NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Highlights | 2026 Daytona International Speedway

In 2026, in the O'Reilly auto part series, we are green at the world center of racing. Awkward movement there. Maybe got an awkward bump there from Jesse Love as they came to the restart zone. But they're all clear now. Roger Krueger clears him. His teammate moves to the bottom. One thing to keep in mind as you're watching this, there was no practice. This type of racing takes a little while to get acclimated to with the spotters and exactly what's clear, what, you know, filling those gaps on the track, knowing how far the spotters are away. So it takes a little time to get adjusted from inside the car. There's practice. It's just lap one through five. Two laps doesn't count. Cesar Baccarella, tire going down, making an unscheduled pit stop three laps in. Tough break for him. Career best run last fall in the draft at Talladega when he was inside the top five. And Austin Hill just shucked out Sam Maher there, shoved him to the top, and Sam fell from being third in that top lane to maybe fourth or fifth in that top lane, so lost a ton of positions. Austin Hill, he does so well being aggressive, taking runs, goes by Sheldon Creed, and now has his eyes set on Roger Krueger. He's going for the race lead. Red, white, and blue, 21, Austin Hill, the draft dominator, making it happen in that inside lane. It almost looked like Roger thought he was going to go high, and Austin Hill opted to get to the bottom right there, has the run that he needs. Now they're going to be side by side down into turn one. He tricked him, and he's known for doing that. You saw why he is so good at this form of racing. He continued that run from turns one and two all the way through Sam Maher, goes below Jesse Love. He kept that momentum up from turns one and two all the way to the front stretch, never let it get checked up from anyone, was able to get side by side for the lead. I'll tell you, Roger's been impressive here, because you know you've got one of the best in Austin Hill, but he's still out front and managing things. It's got to build his confidence. He's led four of the first five laps. He's now led laps in every drafting race this year. Our Arby's leaderboard has Carruth out front, also in the top five, Creed, Hill, Maher, and Quaffel. Taylor Gray's done a really good job. Qualified tenth. Early, I was a little nervous about him. He's now worked his way inside the top five, and the points are indicated there in the bumper. That's really good for him. It's going to look like a stock ticker. We get caught up in it, and you have to reference it, but at the same time, we'll be coming through the tri-oval, and with every position being a point, it may be right there at the checkered flag before we truly know who is going to the chase. a little bit of a run on the bottom, went up to block the two who had a little bit of a draft. Now has the decision of which RCR car does he want to block. Austin Hill on the bottom, Jesse Love on the outside. We're down inside of ten laps to go. Stage one, and that is big, because let's not forget, this is only the second time this rule has been in place for the O'Reilly auto parts series, but if we get a caution inside of ten laps to go, stage one, stage two, that ends the stage, and it puts you in a position to pay all those points. Yeah, so that's exactly what I was thinking as we talked about that he ran multiple laps hot. Sometimes it's not that the engine blows up. You just lose power, and in a track like this, if you lose five, seven horsepower, that's the difference in being able to compete and running mid-pack. How about the guy, won the last two races out front at Daytona, Carson Quapel. I think Carson's done the best job of anybody so far, been able to block that bottom lane and also block Austin Hill, who now gets to the inside. Is he going to be able to clear it? They're going to try to side draft here. Boy, that was a power move. I don't think he quite got there. Yeah, couldn't quite slide up in front of him, but, man, did he power to the inside. He's got the field bearing down on him, but I think he'll be just fine. Hey, huge opportunity here for Rajah Karouf, coming to two to go in the stage. This time he does crash. Caution is out. Wheel and caution lights are on. First yellow of the night. Major damage for the 48. Daniel Dye in the 32 also gets damaged. Right here, Parker, you see Patrick Staropoli, just maybe out of the entry of the corner. We see that off in the three, a bump there from Jeremy Clements, gets the 48 out of shape. The car's super light. Daniel Dye, hard hit into the side of Patrick Staropoli. But the car's super light on that entry phase of the corner, and any bump right there will unsettle. You see the 51's in the back bumper. Watch the 41 right here. Yeah. He almost has it cleared. Gets hit right in the door. A little bit of the right end. Mayer does a nice job trying to drive that car off, off the wall as it's going up the banking. That looked like really big contact for Brent Cruz up against the outside wall. Daniel Dye getting into the door right there. Just nowhere to go. And we'll have to sort through who is running where. But I will tell you this, this could really be a good opportunity for Rajah Karouf to get some big-time points. Let's go to progressive pit road. Here they are, Dylan. Yeah, and the 21 car wasn't driving perfectly either. Austin said that it was a little bit darty on entry and free on corner landing, then just a little bit tight at the exit of the corner, mainly in turn four. They'll go around and change four tires, fuel, make an air pressure adjustment, Kim. Anthony Alfredo said decent on the top, sketchy in the middle. On the bottom, he said, I'm on top of the racetrack. It's going to be four fresh Goodyear tires. You see Rajah