One would think a team with the success, caliber, and resources of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports would find it easy to accommodate its own drivers. But that isn’t the case this season when it comes to Carson Kvapil and Rajah Caruth. The two drivers find themselves in a peculiar position, one which Kelley Earnhardt clarified isn’t the way it is because of a lack of resources or intent.
Kelley Earnhardt sets the record straight on Kvapil-Caruth situation at JRM
After Connor Zilisch’s win at Bristol in a JRM car, this peculiar position recently left a fan wondering why Dale Earnhardt Jr. and team wouldn’t resolve the situation.
He wrote, “I love JR Motorsports but one thing I certainly don’t understand is Kvapil and Rajah having to run select races in another car. And more so because Kvapil is simply in… another JRM car. Keep the same teams together. Is it that hard to put Zilisch in the #9?”
This prompted a response from Kelley Earnhardt, who is the co-owner of JRM, to admit that it is indeed that difficult to put Zilisch in the #9 car. She explained, “We had everything contractually in place for Trackhouse before sponsorship came together for Carson full-time. It’s complicated on our side to make it all work and just the way it worked out.”
Zilisch got promoted to Trackhouse Racing in the Cup Series for 2026 after his sensational 2025 season with JRM in the Xfinity Series, winning 10 races.
Yes it is that hard. We had everything contractually in place for Trackhouse before sponsorship came together for Carson full time. It’s complicated on our side to make it all work and just the way it worked out.
— Kelley Earnhardt (@EarnhardtKelley) April 12, 2026
In 2026, Justin Allgaier and Sammy Smith will have full-time weekly rides with JRM. But Carson Kvapil and Rajah Caruth are on a split-seat deal. This means that, along with racing for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s team, Kvapil and Caruth also race for DGM Racing and Jordan Anderson Racing, respectively.
But along with that, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s team also has names like Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, William Byron, Alex Bowman, Ross Chastain, Lee Pulliam, and Shane Van Gisbergen on its part-time roster for 2026.
Does Rajah Caruth feel extra pressure racing for Dale Earnhardt Jr.?
In an interview earlier this month, Rajah Caruth was asked whether he feels ‘any extra pressure’ to get a better result when he drives for Dale Earnhardt Jr. He claimed that he treats every race as the same, showing up as prepared to every race as he can, regardless of the number on the door of the car.
“No extra pressure at all. I know I’ve been super prepared for this opportunity, and I’ve done, I feel like decent with it so far. So, I’m just going to keep up the preparation at both cars, not just me when I’m in the #88, but also in the #32,” he described.
So far this season, Caruth has three top 10s and one top 5 finish with JR Motorsports. But for JAR, he has only one top 10 finish. For Kvapil, it is the same story as his best finish of the season has also come in Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s car.
With that said, it’ll be interesting to see if both Caruth and Kvapil end up finishing the season with better results in a JRM car or in their other teams.
