Sheldon Creed struck first in the Chase for this year’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship by winning the Fleetio 200 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, on Saturday, September 5.
The 2020 Craftsman Truck Series champion from Alpine, California, led the final 53 of 147-scheduled laps in an event where he qualified in 13th place and was racing within the bottom half of the top-10 mark on the track before he settled in 12th place following the first stage’s conclusion. Creed then utilized fresh tires he received prior to the start of the second stage period to motor his way towards the front. Through three cautions, he navigated his way to a third-place result.
For the final stage period, Creed received a stellar pit service from his No. 00 Haas Factory Team pit crew that allowed the latter to beat Corey Day off of pit road first and inherit the lead. From there, Creed, who withstood two late-race restarts, including the last one with 40 laps remaining, outdueled his Chase competition, including runner-up finisher Day, to achieve his first victory at the track deemed Too Tough to Tame and gain the first advantage towards his championship hopes in 2026.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Chaser Carson Kvapil won his first-ever pole position with a pole-winning lap at 161.636 mph in 30.424 seconds. Teammate and Chaser Justin Allgaier qualified on second place with a lap of 161.312 mph in 30.485 seconds.
Prior to the event, a host of names that included Ryan Ellis, Brent Crews, Brad Perez and Jeremy Clements dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments that were made to their respective entries.
When the green flag waved and the event commenced, pole-sitter Carson Kvapil and teammate Justin Allgaier briefly dueled against one another until Allgaier used the outside lane to motor his No. 7 Arby’s Steak Nuggets Chevrolet Camaro entry ahead through the first two turns. With a variety of early on-track battles ensuing around the field, Allgaier led the first lap, and he proceeded to extend his early advantage by a second over Kvapil while Jesse Love, Brandon Jones and Austin Hill trailed in the top five, respectively. Behind, Sam Mayer, Parker Retzlaff, Taylor Gray, Rajah Caruth and Anthony Alfredo were racing in the top 10 while Sammy Smith, Corey Day and Sheldon Creed, the three-lowest Chasers on the track, trailed in the top 13, respectively.
Through the Lap 10 mark, Allgaier continued to extend his advantage as he led by nearly two seconds over Kvapil, while Love, Jones and Hill maintained the remaining top-five spots over Mayer, Retzlaff, Caruth, Alfredo and Gray, while Sammy Smith, Creed and Day trailed in the top 13, respectively. By then, Alfredo was the lone non-Chaser mired within the 12-car Chase field in ninth place as Allgaier’s lead grew by more than two seconds just past the Lap 15 mark and by nearly three seconds at the Lap 20 mark.
On Lap 26, Caruth, who was racing within the top-10 mark, made an unscheduled pit stop after reporting an alternator issue to his No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro entry. With Caruth returning to the track while two laps behind the leaders, teammate Allgaier stabilized his early advantage by more than three seconds over teammate Kvapil as Jones, Love, Hill and Mayer followed suit in the top six, respectively. Behind, Alfredo was up in seventh place ahead of Retzlaff, Gray, Creed and Day while Sammy Smith had fallen to 18th place.
On Lap 33, the event’s first caution flew due to Preston Pardus getting sideways and spinning off of the fourth turn and the frontstretch as he dragged sparks while limping his entry away from his spinning scene. During this caution period, a majority of the field and Chasers led by Allgaier and Kvapil pitted while the rest, seven total, led by Chasers Brandon Jones and Corey Day remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Allgaier exited pit road first ahead of Lavar Scott, Kvapil, Hill and Alfredo.
With the first stage period restarting with six laps remaining, the field fanned out as Allgaier made a bold three-move move to move into the runner-up spot behind Jones through the first two turns. As the field continued to fan out through the backstretch along with Turns 3 and 4, Allgaier overtook Jones through Turns 3 and 4 to reassume the lead for the following lap. Behind, Kvapil and Hill quickly motored past Jones on fresher tires while Allgaier, who also had fresher tires, motored away by the Lap 40 mark.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 45, Allgaier fended off a late charge from Kvapil to capture his ninth O’Reilly stage victory of the 2026 season. Kvapil settled in second ahead of Hill, Mayer and Retzlaff while Alfredo, Jeremy Clements, Love, Nick Sanchez and Gray were scored in the top 10, respectively. Behind, Chasers Sammy Smith, Creed, Jones and Day settled in 11th, 12th, 17th and 18th, respectively, while Caruth was still mired two laps down in 33rd place. Under the event’s first stage break period, some Chasers led by Retzlaff and including Creed, Jones, Day and Caruth pitted while the rest led by Allgaier remained on the track.
The second stage period started on Lap 51 as teammates Allgaier and Kvapil occupied the front row. At the start, Allgaier motored ahead of Kvapil and retained the lead for the following lap. Despite being reeled in and pressed by Kvapil for the lead, Allgaier fended off the latter through Lap 59 before the caution returned due to Daniel Dye getting bumped by Dean Thompson, where the former was trying to block the latter and turned into the outside wall through the front stretch. By then, Creed and Retzlaff, both of whom pitted during the first stage break period for fresh tires, had carved their way up to ninth and 10th, respectively, while Caruth reclaimed one of his two laps lost from his early alternator issues.
For the next restart on Lap 64, a stack-up ensued at the front and Allgaier nearly got turned after he got bumped by Hill on the outside lane while struggling to launch. Amid the scramble, Kvapil, who fended off a dive attempt by Alfredo, motored ahead with the lead. As the field fanned out and jostled for spots, Kvapil led the next lap over Allgaier, who recovered to retain the runner-up spot, while Alfredo, Hill, Mayer, Love and Gray pursued in the top seven, respectively.
