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The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 14 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR sanctions races in three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series™, and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series™), four international series (NASCAR Brasil Series, NASCAR Canada Series, NASCAR Euro Series, NASCAR Mexico Series), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour) and a local grassroots series (NASCAR Local Racing Series Powered by O’Reilly Auto Parts). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in five cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races annually in 11 countries and more than 30 U.S. states.

Day hits the jackpot in back-and-forth Vegas battle with Kvapil

 

Chris Graythen | Getty Images

October 3, 2026

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

LAS VEGAS – In one of the most thrilling finishes of the season, 20-year-old Hendrick Motorsports rookie driver Corey Day prevailed in a final laps back-and-forth with 23-year-old JR Motorsports’ racer Carson Kvapil to claim his third career NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victory in Saturday’s Focused Health 302 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

 

Day and Kvapil exchanged the lead four times in the last 12 laps before Day made a daring pass – after brushing the wall multiple times – with two laps remaining to solidify a trophy hoist ultimately decided by a slight .287-seconds.

 

“Oh man, I just was so tight there and so scared I was going to go down and plow on the bottom let him get by me." said a grinning Day, who started his No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet from pole position, won the opening stage and led a career high 136 of the 201 laps.

 

“Just a great car. We struggled over the summer, to tell you the truth. Won Talladega (in April) and then Dover pretty close and then just went dry. This feels really good. A dominant day for us for sure, great car.

 

“I knew we’d be a title contender from the start of the year," added Day, whose win puts him fifth in the 12-driver championship rankings with five races remaining on the season.

 

“Just had a dry summer there but we’re getting things rolling back in the right direction. We’ll just keep working.

 

Kvapil, who like Day also earned his first career series wins this season (at Indianapolis and Iowa) - was understandably disappointed to lose out on Saturday’s victory, but also encouraged with the showing. It moved him into second place in the championship standings, now 19 points behind Haas Factory Team’s Sheldon Creed, who finished 13th.

 

“I feel like our stuff was really good around the bottom," Kvapil said. “Had a really good car today. Props to those guys for making us a top-three car. There at the end, I thought the 17 [Day] was pretty stout. Some lapped traffic held him up there and I was able to find some speed at the bottom of [turns] one and two. Just never really tried the fence. I knew once I got in front of him what would be best for me was to run the bottom. He ran the top and just hit a perfect corner."

 

Reigning series champion, Richard Childress Racing’s Jesse Love finished just behind the duel up front, in third place, followed by JGR teammates ’s William Sawalich – one of four drivers among the top-10 not Chase eligible – and Taylor Gray.

 

Haas Factory Team’s Sam Mayer – another Chase-eligible driver - finished sixth having turned in an impressive comeback. He won Stage 2 and led 40 laps (second to Day) but had to rally from the rear of the field after a pit stop penalty during the Stage 2 break.

 

Non-Chase eligible drivers Jeremy Clements, William Sawalich, and Anthony Alfredo finished seventh, eighth and 10th respectively with Chase driver Austin Hill taking ninth place.

 

It was an especially impactful race for former series champion and the season’s most productive team, JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier. He was collected in an accident on Lap 55 with fellow Chase competitor, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones.

 

Just after winning the race off pit road for the restart from the first stage break, Jones’ No. 20 Toyota had a problem and drifted up into Allgaier’s No. 7 Chevrolet in Turn 2 putting it into the wall. Both cars were towed back to the garage. Allgaier was able to return to the track with 84 laps remaining and made a single lap to move up a position in the race finishing order. Still, his 34th place result dropped the regular season champion from second to fourth in the standings – 31 points off the leader Creed.

 

It was only the second DNF of the season for the six-race winner Allgaier, who held an enormous 229-point advantage atop the regular season standings before the points reset for the Chase run.

 

“I checked up and tried to be able to sneak by him [Jones] on the outside, but it just didn’t work out," said Allgaier. “I hate it for everybody on the seven-team. Obviously, we’ve had lots of speed everywhere we’ve gone all year, but to start the Chase off like this has been pretty frustrating. But we’ll go next week and try to win another race. Disappointing end to a day I thought we were making some headway."

