.
• The series will return to Chicagoland Speedway for the first time since 2019, and the second Darlington race was readded after a one-year hiatus. ^[35]

See also

• 2026 NASCAR Cup Series
• 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
• 2026 ARCA Menards Series
• 2026 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour

References

1. Sturnolio, Zach (November 1, 2025). "The Power of Love! Jesse Love concludes sophomore campaign with first Xfinity Series title". NASCAR . Retrieved November 2, 2025.
2. Srigley, Joseph (February 4, 2025). "Comcast Renews NASCAR Partnership, 'Xfinity Fastest Lap' Program Added for 2025". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
3. Bianchi, Jordan (August 16, 2025). "NASCAR adds O'Reilly Auto Parts as new series sponsor, ending Xfinity pact: Sources". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved August 17, 2025.
4. "Nick Sanchez returning to Big Machine Racing in 2026". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. September 28, 2025. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
5. "Cope Family Racing plans to return full time in 2026". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. October 30, 2025. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
6. "Haas Factory Team switching to Chevrolet in 2026". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. August 5, 2025. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
7. "2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Team/Driver Chart". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
8. "Corey Day to race full time in NASCAR for Hendrick Motorsports in 2026 | Hendrick Motorsports". www.hendrickmotorsports.com. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
9. "Rodney Childers joining JR Motorsports for 2026 O'Reilly Auto Parts Series season". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. September 24, 2025. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
10. The Dale Jr. Download (September 30, 2025). "He Has To Go For It" (Podcast). Dirty Mo Media. Event occurs at 1:20:17. Retrieved October 4, 2025.
11. Stumpf, Stephen (September 5, 2024). "Justin Allgaier Discusses Recent Surge, 2025 Xfinity Schedule & JRM's Young Talent". Frontstretch. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
12. Christie, Toby (October 25, 2024). "Justin Allgaier Signs Contract Extension with JR Motorsports Through 2026". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
13. "Jim Pohlman to serve as Kyle Busch's crew chief next year". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. October 16, 2025. Retrieved October 16, 2025.
14. Leffew, Steve (July 17, 2024). "Eyes on Xfinity: Sammy Smith Excited for Playoff Push, Future at JR Motorsports". Frontstretch.com. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
15. Page, Scott (September 8, 2025). "Sammy Smith set to return to JR Motorsports in 2026". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. Retrieved September 8, 2025.
16. Srigley, Joseph (October 21, 2025). "Rajah Caruth Lands Part-Time JR Motorsports Deal for 2026". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
17. "Rajah Caruth Will Race Full-Time in The NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series". The Daily Down Force. October 22, 2025. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
18. "Jesse Love returning to Richard Childress Racing in 2026". Jayski's Silly Season Site . October 24, 2025. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
19. Albino, Dustin (November 7, 2025). "Parker Retzlaff joining Viking Motorsports for 2026 season". Jayski's Silly Season Site . Retrieved November 7, 2025.
20. Albino, Dustin (November 10, 2025). "Ryan Ellis joining Young's Motorsports for 2026 O'Reilly Auto Parts Series season". Jayski's Silly Season Site . Retrieved November 10, 2025.
21. "Young's Motorsports expands NASCAR O'Reilly team, signs Ryan Ellis". Motorsport.com. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
22. "Harrison Burton joining Sam Hunt Racing for 2026 O'Reilly Auto Parts season, Dean Thompson returning". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. October 25, 2025. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
23. "Ross Chastain, Shane van Gisbergen running select O'Reilly Auto Parts Series races for JR Motorsports in 2026". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. October 21, 2025. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
24. "Carson Kvapil Will Run in O'Reilly in 2026 After All". Frontstretch. October 29, 2025. Retrieved October 29, 2025.
25. Albert, Zack (August 23, 2025). "Trackhouse Racing taps Connor Zilisch for full Cup Series schedule in 2026". NASCAR . Retrieved October 9, 2025.
26. Kristl, Mark (September 26, 2025). "What We Know About the 2026 ARCA Silly Season". Frontstretch. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
27. "Harrison Burton not returning to AM Racing in 2026". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. October 8, 2025. Retrieved October 8, 2025.
28. Damcott, Anthony (November 3, 2025). "Parker Retzlaff Leaving Alpha Prime Racing". Frontstretch. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
29. "Kaulig Racing will pause its Xfinity Series program". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. October 28, 2025. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
30. "NASCAR to allow Cup drivers to run more lower series races UPDATE". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. November 1, 2025. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
31. Albert, Zach (November 1, 2025). "NASCAR officials lower age requirement for O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, expand Cup Series participation limits". NASCAR . Retrieved November 1, 2025.
32. "2026 O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Schedule". NASCAR . Retrieved September 3, 2025.
33. "NASCAR Championship Weekend to return to Homestead in 2026". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. May 7, 2025. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
34. "San Diego to host NASCAR's latest cup series innovation with a street race at Naval Base Coronado". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. July 23, 2025. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
35. "NASCAR releases 2026 schedule, adding Chicagoland and shifting All-Star to Dover". NASCAR . August 20, 2025. Retrieved August 20, 2025.