Josh Rice and his JRR Motorsports team will compete with the Lucas Oil Late Model Series and pursue the O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Year Title.

Rice and his Rice Brothers Racing team shared the announcement on social media. The team wrote, “The paperwork has been signed, and Josh Rice will tackle the Lucas slate in 2026, along with the O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Year Title.”

Additionally, they shared, “The team is working hard to wrap up finishing touches on Josh’s 11 machines and still plans to head for Florida for Volusia, with his first Lucas Series event starting February 19th at All-Tech Raceway in Ellisville, Florida.”

“Updated wrap and 2026 sponsors will be posted once finalized in the coming days,” the team concluded.

𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞, 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐬 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔

𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞, 𝐊𝐘 (𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟏𝟒𝐭𝐡, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔): The paperwork has been signed, and Josh Rice will tackle the @Lucaslate in 2026, along with the O’Reilly… pic.twitter.com/8AQEJDlfgi

— Rice Brothers Racing (@rice_racing) January 15, 2026

Rice will be competing for Rookie of the Year against Cory Hedgecock and Freddie Carpenter. He’ll also be racing against other Lucas Oil regulars that include defending series champion Devin Moran, Ricky Thornton Jr., Hudson O’Neal, Garrett Alberson, Carson Ferguson, Brandon Sheppard, Brenden Smith, Kyle Bronson, Cory Lawler, Dan Ebert, Daniel Hilsabeck, and Max Blair.

This announcement comes in the wake of the team hiring Randall Edwards aka Cheeseburger to be its crew chief. The team made that announcement back at the end of December, “JRR Motorsports has officially signed veteran crew chief Randall Edwards to lead the JRR Motor Sales–backed No. 11, effective immediately.”

“Edwards, a name synonymous with Dirt Track Racing and widely respected for his success with multiple teams across the country, will join JRR Motorsports for the 2026 season with plans to follow a national tour and Josh’s 2026 Rookie of the Year campaign with either the World of Outlaws or Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series,” the team added. “Edwards will begin his role immediately, with plans for the team’s first race together to be January 22nd-24th at the World of Outlaws Sanctioned Sunshine Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park.”

Rice competed in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series with Rick Jones’ Sunesis Racing Team in 9 features. He had three Top 5s and 4 Top 10s. Additionally, he saw success at Eldora last year winning his first ever preliminary race ahead of The Dream.

He also won a series title last year with James Essex’s Northern Allstars Late Model Dirt Series besting his now JRR teammate Jason Jameson.. He won 5 of the 9 races on the tour. He had two wins at Florence Speedway and Lawrenceburg Speedway, and a win at Brownstown Speedway.

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