 

The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series returns to action next Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway with the Blue Cross NC 250 (4 p.m. ET on the CW, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). This marks the first Fall race on the 1.5-mile Charlotte oval since 2017 when Alex Bowman hoisted the trophy driving for Chip Ganassi Racing.

 

NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Race - Focused Health 302

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Las Vegas, Nevada

Saturday, October 3, 2026

 

                1. (1)  Corey Day (C), Chevrolet, 201.

                2. (9)  Carson Kvapil (C), Chevrolet, 201.

                3. (10)  Jesse Love (C), Chevrolet, 201.

                4. (4)  Brent Crews # (C), Toyota, 201.

                5. (5)  Taylor Gray (C), Toyota, 201.

                6. (8)  Sam Mayer (C), Chevrolet, 201.

                7. (21)  Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 201.

                8. (36)  William Sawalich, Toyota, 201.

                9. (12)  Austin Hill (C), Chevrolet, 201.

                10. (18)  Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 201.

                11. (6)  Rajah Caruth (C), Chevrolet, 201.

                12. (20)  Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 201.

                13. (2)  Sheldon Creed (C), Chevrolet, 201.

                14. (11)  Harrison Burton, Toyota, 200.

                15. (23)  Sammy Smith (C), Chevrolet, 200.

                16. (22)  Dean Thompson, Toyota, 200.

                17. (16)  Brennan Poole, Ford, 200.

                18. (26)  Lee Pulliam, Chevrolet, 199.

                19. (17)  Parker Retzlaff (C), Chevrolet, 199.

                20. (19)  Kyle Sieg, Chevrolet, 199.

                21. (14)  Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 199.

                22. (15)  Andrew Patterson, Chevrolet, 199.

                23. (25)  Matt DiBenedetto, Chevrolet, 199.

                24. (13)  Patrick Staropoli #, Chevrolet, 198.

                25. (31)  Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 198.

                26. (30)  Lavar Scott #, Chevrolet, 198.

                27. (33)  Joey Gase, Ford, 198.

                28. (28)  Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 197.

                29. (29)  Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 197.

                30. (34)  Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet, 195.

                31. (24)  Blaine Perkins, Chevrolet, 193.

                32. (32)  Blake Lothian, Chevrolet, 192.

                33. (27)  Mason Maggio, Chevrolet, 175.

                34. (7)  Justin Allgaier (C), Chevrolet, DVP, 56.

                35. (3)  Brandon Jones (C), Toyota, Accident, 54.

                36. (35)  Dawson Cram, Chevrolet, Transmission, 13.

 

Average Speed of Race Winner:  135.37 mph.

Time of Race:  2 Hrs, 13 Mins, 38 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.287 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  3 for 21 laps.

Lead Changes:  15 among 9 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   C. Day (C) 1;S. Creed (C) 2-8;C. Day (C) 9-48;R. Caruth (C) 49;B. Jones (C) 50-53;S. Mayer (C) 54-93;R. Caruth (C) 94;W. Sawalich 95-99;C. Day (C) 100-144;A. Alfredo 145-146;J. Burton 147-148;C. Day (C) 149-189;C. Kvapil (C) 190-191;C. Day (C) 192-198;C. Kvapil (C) 199;C. Day (C) 200-201.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Corey Day (C) 6 times for 136 laps; Sam Mayer (C) 1 time for 40 laps; Sheldon Creed (C) 1 time for 7 laps; William Sawalich 1 time for 5 laps; Brandon Jones (C) 1 time for 4 laps; Carson Kvapil (C) 2 times for 3 laps; Rajah Caruth (C) 2 times for 2 laps; Anthony Alfredo 1 time for 2 laps; Jeb Burton 1 time for 2 laps.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 17,41,88,20,2,19,39,54,21,7

Stage #2 Top Ten: 41,17,88,1,51,18,19,2,54,39

 

--30--

 

 

 

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Media Day Notebook

 

Notebook Items:

  • Jesse Love can use a little good luck in NASCAR O’Reilly Series title defense
  • Justin Allgaier savors Chase schedule and new postseason format
  • Rajah Caruth learned valuable lessons on the way to the Chase

 

September 2, 2026

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

Jesse Love can use a little good luck in NASCAR O’Reilly Series title defense

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — If it appears that defending NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion Jesse Love lacks momentum entering this year’s nine-race Chase, don’t despair.

