JRM Chase Weekend Preview: Talladega II

TRACK – Talladega Superspeedway (2.66-mile-superspeedway)
NOAPS RACE – The Progress Group 250 (94 laps / 250.04 miles)
TUNE IN – CW, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90, ESPN Mobile App at 3:30 p.m. (ET)

Carson Kvapil will make his fifth career start at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.
Kvapil’s career best finish at Talladega came in this race last season, where he finished in the runner-up position.
On tracks greater than 2 miles, the JR Motorsports driver has 14 starts, recording one win, four top-fives and nine top-10’s.
With three races remaining in The Chase, Kvapil sits fifth in points.
Justin Allgaier heads into the seventh race of The Chase second in points, just 36 markers out of the top spot.
In 21 NOAPS starts at Talladega, Allgaier has earned a combined six top-fives and nine top-10s, with a best finish of second coming in the spring of 2016.
Allgaier is a two-time NOAPS winner on drafting tracks, having gone to Victory Lane at Daytona International Speedway in the summer of 2023, and at the reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway this past July.
Earlier this season, Allgaier erased a 39-point deficit from the conclusion of the NOAPS race at Circuit of the Americas to claim the points lead the following week after his win at Phoenix Raceway in March.
Sammy Smith returns to Talladega this Saturday, where he captured his first NOAPS victory with JRM, in the fall of 2024.
Smith has six starts on the 2.66-mile superspeedway. In those, he has captured one win, two top-five and three top-10 finishes.
After a top-five finish in Phoenix last weekend, Smith jumped up to seventh in The Chase standings.
Little River Transportation, a logistics company based out of Fort Payne, AL will be on the TV panel of the No. 8 Pilot Chevrolet this Saturday.
Jake Finch will make his sixth and final NOAPS start of the 2026 season with JRM this weekend at Talladega.
This will be the young drivers first start on the Alabama superspeedway in the NOAPS.
Finch has made three previous starts at Talladega in the ARCA Menards Series earning one win, one top-five and two top-10 finishes.
For his final start, Finch will be sporting the iconic KOA yellow on his Chevrolet. With over 500 locations, KOA continues on with their mission of connecting people to the outdoors.
Rajah Caruth and the No. 88 HendrickCars.com team head to Talladega this weekend for the seventh race of the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Series Chase.
Caruth has shown speed on drafting tracks this season, earning three top-10 finishes in five starts between Daytona, Atlanta and Talladega. He finished 10th at Daytona in February and finishes of eighth and ninth at Atlanta, leading a combined 52 laps across those three races.
In his first O’Reilly Series start at Talladega earlier this season, Caruth qualified seventh, finished fourth in Stage One and led five laps. After racing his way to the lead in the final stage, a speeding penalty during a green-flag pit stop ended his chances of contending for the victory, resulting in a 30th-place finish.
Most recently at Daytona in August, Caruth started from the pole, finished third in Stage One and captured the Stage Two victory. He was in contention for the win before a late-race incident relegated him to a 32nd-place finish.

Carson Kvapil: “Talladega is always an unpredictable race, but I am confident we are going to unload a really strong Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet. JR Motorsports always builds fast superspeedway cars, and I know that will be the case again on Saturday. We just need to stay up front and keep the car clean to collect as many stage points as we can and stay in contention for the win at the end of the race.”

Justin Allgaier: “Anything can happen at Talladega, but I know that we are going to have five extremely strong JR Motorsports Chevrolets. JRM has always had an incredible superspeedway program and I know we’ll be just as good this weekend. We just need to keep our fenders clean on our Roto-Rooter Chevrolet and make the right moves in the pack. If we can do that and work well with our teammates, I see no reason why we can’t come away with a great day on Saturday.”

Sammy Smith: “This No. 8 team had a good, solid run at Phoenix last week and we’re carrying the momentum with us into Talladega. We finished fourth there in the spring and got a win back in 2024 so I know we have what it takes to get this Pilot Chevrolet in Victory Lane. We just need to be smart, stay aware of our surroundings on the track and keep the car clean to be there at the end.”

Jake Finch: “These last few races haven’t gone our way, but I am hoping we can turn things around this weekend at Talladega. This is a track I have more experience on and I am confident this No. 9 team will unload a fast car on Saturday. As long as we can keep the nose clean and avoid the big one, I believe we can end this season on a high note and get a strong finish for KOA.”

Rajah Caruth: “Talladega is definitely a place where I feel like we have some unfinished business after the spring race. We had a really fast HendrickCars.com Chevrolet and put ourselves in position to contend for the win, but the mistake on pit road took us out of it. Our superspeedway program has been strong all year, and I feel like we’ve learned a lot from those races. Hopefully we can put together a complete race this weekend, stay out of trouble and give ourselves a shot at the end. Really appreciate everyone at HendrickCars.com, Mr. H, Ms. Linda, Kelley, Dale and everyone at JR Motorsports for their continued support.”

JRM Team Updates

JR Motorsports at Phoenix Raceway: JR Motorsports has competed at Talladega Superspeedway a combined 86 times in the NOAPS since 2006. In those starts at the 2.66-mile superspeedway, the organization has recorded four wins, 23 top-fives, and 38 top-10s. The average finish is 16.4.

Souvenir Rig: JRM drivers Carson Kvapil, Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith, Jake Finch and Rajah Caruth will be signing autographs at the JR Motorsports / HMS WB + AB souvenir rig on Saturday, October 24th, from 12:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. CT.