Karouf there in the 88. He said a little sketchy off four, and he said, I'm tight and loose. Loose, though, is worse than the tight condition his teammate having, oh, almost contact there between the one and the 17 on the race off pit road. The one, though, said five out of ten loose, especially at the exit of four. They took a track bar adjustment. There was contact as we had the race off progressive pit road. Plus one for Kuapel, who got two tires, but it's the timing of getting two. The day does the same that creates this. Hill got four. Restart for stage two coming up on CWU. Front row, Austin Hill on four tires, control car, Karson Kuapel in the outside lane. You have to thank all the crew chiefs to be watching both of these cars that are just on two tires to see how they evolved over the course of this run. We saw four tires win this race in February, so handling typically more important when you get down here in July than when it is in February. He's losing a bit of momentum. He's going to probably look for a chance to get to the top side if he doesn't get more people to join him down there eventually. He's been committed on the bottom. He's really been down there since the start of this run, committed. No one out front. If he can just get a little bit of a side draft here and get someone to pull up and give him a push down the straightaway, the distance is shorter, so you'll make up around the corners, but then when you get to the straightaway, all that momentum is on the outside. And look at Jesse Love with a big run. And this move was key to get that one car out front and ahead of the curve, taking over the top spot. It's Quaffle, Hill, Day, Suwalich, and Gray leading at Daytona. Close captioning for today's race brought to you by Cerakote. Boy, we'll hold on that. Another crash. Second caution of the night at Daytona. And among those involved, look at this damage for William Suwalich. I mean, you got, you know, Sammy Smith, Corey Day. These are drivers locked into the chase. But look at that. Anthony Alfredo, the 96. They come together here in the tribal. Sammy Smith, just a sitting duck, gets right rear, right in the front of William Suwalich. Had nothing to couldn't do anything there. Yeah, we have another perspective of this that gives you a little better idea of of when Corey Day is changing lanes right there. Right on board with with Alfredo right here. Oh, you see Corey down contact in the left rear. And what that showed was Corey made a move to move down, then hesitated, went back up, which told Anthony Alfredo it's fine to take the run that he had to get beside him. And then he decides to eventually move back down. Watch Jesse Love get by in the two and the fifty four Taylor Gray right there, just sneaking by. Wow. I just, you know, I can't imagine what that feels like sitting in that car when you're damaged. Knowing what your situation is. Eight to go on the stage. Leaders come to the poet. Restart zone. Twenty one. Taking control on the outside lane. Austin Hill. Papa was hooked up to rear bumper there. Boston Hill. Now Alfredo still in the rear bumper of Roger Crute. They're going to have a run and a lot of momentum here down into one look at the inside. All three cars hooked up right there. Can't tell. Is that all guy? It is, I think. Third car inside. We haven't talked about him all that long. And all of a sudden, the twenty one's going to have to dive low. No, it stalls out. Roger holds him off on the top side. Waffle up there. Jesse Love back in the game. Alfredo continues to impress. He'll look in low. Eighty eight covers him. Cruz goes down. Alfredo coming with all guy or inside lane seven to go stage two. And remember, we're in that window now. The caution comes out. The stage is over. I saw the twenty one go down. Got to cover that quick. There's a couple of times I've wanted to get down. Now you see the blocks on the twenty one. He gets. Oh, there we go. Austin Hill goes for a ride. Caution is out. Stage is over. Did not hit anything. Not yet. Look out. I mean, he's still spinning. He's still hanging on. Oh my goodness. Wow. That driver in the eighty eight. He looked as an opportunity. You look. Austin Hill tried to do one of his classic fake outs. He goes to the outside, trying to fake out Roger, get him to the top and tries to turn under him, but wasn't able to because Anthony Alfredo was down below him. He was not clear when he tried to dive to the bottom. Get spun and Jamie, you said it didn't even hurt the splitter digging in that grass. It looks like he's going to get away with spinning at the front of the field at Daytona with almost no damage. And we're going to get a show because he's going to lose track position. You'll drive back through third caution of the night in stage to Roger Carruth with a green and white checkered flag. The kid from D.C. getting it done tonight. At the end of stage number two, Sheldon Creed will be the first one we see in the double zero pits from the sixth spot said his car was free on the bottom lane, but he feels like he takes push as well. Don't think they're going to make any changes on the double zero. Also got to Justin Allgaier, second from the top there, said the car was good this run. I can work any lane. They'll change four tires and add fuel, Kim. The 88 of Roger Carruth, he said a little tight off four. Doesn't need anything big. Just some air pressure. And then for the one of Carson Kwopel, he said, I don't think I'm struggling with anything. I'm good. Both teams electing to take four tires. Looks like they're just checking over Roger on the 88. But it's those guys that take two that win the race off progressive pit road. Brandon Jones, Ryan Seig, Blaine Perkins and Kyle Seig. And look at this. Brent Cruz coming back out. Harrison takes the outside lane, front row with Brandon Jones through the poet restart zone. It's the