 

All it will take is a little bit of luck and some quality control to make him a contender for a second straight title.

 

Love won twice in 2025, bookending the season with victories in the Daytona opener and the Championship 4 Race at Phoenix.

 

This year, he’s winless through 24 races, though that shouldn’t suggest a lack of speed in the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Love has led 383 laps this season versus 297 in 33 events last year.

 

“I’m not a ‘luck’ guy, right?” Love said Wednesday at Chase Media Day in the Charlotte Convention Center. “I think it’s a word that’s overused and just kind of thrown around as an excuse a lot.

 

“This year, with the speed that we’ve had and actually being able to show up and dominate races and have something silly happen… we’ve had a lot of bad luck this year. If we don’t have that in the (Chase), then we can win a championship. If we do continue to have that, then we’re not.”

 

Emblematic of Love’s season was the May 30 race at Nashville Superspeedway. Love led 87 laps from the pole before loose wheels derailed his winning chances. He finished 16th in a car he described as “the best I’ve ever had.”

 

“For myself, I’m not worried about being able to perform at a high enough level to win a championship,” said Love, who will move up to the NASCAR Cup Series next year in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford. “I know that I’m performing at that level right now.

 

“If we don’t have those bad things happen in the Chase, then we’re going to be fine.”

 

The O’Reilly Series Chase gets underway on Saturday with the Fleetio 200 at Darlington Raceway (7:30 p.m. on CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

Justin Allgaier savors Chase schedule and new postseason format

 

To say that Justin Allgaier was the runaway winner of top seeding for the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase would be a significant understatement.

 

A six-time winner this season, Allgaier held a 229-point lead over JR Motorsports teammate Carson Kvapil in second place before the reset for the Chase.

 

Entering the first of nine Chase events at Darlington Raceway on Saturday, Allgaier now leads Kvapil by 25 points under the new format this year, but the loss of his huge advantage hasn’t diminished the confidence of the 2024 series champion.

 

“I feel like we’ve done a really good job,” Allgaier said. “We’ve executed in races that in years past I probably wouldn’t have. More wins than I’ve had in a single season—all those things kind of play into it.

 

“I feel good about even only having a 25-point lead. I still feel good about it, but even at the same time, I think there was one race that we lost 60 or 65 points to the guys up front… So we have to go out there and execute.”

 

Allgaier’s stiffest competition may come from his own shop. Kvapil took charge at the end of the season, picking up his first two career wins back-to-back at Indianapolis and Iowa. Sammy Smith and Rajah Caruth also made the Chase for JRM.

 

“I’d be hard-pressed to say that they’re not (the strongest opposition),” Allgaier said. “I do think there are plenty of drivers, teams, combinations that have made speed at the end of this year, that have come on. Arguably, the 1 (Kvapil) has done the best job of that. So that’s within our four walls.

 

“But I think every organization has their strengths. Now there are organizations that don’t have all their cars in (the Chase). We’re in a situation where we have to put our four best race cars on the track every week. It’s not one. It’s not two. It’s all four of us, right?

 

“I look at the last couple years, and we’ve only had to do that for one race (under the Championship 4 format). Now we’re putting all four into the Chase, and we’re going to have to run all season like that. It does put more of a strain on our shop, but there’s no team that I would rather have the opportunity to go and try to battle it out with, so I think we’ll be in great shape.”

 

Allgaier recorded three of his six victories this season at tracks that appear in the Chase—Darlington, Phoenix and Martinsville. Accordingly, he’s elated about the roster of tracks that comprise the nine-race body of work in the Chase.

 

“We have great race tracks,” Allgaier acknowledged. “When I look at the schedule, I’m like, man, you couldn’t have asked for better race tracks for the 7 car, as far as what the (Chase) looks like. I’m excited for that.”

