MOORESVILLE, N.C. (April 25, 2024) -- In two NASCAR Xfinity Series races so far in 2024, JR Motorsports’ No. 88 team has posted finishes of sixth and fourth.

Both came with drivers making their first NXS starts -- Bubba Pollard and Carson Kvapil. Both drivers are Late Model racers, Pollard the king of Super Late Models and Kvapil the two-time and defending zMAX CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car champion.

What is the common denominator? That would be crew chief Andrew Overstreet.

Overstreet, who has worked at Hendrick Motorsports and other NASCAR teams, is an engineer by trade, as many crew chiefs these days are, and in the shop, his team consists of car chief Mike Hoffman and mechanic Gregg Buchanan. Kvapil will be in the car this weekend at Dover Motor Speedway, his first venture to the 1-mile concrete track, and Overstreet will be on the pit box.

It’s not the first time the team’s No. 88 team has served as a development vehicle for the future of JRM. In 2016, it was used with nine drivers, from Cup Series champions to young drivers like Josh Berry. In 2015, it served the same role for five drivers, and in 2022, Hendrick Motorsports drivers Kyle Larson and William Byron ran the car for additional track time on road courses. And, of course, it’s the car used by team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. for his races each season.

"I like seeing the young guys come up and developing the future of the sport," Overstreet said. "To be a part of the car (the No. 88) that kind of started that, with young guys like Mark McFarland, Shane Huffman and Brad Keselowski…you could have the next Brad Keselowski here who could come on and do great things."

Overstreet worked in a similar role at Penske Racing before coming to JRM.

"It’s not the first time I’ve done this," Overstreet said. "When I worked at another team, we would have multiple drivers in that seat and we would have Cup Series champions and young guys in it. You still approach it the same way; you prepare them all the same. When they get to the next level, they're prepared."

It's about using the tools available for the young drivers, he said, as well as getting the younger drivers to work on race craft and surviving against vastly more experienced competitors.

“(It's) how they study, how they look at a race, how they use the SMT, how they race people and how they approach the weekend," he said. "It's important to instill that in a young driver. It helps them mature and you have to be the calming voice that’s helping guide them. It's the fun part for me to get to see how these young guys succeed. I know how hard Carson works and I know how Bubba has worked for a long time to earn his success."

One aspect of taking drivers like Kvapil and Pollard is that they already know the mechanical aspects of the sport. Taking drivers who already know race craft from a hundred different races on shorter tracks with no pit stops is a plus, Overstreet said.

"The one thing I can say about drivers like Bubba and Carson is, they actually work on their stuff," he said. "Carson works every day at the Late Model shop and Bubba works every day at his, after he's done his day job. They take care of their stuff and take pride in making sure they have a clean car and race people right. They know what it's like having to fix a torn-up race car. That helps their race craft as well. They think about the passes they make and don't just drive it as hard as they can and whatever happens, happens."

Overstreet has done all the jobs involved in the sport, including tear-down after races, and that's helped craft his approach to the No. 88 team.

"I was brought into the sport a little differently," he said. "I worked with Greg Ives at Hendrick Motorsports, and we both worked in teardown, with the mechanics. It wasn't sitting behind a computer. You had to know the nuts and bolts, how to build the car, how to set it up and build the shocks. When you can relate to a driver on actually working on the car, especially a late model, that just automatically makes that connection. Racers is a term that is used a lot, and guys used to say that you had to be a racer before you could be an engineer. I take pride in having learned that way. (JRM Director of Competition) Mike Bumgarner was the same way. He worked on the cars. I've put in the work and now I have the opportunity to go and do it."

One aspect of taking drivers from the Late Model ranks is, those races don't usually feature live pit stops.

"Bubba doesn't make pit stops, and neither does Carson," Overstreet said. “We had to take them to pit practice, just to get used to getting in and out of the box. It helped Carson, and he did really well last year at Bristol (in the Craftsman Truck Series). He's got a lot of potential. He's very calm, doesn’t get rattled. His temperament is very much like Ryan Blaney’s."

With Pollard, Kvapil and Connor Zilisch, who will pilot the No. 88 in four races later this season, Overstreet is already impressed. 

"The guys we have lined up for this car, like Carson and Connor Zilisch, they have a great future. It's exciting to be part of that."