Sammy Smith to Leave JR Motorsports After 2026

MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Sammy Smith will leave JR Motorsports after the 2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series season, Smith confirmed Wednesday on social media.

Smith will depart the team after three seasons in JRM's No. 8 Chevrolet. Through 89 starts with JRM, he has earned two wins, 15 top-five finishes, 34 top-10 finishes, one pole and an average finish of 13.8. He also has a Chase appearance in each season. 

"New chapter. Same mindset. After this season, I’ll be moving on from @JRMotorsports and into a new chapter. I’m incredibly grateful for everyone at JRM who has been part of the last three years. Being a part of this No. 8 team has given me so much to be proud of and I’ll always be thankful for the people who have helped me get to this point," Smith said.

Smith sits eighth in the points standings and is locked into the Chase heading into the regular season finale this Friday at Daytona International Speedway.

"The job isn’t finished yet. My full focus is on this championship run, for my team, our partners and everyone who has believed in me along the way. Nothing is given. Everything is earned. I’m excited for what’s next and for the opportunity ahead," Smith said.

Before coming to JRM, Smith started his NASCAR career with Joe Gibbs Racing. In his 13th career start, at Phoenix Raceway in March 202, he won after leading 92 of 200 laps.

In 118 race since then, he has had few performances like that. He finished sixth in the standings with JGR, then 11th and eighth in his standings in his seasons with JRM so far. His statistics have lagged behind his teammates, notably in 2023 when his average finish was six positions behind his other full-time teammate (15.4 vs. 9.5), 2024 when he was the only full-time JRM driver without multiple wins and 2025 when he was the only full-timer not in the Championship 4.

This season, Smith ranks a quiet eighth in points so far while his other multi-season teammates are 1-2 as clear favorites for the championship heading into the Chase.

Smith has backing from Pilot Flying J that will ensure he will have a ride in 2027. It's unconfirmed where he will land but rumors persist that he may land at Haas Factory Team.

Haas is expanding to three cars in 2027. Dean Thompson is the only driver named to the lineup so far with the status of current full-time drivers Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer unconfirmed as of Smith's announcement.

Smith wasn't the only driver detailing his NOAPS future Wednesday. Richard Childress Racing named Carson Brown and Chandler Smith as its full-time drivers for the 2027 season, replacing Jesse Love and Austin Hill in the Nos. 2 and 21 cars respectively.

Meanwhile, 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.

JRM won't have Smith back but they will have Justin Allgaier and likely Carson Kvapil too.

Rajah Caruth has support from Rick Hendrick and HendrickCars.com that has allowed him to run a full NOAPS season in 2026. However, needing to have 10 races with another team to make that happen has put him on the cusp of missing the driver's Chase.

Caruth will race the No. 88 Chevrolet in the final nine races to Chase the owner's championship for JR Motorsports.