 

Rajah Caruth learned valuable lessons on the way to the Chase

 

If Rajah Caruth hopes to contend for a NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship, he’ll have to raise his performance to new heights.

 

Fortunately, the 24-year-old driver from Washington, D.C., will have the best possible equipment at his disposal for the entirety of the Chase, which opens Saturday with the Fleetio 200 at Darlington Raceway (7:30 p.m. ET on CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

During the first 24 races of the season, Caruth split time between the No. 32 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet and the more potent No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. For the Chase, he’ll be in the No. 88 full-time, with crew chief Mardy Lindley on his pit box.

 

In a dramatic race last Friday at Daytona International Speedway, Caruth earned the final spot in the Chase, despite a spin from second place in the closing laps. He’ll start the postseason 80 points behind his top-seeded JR Motorsports teammate, Justin Allgaier.

 

On the way to the Chase, Caruth has taken a valuable lesson to heart—not to throw away points trying to get more out of a car than it’s capable of achieving.

 

“I’m ready to rip,” Caruth said on Wednesday during Chase Media Day interviews at the Charlotte Convention Center. “The great thing about when I was going back and forth between the 32 and JRM this year is that I was still doing sim (simulation) for the 88, so I had an understanding of what they were going to the race track with.

 

“With that said, it’s not a huge shock going to these (Chase) tracks for the first time in the 88, because I had that time with them early in the year.”

 

Caruth also pointed out that the No. 88 Chevrolet, which featured multiple drivers behind the wheel, is third in the owners’ standings with a shot at that championship. On both the owners’ and drivers’ side, Caruth thinks it’s imperative not to throw away positions and points trying to overachieve.

 

“The valleys are way more hurtful than they were in previous years (under the elimination format),” Caruth said. “It’s going to be important, if you’re having a seventh-place day, to not make it a 12th- or 15th- or 20th-place day—and also not throwing away a second or third trying to get a win and ending up outside the top 10.

 

“I really feel good about our chances. Not only will our cars be fast, but I’m confident in myself and the lessons I’ve learned earlier this year, and (I’m) ready to put it all to the test.”

 

 

    O'reilly auto parts series

2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Schedule

 

Round

Date

Track

Location

Race Name

Time (ET)

