Carson Kvapil will race full-time in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series for JR Motorsports in 2027.

The Mooresville, North Carolina-native, who won back-to-back events in NASCAR’s second-tier division at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Iowa Speedway, will be taking over the reins of the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro next season, previously driven by Sammy Smith.

On Wednesday, Smith announced that he would not be returning to JR Motorsports after three seasons.

Kvapil is in the midst of his second full-time campaign in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, but after some difficulties finding the funding to run all 33 races in a single JR Motorsports car, the son of 2003 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champion Travis Kvapil had to be creative – splitting his time between the No. 1 and No. 9 at JR Motorsports, as well as the No. 91 at DGM Racing.  

The 23-year=old driver was part of the ‘Championship 4’ in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2025, finishing fourth in points, but this season, he currently sits second in points with just one race remaining in the regular-season. Kvapil is widely considered to be a threat for the series title in 2026, and potentially the only driver able to take it to Justin Allgaier (his teammate).

In 65 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts, Kvapil has two wins, 18 top-fives, and 32 top-10s, with 298 laps led and an average finish of 12.8.

The change in number also marks a full-circle moment for Kvapil and JR Motorsports, as the driver used to compete in the No. 8 when he ran Late Models for JR Motorsports several years ago.  

Additional announcements completing the 2027 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series driver lineup for JR Motorsports are expected in the coming days or weeks.