final stage at Daytona. Harrison's going to get that really good push from Blaine Perkins, who's behind. You see that inside row not able to stay connected at all. Brandon Jones begging for someone to get up there and be able to give him a push, trying to use a little bit of side draft. We've got to keep our eye on the one car, though. He's got his teammate, Roger Carruth, hooked up behind him as well. Reminder 38, that blue and white car inside lane, Ryan Seig had a number swap this week over there. He's looking good in the draft again. No one is going to need to pit in regard to the fuel gauge. Here's the other thing I would say. Some good news, bad news. Bad news is Brent Cruz had to make another pit stop so they continue to create an even more difficult uphill climb if they're going to hit the hail Mary they need and have a chance to advance into the chase. Roger. Well, no one knows if they're going to stay in line or not. You see Creed and Roger both moving back and forth. Creed gets shuffled out right there. Roger gets to his outside, but you see where Creed ends up, right in front of Austin Hill. We talked about that group earlier. Well, he's gotten the green light, at least from the team. We're still crunching the numbers as the teams are as well, and it's not safe, but definitely in a really good position with everything he's done in the stages, but I think obviously being at the front, he's been up there all night long, there's no reason to change the game plan. You see those guys. Creed moved back up in line right now. Oh! Brandon Jones! Not clear. That's right. I think it's potentially the right front. Andy Jankowiak making his first ever start in the O'Reilly auto parts series. He was the car that they approached really quickly, so he obviously had an issue trying to get back to pit lane. Looks like he's going to be able to make it. Yeah, I think he'll get to pit road, and you just got to think, what's the mindset of those top three junior motorsports cars? We've seen them be in great positions at these style of racetracks. What do they decide to do as a team, as those drivers? You know Roger wants to get that first win. I can tell you what Dale would have told them beforehand, as we look at the 39 of Andy Jankowiak Getting in the outside wall. Possibly the tire was going down there. Yeah, I think it was the way that went up the track. But Roger is backing up. Look at that. You can see lifting right there, backing up into Allgaier, trying to get the run. Now the seven's going to get to his bumper. See if he can get the run. Is he going to take it right here? I bet he does. Three to go. Oh! Great job by the one, though. Just didn't really pick a lane, and the 88 wasn't sure where he was going to go. Carruth and Allgaier. Playing offense. Quapel playing defense out front. Doing it again right here. He backed up to the seven. Saw him get a little squirrely where Allgaier got into the back of him. Can he do anything with it? And there's Roger Carruth. Spinning down the back straightaway. Wheel in caution. Lights are on. It's all about the push. And it's not just the car in the second row. It's that third row. You see Austin Hill, third row in the bottom. That's a great push. You get back to the white flag. Caution comes out. The race is over. Quapel jumps out front. Oh, it's going to be tough to decide which lane to block. He goes with his teammate, though, Allgaier, on the outside. Four first-time winners this year. Sieg down in that low lane has never won in the O'Reilly auto parts series. Could tonight be the night driving the 38? Seven giving a shove, but loses a little ground. Quapel by himself. Sieg inching out front. 38 trying to take the lead. White flag in the air. One letter to go at Daytona. Sieg is leading. That outside lane is going to get bogged down, you see. Now it's got the momentum to protect it. So many drivers in the mix. Long ways to go here. A lot is going to happen over the next mile and a half. He's going to have to go to the top and stop the one he does. Now he's tried back to the bottom in front of Austin Hill. Outside's going to have a good run right here. Alfredo lined up behind the one. Don't get too far out there if you're Ryan Sieg. Sieg's got a big decision to make. Which row is he going to try to block? They're both going to have a run. Nobody's lifting at this point. The 21 got sideways with the push from Brennan Jones. Alfredo and Poole are up there. They, too, are looking for their first career victory off of turn four. Ryan Sieg leading at Daytona through the tri-oval. He's going to get the checkered flag. First career victory, Ryan Sieg. How about it? They were crashing, coming to the checkers, and Josh Balicki, who took a hard hit, good to see him out of his car and walking away. See Balicki on the very top right here. 91 gets loose. Oh, he just gets turned down. Oh, and it hooks. Wow. And he went to correct it. It looked like the car was going to slide sideways. He went to correct and just head on into the wall. It's going to be a popular win in the series, similar to Sean Creed, how much time he's dedicated to this series and been so close, as you mentioned, to winning. That's the fifth first-time winner we've had this year. Wow. And I think about RSS racing. You know, and Rod Sieg has really poured into this, Ryan's dad, and they did win a race a handful of years ago at Sonoma with Eric Almirola. But that was a time when they were partnered with Stuart Haas. And taking nothing away from them organizationally. But they really were teamed up with a cup group that day with a cup driver. To see them do it with one of their own is really special. And now we can make it official. Taylor Gray, Rajah Carruth come in below the chase cut line. Both do what they need to do tonight to become championship eligible. They'll be one of the 12 drivers going for the title.