Carson Kvapil will commence his first-ever Chase for a championship on pole position for the first time ever and for the 2026 Fleetio 200 at Darlington Raceway on Saturday, September 5.
The event’s starting lineup was determined through an on-track qualifying session that consisted of a single-car, single-lap qualifying format. During the session, each of the 38 competitors vying for 38 starting spots cycled around Darlington Raceway once to post the fastest lap amongst one another. The competitor who posted the fastest lap earned pole position.
During the session, Kvapil, who was the 19th-fastest in practice and the last competitor to qualify, posted a single lap at 161.636 mph in 30.424 seconds. The lap was enough for Kvapil to knock teammate Justin Allgaier off the top of the qualifying charts as he earned the spot.
With the pole, Kvapil, driver of the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro entry, became the 221st competitor overall to win a pole position in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series division and the fifth first-time pole winner of the 2026 season. Kvapil also became the third first-time pole winner in recent weeks, including teammate Rajah Caruth and Ryan Sieg.
This season, Kvapil achieved his first two career victories in the O’Reilly division at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Iowa Speedway in back-to-back weekends, respectively. The 23-year-old native of Mooresville, North Carolina, is seeded in second place in the Chase standings with 2,075 points as he is one of 12 competitors who will embark on a nine-race postseason stretch, the Chase, to battle for this year’s championship.
Kvapil will share the front row with Justin Allgaier, the 2024 O’Reilly champion, who holds the top seed in the Chase standings with 2,100 points. Allgaier, who has won six events this season, posted his lap at 161.312 mph in 30.485 seconds.
Chasers Brandon Jones, Jesse Love, Sam Mayer, Austin Hill and Taylor Gray qualified third through seventh, respectively. Brent Crews was the highest-qualifying non-Chaser and will start eighth, though his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota will contend for the owner’s championship. Chasers Rajah Caruth and Parker Retzlaff completed the top-10 starting grid, respectively.
Notably, the remaining Chasers, including Sammy Smith, Sheldon Creed, and Corey Day, will start 11th, 13th, and 14th, respectively, while Ryan Sieg, who is coming off his first career victory at Daytona International Speedway, will line up in 18th place.
With 38 competitors vying for 38 starting spots, all made the main event.
Darlington – Qualifying Position, Best Speed, Best Time:
- Carson Kvapil, 161.636 mph, 30.424 seconds
- Justin Allgaier, 161.312 mph, 30.485 seconds
- Brandon Jones, 160.606 mph, 30.619 seconds
- Jesse Love, 160.590 mph, 30.622 seconds
- Sam Mayer, 160.569 mph, 30.626 seconds
- Austin Hill, 159.948 mph, 30.745 seconds
- Taylor Gray, 159.564 mph, 30.819 seconds
- Brent Crews, 159.409 mph, 30.849 seconds
- Rajah Caruth, 159.378 mph, 30.855 seconds
- Parker Retzlaff, 159.249 mph, 30.880 seconds
- Sammy Smith, 159.017 mph, 30.925 seconds
- Anthony Alfredo, 158.889 mph, 30.950 seconds
- Sheldon Creed, 158.765 mph, 30.974 seconds
- Corey Day, 158.556 mph, 31.015 seconds
- Jeremy Clements, 158.550 mph, 31.016 seconds
- Harrison Burton, 158.061 mph, 31.112 seconds
- Dean Thompson, 157.990 mph, 31.126 seconds
- Ryan Sieg, 157.560 mph, 31.211 seconds
- Nick Sanchez, 157.409 mph, 31.241 seconds
- Brennan Poole, 157.343 mph, 31.254 seconds
- Lavar Scott, 157.202 mph, 31.282 seconds
- William Sawalich, 157.162 mph, 31.290 seconds
- Jeb Burton, 156.981 mph, 31.326 seconds
- Patrick Staropoli, 156.801 mph, 31.362 seconds
- Preston Pardus, 156.129 mph, 31.497 seconds
- Daniel Dye, 156.094 mph, 31.504 seconds
- Blaine Perkins, 155.941 mph, 31.535 seconds
- Kyle Sieg, 155.901 mph, 31.543 seconds
- Logan Bearden, 155.610 mph, 31.602 seconds
- Ryan Ellis, 155.335 mph, 31.658 seconds
- Jake Finch, 154.690 mph, 31.790 seconds
- Mason Maggio, 154.622 mph, 31.804 mph
- Josh Bilicki, 154.253 mph, 31.880 seconds
- Garrett Smithley, 154.229 mph, 31.885 seconds
- Joey Gase, 153.935 mph, 31.946 seconds
- Brad Perez, 152.578 mph, 32.230 seconds
- Glen Reen, 151.343 mph, 32.493 seconds
- Dawson Cram, 0.000 mph, 0.000 seconds
*Bold indicates Chase Drivers
The 2026 Fleetio 200 at Darlington Raceway is scheduled for Saturday, September 5, at 7:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network, MRN Radio, and SiriusXM.
