Just as it did for the NASCAR Cup Series, race number two of the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series "Chase" postseason took place this past weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
But unlikely the Cup Series, where Denny Hamlin remained on top despite another lackluster outing, the O'Reilly Series left Gateway with a points leader other than the regular season champion.
Entering Gateway, the last time the O'Reilly Series had concluded a race with somebody other than JR Motorsports' Justin Allgaier, who won the regular season championship by 229 points and clinched it all the way back in July at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta, was in late February at Circuit of the Americas, when Richard Childress Racing's Austin Hill left as the points leader.
Allgaier took the lead at Phoenix Raceway the following weekend with the first of his series-leading six regular season wins, and he hadn't looked back since.
Until now, that is.
Unfortunate circumstances at both Darlington Raceway and Gateway to start the postseason left Allgaier outside of the top 12 on both occasions, which hadn't happened for him in back-to-back oval races since 2025, and he now finds himself three points behind Haas Factory Team's Sheldon Creed.
Creed earned his second career win at Darlington to start the postseason, and he backed it up with a runner-up finish at Gateway. Creed finished the regular season (and thus started the postseason) third in the standings, and his jump to the lead ends Allgaier's 22-race streak up top. He already has as many top two finishes in the postseason as he did during the 24-race regular season.
The fact that Allgaier's points lead was reduced from a 229-point margin that he earned to a predetermined 25-point gap based on NASCAR's new postseason format has already led to some (totally expected) criticism of the new format and calls for changes to be made ahead of the 2027 season.
That being said, it's still early, and that 25-point gap still allowed him to suffer two disappointing finishes without losing a ton of ground.
There are still seven races remaining on the schedule, and if Allgaier performs anywhere close to the way he performed during the regular season, he should still end up on top for the second time in his career; there's a reason he's still the heavy favorite to win the title on DraftKings Sportsbook.
He's listed at +120, with Creed tied for second with JR Motorsports' Carson Kvapil, who is third in the standings at just nine behind Creed, at +550.
Live coverage of the Food City 300, which is the final race before the final off weekend of the 2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series season, is set to be provided by the CW Network from Bristol Motor Speedway starting at 7:30 p.m. ET this Friday, September 18. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action!
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