Silly Season Heating Up In The O'Reilly Auto Parts Series
It's been a busy couple of days for the silly season cycle in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series. As we steamroll toward the 2026 Chase for the Championship, the 2027 driver/team lineup is already beginning to take shape.
This week, a few organizations have already claimed their drivers for the upcoming season. Here is a full breakdown of everything that has been officially announced as of Thursday afternoon.
No. 87 Peterson Racing
On Tuesday, Lee Pulliam, a longtime standout on the regional racing scene, revealed in an interview on the Dale Jr. Download that he'll be the pilot of the No. 87 Peterson Racing Chevrolet during the 2027 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series season.
Dale gave Lee a shot. Now he's going full-time.
— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) August 25, 2026
Lee Pulliam joined the Dale Jr Download this morning to announce he'll be running the No. 87 for Peterson Racing full-time on the O'Reilly Series tour in 2027.
Congrats, Lee! 👏🏼 pic.twitter.com/HUJDaOtG5C
Pulliam takes over a ride that was driven by Austin Green and Nick Sanchez this season.
No. 2 and No. 21 Richard Childress Racing
With Austin Hill moving to the NASCAR Cup Series full-time for Richard Childress Racing and Jesse Love moving to Wood Brothers Racing in 2027, this left Richard Childress Racing two seats to fill in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series next season.
On Wednesday, the team filled those seats, officially.
Carson Brown, an 18-year-old developmental talent for RCR, will take over the seat of the No. 2 Chevrolet, and will be supported by longtime RCR partner Whelen Engineering. As for the No. 21 Chevrolet, Chandler Smith, a current NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship contender with Front Row Motorsports, will fill that seat next season.
Richard Childress Racing will hope that the combo of Brown and Smith can pack a similar 1-2 punch that the combination of Love and Hill have the last few seasons.
No. 8 JR Motorsports
On Wednesday evening, Sammy Smith revealed in a social media post that he will not return to JR Motorsports in 2027, confirming what had been widely speculated for months. While Smith didn't announce what was next for him, he has been heavily linked to Haas Factory Team in rumors that have been swirling.
So, who steps into the No. 8 Chevrolet next season? On Thursday morning, JR Motorsports welcomed Carson Kvapil as the next full-time driver of the No. 8 machine. Kvapil, who has had a breakout year this season as he's captured two wins while bouncing between multiple teams, will have the stability of driving for a singular vehicle next season.
It’s coming full circle in 2027. pic.twitter.com/p8R3RZh4fN
— JR Motorsports (@JRMotorsports) August 27, 2026
No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing
While there weren't any rumors to suggest that Brandon Jones wouldn't return to Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2027 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, the driver and team ended any hope of a juicy rumor popping up involving the No. 20 Toyota.
On Thursday, Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Jones had re-signed to remain the driver of the No. 20 JGR Toyota GR Supra next season.
Joe Gibbs Racing says the announcement of Jones returning has completed its 2027 O'Reilly Auto Parts Series driver lineup, as Taylor Gray, Brent Crews, and William Sawalich are all re-signed for next season as well.
While there are a lot of seats yet to be claimed for the 2027 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series season, the flurry of announcements this week puts NASCAR's second-tier series far ahead of the announcement curve than we've seen in recent years.
Expect several more dominoes to fall in the coming weeks and months.
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Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.
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