It's been another incredible season for Dale Earnhardt Jr's JR Motorsports team. This weekend he's going to have three of his drivers vying for the Xfinity Series championship. But ahead of championship weekend, Dale Jr. had a "major" announcement about one of his drivers.
In a video shared on Wednesday alongside JR Motorsports driver Carson Kvapil, Dale Jr. announced that Kvapil would continue racing for JRM full-time in 2026. Last month it was revealed that Kvapil would be relegated to part-time. But now he has his eyes on a championship both this year and next.
“Yeah, it’s super exciting,” Kvapil said. “Obviously, going into the final four here, we’re just trying to focus on winning the championship. But at the same time, looking ahead, super excited to go try to race for a championship next year, too.”
“Once we’re beyond Phoenix, we’ll have more information about what those remaining races look like,” he said. “So we’ll be sharing all that once we get through Phoenix.”
A special announcement from @DaleJr and @Carson_Kvapil . pic.twitter.com/FiWlcDQgQ3
— JR Motorsports (@JRMotorsports) October 29, 2025
Praise from the fans
Kvapil has been one of the rising stars on the Xfinity Series this year. He's reached the checkered flag in 31 of 32 races and finished in the top-five seven times this season, three of which saw him come in second.
News of Kvapil's return to JRM next season has fans proud of what the 22-year-old has accomplished and praising the team for giving him the opportunity he deserves:
"YES!!! Well deserved. Very happy to hear this," one fan replied.
"Bravo @DaleJr bravo. A lot of people were not thrilled about the part time announcement especially after Carson made the final 4 and you went to work and made a full time schedule happen!" wrote another.
"YAY! That's what needed to happen after he got into the Championship 4 this year. It would have been a shame to not reward that with finishing the balance of 2026's schedule, even if it's not with JR Motorsports directly (perhaps the Hendrick #17?)," a third wrote.
"This is awesome!! I swear for the life of me I could not figure out how Carson couldn't have a full-time ride next year!! Don't know the details but thank you to all involved!!"
Kvapil won't have an easy path to winning the title this weekend though. He's the only one in the field of four title contenders that hasn't won a race this season, though he doesn't necessarily need to win the race in Phoenix to take the title.
That being said, his teammate Connor Zilisch has consistently been one of the best drivers in the Xfinity Series all season, while his other teammate Justin Allgaier is one of the most experienced drivers in the field. Jesse Love, the fourth man in the field, won the season-opener in Daytona and has finished in the top 10 of 21 races since.
Who will win the championship?
This story was originally reported by The Spun on Oct 30, 2025, where it first appeared in the NASCAR section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
