After collecting JR Motorsports' Justin Allgaier in a race-ending wreck during stage two of Saturday's NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series postseason race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Joe Gibbs Racing's Brandon Jones was scored in 34th.
Allgaier's No. 7 team made extensive repairs to his Chevrolet to allow him to run two more laps, thus promoting him to 34th for an extra point, and Jones fell to 35th. Then he was dropped to 36th (last) anyway, because the No. 20 team ended up being disqualified.
The No. 20 Toyota was found to have four or more loose lug nuts after the race, resulting in the disqualification.
While scoring one point with a 36th place finish instead of two with a 35th place finish might not be considered a huge deal, considering Jones was already 11th in the standings and 128 points out of the championship lead and it was part-time driver Dawson Cram who passed him for 35th with a DNF of his own, the ramifications also extended into stage one.
NASCAR results change at Las Vegas causes slight standings shift
Jones scored seven points with a fourth place finish in the first stage, so he lost those seven points as well. The disqualification cost him eight total points. Additionally, seven drivers gained an additional point, including four postseason drivers, due to being moved up a position in stage one.
Haas Factory Team's Sheldon Creed (playoffs), Joe Gibbs Racing's Brent Crews, RSS Racing's Ryan Sieg, Joe Gibbs Racing's Taylor Gray (playoffs), Richard Childress Racing's Austin Hill (playoffs), Allgaier (playoffs), and Joe Gibbs Racing's William Sawalich were promoted from fifth to 11th up to fourth to 10th, respectively.
Creed is notably 19 points ahead of JR Motorsports' Carson Kvapil for the championship lead, rather than just 18 points ahead. Jones is still 11th, albeit 137 points out of the lead now. Allgaier stayed 30 points behind Creed, since they both picked up an extra stage point and Allgaier was scored ahead of Jones anyway due to the repairs his team made.
OReilly tech is complete. Corey Day is the winner. The Jones car has been disqualified for having four or more lug nuts not safe or secure. So he loses one spot and eight points (he gets 1 point).
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) October 4, 2026
Allgaier, the 2024 champion who dominated the regular season championship battle and clinched the title with several races to spare, is now fourth in points. Not only did Kvapil move up to second, but Richard Childress Racing's Jesse Love moved into third. The reigning champion is now 21 points behind Creed.
There are five races remaining on the 2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series postseason schedule. This coming Saturday's Blue Cross NC 300 is set to be shown live on the CW Network beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss it!
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