MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Carson Kvapil will return to Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series team in 2027 with the number his boss made famous.

In a social media post JR Motorsports posted Thursday morning, Kvapil peeled off the No. 1 from the side of his racecar and replaced with the iconic No. 8 he'll drive in 2027. 

JRM didn't specify whether this means Kvapil will drive the No. 8 full-time in 2027. Roundtable reached out to the team for clarification.

Kvapil has split time between JRM's No. 9 car and DGM Racing's No. 91 car but his two wins this season and Chase run are with the No. 1 car. He sits second in the points standings heading into the final race before the Chase, hoping to repeat the success of last season when he made the Championship 4. 

Getting to this point has taken a lot for Kvapil. Although he made the Championship 4 last season, a winless season cast doubt over his chances at racing full-time again in 2026. However, a deal to make Kvapil the anchor driver of the No. 1 car and to fill his schedule with other cars allowed him to come back.

Still, even deep into this season, Kvapil remained winless – until a breakthrough win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway allowed him to reel off another the next race, at Iowa Speedway. Now, heading into the Chase, he appears to be No. 1 seed Justin Allgaier's biggest rival.

Kvapil and Allgaier are the only drivers confirmed to return to JRM in 2027. However, there are indications JRM could announce its full 2027 NOAPS lineup in the coming weeks.

Kvapil will hope to be No. 1 this season before moving on to the No. 8 next season. He'll take over the No. 8 car from Sammy Smith, who announced his departure Wednesday.

Smith could be headed to Haas Factory Team in 2027. However, nothing has been confirmed or announced yet.

Wednesday, Richard Childress Racing named Carson Brown and Chandler Smith as its full-time drivers for the 2027 season. They'll replace Jesse Love and Austin Hill in the Nos. 2 and 21 cars respectively.

Lee Pulliam signed a deal to go racing with Peterson Racing in 2027. He finished fourth in his NOAPS debut at Martinsville Speedway in March with JRM.

Pulliam will replace Austin Green, whose future is up in the air. He last raced at Sonoma Raceway in June before Nick Sanchez took over the car. Sanchez is entered for the race at Daytona.