HOMESTEAD, Fla. — A new driver will take control of the No. 48 Big Machine Racing Chevrolet Camaro during the 2027 O'Reilly Auto Parts Series season.
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Will Rodgers, a Hawaii native, broke the news on Saturday afternoon at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He told CW Sports that he had signed a deal to drive the No. 48 full-time in 2027. He will replace Patrick Staropoli.
This marks his first full-time opportunity in any of the national NASCAR series. His last full-time season came in the ARCA Menards Series West in 2017 when he finished fifth in the championship standings.
"I'm thrilled to be joining Big Machine Racing full-time in 2027," Rodgers said in a press release from the team. "It's been a long time coming and a tremendous amount of work to develop the opportunity to run a full season in the O'Reilly Series, and I can't thank Scott Borchetta and Patrick Donahue enough for trusting me to represent the (No. 48) car."
"This, of course, wouldn't be possible without an amazing group of people behind me, including my team at the Will Rodgers Liver Health Foundation and our core partners, Boehringer Ingelheim and Echosens. I'm looking forward to representing BMR, the (No. 48) car and our campaign, Driving Good Health."
Rodgers is not unfamiliar with the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series. He has made 14 starts since 2019 while focusing on a variety of tracks.
This stretch includes starts with Brandonbilt Motorsports, Sam Hunt Racing, and RSS Racing among other teams. He has posted a career-best finish of 12th at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
This season, Rodgers has made three starts for Joey Gase Motorsports as part of a collaboration with Big Machine Racing. He finished 29th at Phoenix and 25th at Talladega. His third and final start of the collaboration is Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
"Will brings experience, talent, speed, and focus that are undeniable to Big Machine Racing," said Borchetta, the team owner. "His character and work ethic align perfectly with us.
"We have tremendous confidence in his future and believe he is the right driver to lead this team into its next chapter."