1

Sat., Feb. 14

Daytona International Speedway

Daytona Beach, FL

United Rentals 300

5:00 PM

2

Sat., Feb. 21

EchoPark Speedway

Braselton, GA

Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250

5:00 PM

3

Sat., Feb. 28

Circuit of The Americas

Austin, TX

Focused Health 250

3:00 PM

4

Sat., Mar. 7

Phoenix Raceway

Avondale, AZ

GOVX 200

7:30 PM

5

Sat., Mar. 14

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Las Vegas, NV

The LiUNA NASCAR Xfinity Series

5:30 PM

6

Sat., Mar. 21

Darlington Raceway

Darlington, SC

Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200

5:30 PM

7

Sat., Mar. 28

Martinsville Speedway

Martinsville, VA

NFPA 250

3:30 PM

8

Sat., Apr. 4

Rockingham Speedway

Rockingham, NC

North Carolina Education Lottery 250

2:30 PM

9

Sat., Apr. 11

Bristol Motor Speedway

Bristol, TN

SciAps 300

7:30 PM

10

Sat., Apr. 18

Kansas Speedway

Kansas City, KS

Kansas Lottery 300

7:00 PM

11

Sat., Apr. 25

Talladega Superspeedway

Lincoln, AL

Ag-Pro 300

4:00 PM

12

Sat., May 2

Texas Motor Speedway

Fort Worth, TX

Andy’s Frozen Custard 300

3:30 PM

13

Sat., May 9

Watkins Glen International

Watkins Glen, NY

Mission 200 at The Glen

4:00 PM

14

Sat., May 16

Dover Motor Speedway

Dover, DE

BetRivers 200

4:00 PM

15

Sat., May 23

Charlotte Motor Speedway

Concord, NC

BetMGM 300

5:00 PM

16

Sat., May 30

Nashville Superspeedway

Lebanon, TN

Tennessee Lottery 250

7:30 PM

–

Sat., June 6

–

–

Off Week

–

17

Sat., June 13

Pocono Raceway

Long Pond, PA

Explore the Pocono Mountains 250

4:00 PM

18

Sat., June 20

Naval Base Coronado

Coronado, CA

N/A

5:00 PM

19

Sat., June 27

Sonoma Raceway

Sonoma, CA

Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250

5:30 PM

20

Sat., July 4

Chicagoland Speedway

Joliet, IL

N/A

5:30 PM

21

Sat., July 11

EchoPark Speedway

Braselton, GA

Focused Health 250

7:00 PM

–

Sat., July 18

–

–

Off Week

–

22

Sat., July 25

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Indianapolis, IN

Pennzoil 250

4:00 PM

–

Sat., Aug. 1

–

–

Off Week

–

23

Sat., Aug. 8

Iowa Speedway

Newton, IA

Hy-Vee Perks 250

5:00 PM

–

Sat., Aug. 15

–

–

Off Week

–

–

Sat., Aug. 22

–

–

Off Week

–

24

Fri., Aug. 28

Daytona International Speedway

Daytona Beach, FL

Wawa 250

7:30 PM

25

Sat., Sept. 5

Darlington Raceway

Darlington, SC

N/A

7:30 PM

26

Sat., Sept. 12

World Wide Technology Raceway

Madison, IL

Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog

7:30 PM

27

Fri., Sept. 18

Bristol Motor Speedway

Bristol, TN

Food City 300

7:30 PM

–

Sat., Sept. 26

–

–

Off Week

–

28

Sat., Oct. 3

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Las Vegas, NV

Focused Health 302

7:30 PM

29

Sat., Oct. 10

Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL

Concord, NC

Blue Cross NC 250

4:00 PM

30

Sat., Oct. 17

Phoenix Raceway

Avondale, AZ

N/A

7:30 PM

31

Sat., Oct. 24

Talladega Superspeedway

Lincoln, AL

The Progress Group 250

3:30 PM

32

Sat., Oct. 31

Martinsville Speedway

Martinsville, VA

IAA and Ritchie Bros. 250

4:00 PM

33

Sat., Nov. 7

Homestead-Miami Speedway

Homestead, FL

O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Championship

5:00 PM

2027 NASCAR O’REILLY AUTO PARTS SERIES SCHEDULE

Date

Event / Racetrack

Saturday, February 20

Daytona International Speedway

Saturday, February 27

EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta)

Saturday, March 6

Circuit of the Americas (Austin)

Saturday, March 13

Phoenix Raceway

Saturday, March 20

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Saturday, April 3

Darlington Raceway

Saturday, April 10

Bristol Motor Speedway

Saturday, April 17

Martinsville Speedway

Saturday, April 24

Talladega Superspeedway

Saturday, May 1

Texas Motor Speedway

Saturday, May 15

Dover Motor Speedway

Saturday, May 22

North Wilkesboro Speedway

Saturday, May 29

Charlotte Motor Speedway

Saturday, June 5

Nashville Superspeedway

Saturday, June 12

Pocono Raceway

Saturday, June 26

Chicagoland Speedway

Saturday, July 3

Iowa Speedway

Saturday, July 10

Sonoma Raceway

Saturday, July 24

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Saturday, July 31

San Diego (Naval Base Coronado)

Friday, August 13

Bristol Motor Speedway

Saturday, August 21

World Wide Technology Raceway (St. Louis)

Friday, August 27

Daytona International Speedway

Saturday, September 4

Darlington Raceway

Friday, September 10

Richmond Raceway

Saturday, September 18

Watkins Glen International

Saturday, October 2

Kansas Speedway

Saturday, October 9

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Saturday, October 16

Charlotte Motor Speedway

Saturday, October 23

Phoenix Raceway

Saturday, October 30

Talladega Superspeedway

Saturday, November 6

Martinsville Speedway

Saturday, November 13

NASCAR Championship (Homestead-Miami Speedway)

 

 

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