Sammy Smith to leave JR Motorsports after 2026 season
NXTbets Pro | Published On: August 27, 2026
Smith departure
Sammy Smith will leave JR Motorsports after the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season, closing a three-year run that began when he joined the team at the start of 2024. He will not drive the No. 8 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports in the 2027 season, and he will move to a new team next year. The departure gives the organization a clear line of succession in one of its most visible cars and marks the end of a stretch that included two victories for Smith with JR Motorsports. Smith said he is focused on the current championship run before he moves on to a new chapter, and he thanked JR Motorsports for the past three years. He also said he is grateful for his time in the No. 8 car.
Smith arrived at JR Motorsports after driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, and the move to the Chevrolet program gave him a new home in NASCAR’s second-tier series. His time with the team produced immediate results. He won at Talladega in 2024 and again at Rockingham in 2025, giving JR Motorsports two of his three career wins in the series. The other victory came at Phoenix in 2023 with Joe Gibbs Racing. Smith’s run with JR Motorsports has been long enough to establish him in the lineup and productive enough to make his exit a meaningful roster change for 2027.
Smith season
Smith heads into the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway with his focus split between the present and the future. He is eighth in the 2026 standings and also sits eighth on The Chase grid. That position keeps him in the championship conversation entering one of the most important stops on the schedule. Smith has delivered steady results this season, with six top-five finishes and 10 top-10 finishes in 23 races. Those numbers show a driver who has spent most of the year running near the front and staying in contention across a full campaign.
His broader record with JR Motorsports adds more context to the season. Smith has two wins in 89 starts with the team, and both came in recent years as he settled into the No. 8 Chevrolet. He also carries three career wins in NASCAR’s second-tier series, a total that reflects his ability to convert strong runs into victories with more than one organization. The mix of current standings position, season consistency and career results gives his final stretch with JR Motorsports extra weight. He is working through the closing phase of a season that still offers championship stakes before the next move in his career takes shape.
Kvapil return
JR Motorsports already has a plan for the No. 8 Chevrolet after Smith leaves. The team announced that Carson Kvapil will return for the 2027 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season and move into the No. 8 car. That keeps the car in the organization’s hands and gives Kvapil a direct path into one of the team’s key seats. The move pairs Smith’s departure with a clear replacement, which means JR Motorsports can turn the page without leaving the position unsettled.
For Smith, the change closes a productive chapter. He joined JR Motorsports in 2024, won twice for the team and said he is grateful for his time there. For Kvapil, it opens a new one. His return gives the team another driver option for 2027 and places him in a car that has already delivered wins in recent seasons. The sequence is simple. Smith finishes his run with JR Motorsports after 2026, Kvapil takes over the No. 8 Chevrolet in 2027 and both drivers move forward with defined next steps.
