After an eighth-place finish at Phoenix Raceway this weekend, rookie Rajah Caruth ended his first month in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series seventh in the standings.
And eighth. Sort of. Kind of.
See, Caruth is seventh in the driver’s standings and his No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevy is seventh in the owner’s standings. But their results in Phoenix weren’t the same. With William Byron in his normal ride, Caruth ran his first of 10 races this season in the No. 32 Chevy for Jordan Anderson Racing.
It seemed like a step down from the car that dominated the series last season with Connor Zilisch behind the wheel, but after a fourth straight top-10 finish, Caruth has helped put the JAR No. 32 just four points behind his own ride in the owner’s points. The cherry on top? Caruth beat Byron, who finished in 13th.
O’Reilly Breakdown: Justin Allgaier Spoils Jesse Love’s Bid for 2 in a Row at Phoenix
“(I) just keep the same processes, keep the same attention and intention,” Caruth said after Phoenix when asked about preparing to race with JAR for the next two races. “Just keep learning from people, trusting them and doing my part on my end. I wouldn’t say it’s much of a change up.”
Caruth isn’t alone in his season split between two teams. JR Motorsports teammate Carson Kvapil was originally thought to be out of a chance for a title in 2026 when it was initially announced he’d be splitting time with Zillisch in the No. 1 Chevy. After some work behind the scenes, Kvapil was able to pick up more races with JR Motorsports and filled his schedule with rides for DGM Racing.
Kvapil finished 19th at Circuit of the Americas with DGM, in a car now 33rd in the owner’s standings and will have his first start in the No. 9 this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He sits fourth in the standings, well on the path of being a title contender despite a split season effort.
While the top of the standings are being controlled by former champs Justin Allgaier and Jesse Love, along with Austin Hill, there’s certainly room for discussion when it comes to the championship odds of Caruth and Kvapil. But winning a title in their unique circumstances, splitting time between multiple teams, is almost unheard of.
In the early days of the NOAPS — before there was an Xfinity, Nationwide or even Busch attached to the series — it wasn’t uncommon for drivers to run multiple numbers over the course of a season. In the series’ inaugural 1982 season, Tommy Houston finished fourth in the driver’s standings driving No. 6, 7, and 27 for Mike Day.
Then in 2003, Johnny Sauter had a unique season with 19 races with Richard Childress Racing and 15 with the No. 43 of Curb Agajanian Motorsports. Sauter struggled in 2002 in a full-time ride with RCR, so they had him split time with Kevin Harvick in 2003.
The move turned out to be beneficial for all parties. Sauter won his second career NOAPS race with Curb at Richmond Raceway — in which Harvick finished second — and jumped from 15th in the standings in 2002 to eighth while helping RCR win the owner’s title with Harvick.
Then came the Bushwhackers, muddying the water a bit for full-time O’Reilly teams and drivers and diluting their results relative to their performance. It led to many cases of drivers splitting their season among rides, just not as intended.
Mike Bliss won a rain-shortened race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2009 and was firmly in the top 10 in points among a slew of Cup competitors. Then, Phoenix Racing let him go before the race at Watkins Glen International and he spent the rest of the season scouring for rides. He wound up coming back to finish fifth in the series standings.
Reed Sorenson suffered a similar fate in 2011. He was fired by Turner Motorsports with five races left in the season, but was able to hold on to fifth in the standings with a ride from MacDonald Motorsports.
While Sauter, Bliss and Sorenson found ways to succeed in their situation, only one driver has done what Caruth and Kvapil are setting out to do: win the title in two different rides.
That driver was Harvick. Sort of. Kind of.
Harvick won the 2006 NOAPS title with 31 races for RCR and four for his own team, Kevin Harvick Incorporated, started with assets from two of the series’ past mainstays, BACE Motorsports and Andy Petree Racing.
With that and the all-star lineup of drivers in the KHI No. 33 when Harvick wasn’t in it —Tony Stewart, Ron Hornaday Jr and Ron Fellows, among others — it was far from a step down to drive it for a few races. In the end, Harvick took the points lead in the second race of the season (in his No. 33) and never looked back, clinching the title with four races still to go (again, in his No. 33).
The split season effort wasn’t dead before the JR Motorsports duo did it this season, but it hasn’t happened to one of the series’ more prominent contenders in years, let alone two. And while they may not have the experience on their side, there’s an argument to be made for either being a champion in 2026.
Kvapil was in the Championship 4 last season and has been at the doorstep of his first win in the series for a minute. Having Rodney Childers on the box when running for JR Motorsports will surely get him over the hump this year. Plus, if COTA was any indication, he can maximize whatever equipment he runs otherwise.
Caruth has been a great race manager, getting the most out of his ride on any given week. Despite a plethora of issues throughout his first few races, he’s managed solid finishes to have him leading the Rookie of the Year battle. In a car that was as dominant as any in 2025, it’s hard to imagine wins will be as hard to come by for Caruth as they were in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
It is still March, but so far the split schedule seems to be working fine for both drivers and JR Motorsports. The question that lies ahead over the next few months is how, if at all, does the split affect their Chase aspirations. If it doesn’t, could we see it become more common amongst the top teams in the O’Reilly Series and turn the division into the Wild West for ride swapping?