On Lap 69, the caution returned when Day, who had repeated bumps and contact with Sawalich over the previous laps, bumped and turned Sawalich into the backstretch’s outside wall. The contact, which was a battle towards the top-15 mark, caused Sawalich to spin below the backstretch after he was hit by Day again and back up the track while having right-side damage to his No. 18 SoundGear Toyota Supra entry while the rest of the field scattered. The run-in with Sawalich and Day allowed Caruth to cycle back on the lead lap as Day, who sustained right-front fender damage, and Sammy Smith pitted their respective Chevrolets.
The next restart on Lap 73 featured Kvapil motoring ahead of teammate Allgaier despite both wiggling to launch ahead of the field entering the first two turns. Seconds later, the caution quickly returned when Jeb Burton, who was racing within the top-15 mark, was hit by a sliding Sanchez entering the backstretch. As Burton slid back down the track towards oncoming traffic and tried to straight it to the left, he was hit by Glen Reen and Mason Maggio slammed into Reen while Caruth barely dodged the carnage.
As the event restarted with 10 laps remaining in the first stage period, Kvapil retained the lead while Alfredo overtook Allgaier for the runner-up spot. Hill then challenged Allgaier for third place while Love, Creed and Gray pursued. Meanwhile, Kvpail led the next lap while Creed and Love fiercely battled for fourth place in front of Gray and Mayer as Ryan Sieg made a bold three-wide move to muscle his way into the top-10 mark. Amid the battles, Alfredo battled and overtook Kvapil for the lead following a bold slide in front of the latter through the first two turns on Lap 84.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 90, Alfredo motored his way to his second O’Reilly stage victory of the 2026 season. Creed and Day motored their way up to second and third, respectively, with fresh tires while Sammy Smith, Kvapil, Allgaier, Hill, Mayer, Kyle Sieg and Ryan Sieg were scored in the top 10, respectively. Behind, Retzlaff, Love, Jones and Gray settled in 11th through 14th, respectively, while Caruth navigated his way up to 17th place.
During the event’s second stage break period, the field led by Alfredo pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Creed edged Day off of pit road first as they were followed by Sammy Smith, Kvapil, Allgaier, Alfredo, Mayer, Hill, Jones and Gray, respectively. Meanwhile, Love, Retzlaff and Caruth were mired in 12th, 14th and 19th, respectively.
With 49 laps remaining, the third and final stage period commenced as Creed and Day occupied the front row. At the start, Creed motored ahead from a push by Sammy Smith from the outside lane while Kvapil tried to make a move beneath Day through the frontstretch. Amid the battles, Creed motored away and he led the next lap while Sammy Smith was trying to fend off teammate Allgaier along with Day and Hill for the runner-up spot. Meanwhile, Kvapil was mired in sixth place as the field fanned out and jostled for late spots. Soon after, the caution returned when Joey Gase got loose while battling beneath Garrett Smithley. As Gase got sideways entering the backstretch, he wrecked against Lavar Scott towards the outside wall and the duo spun along with Sawalich, who got sideways to avoid the carnage, as the trio made further contact into the inside wall.
During the next restart with 40 laps remaining, Creed and Allgaier dueled for the lead through the frontstretch until Creed used the outside lane to motor ahead of the latter through the first two turns. As teammates Sammy Smith and Allgaier battled for the runner-up spot, with Smith prevailing through Turns 3 and 4, Creed led the next lap while Hill and Day followed suit in the top five, respectively. Behind, Kvapil and Ryan Sieg trailed in sixth and seventh ahead of Mayer, Alfredo, Jones, Gray while Retzlaff and Love were mired within the top-15 mark. Behind, Caruth, who pitted during the previous caution, was racing in 22nd place while Creed led by seven-tenths of a second with 35 laps remaining.
Down to the final 30 laps, Creed extended his late advantage by more than a second over Sammy Smith, Allgaier and Day while fifth-place Hill trailed by two-and-a-half seconds in fifth place. Behind, Kvapil and Mayer occupied sixth and seventh, respectively, while Gray, Jones, Caruth, Retzlaff and Love raced from 12th to 16th, respectively, on the track. Caruth utilized the fresh tires he received in the late stages to motor past Jones for 13th place, and Jones continued to slowly slip back as he was outdueled by Jones for 14th place. Meanwhile, Allgaier lost third place to Day, and he was pressured by Hill for fourth place while Creed led by nearly two seconds with 25 laps remaining.
As the event reached its final 20-lap mark, Creed stabilized his lead by more than two seconds over Day, who overtook Sammy Smith for the runner-up spot three laps earlier. Meanwhile, Allgaier, who hit the outside wall entering the third turn, slipped to fifth place behind Hill. Allgaier was then being pressured by Kvapil for fifth place while teammate Caruth motored his way up to 11th place. Crews then reeled in both Kvapil and Allgaier in a battle for a top-five spot with 19 laps remaining. For the next two laps, Kvapil dropped to ninth place, and Caruth motored up to eighth place while Allgaier lost fifth place to Crews. With Caruth overtaking Allgaier for sixth place with 16 laps remaining, Creed continued to lead by more than two seconds over Day and by four seconds over third-place Sammy Smith with 15 laps remaining.
With 10 laps remaining, Creed had his lead stand at more than two seconds over Day while Sammy Smith, Hill and Crews trailed in the top five, respectively. Behind, Caruth was up to sixth place until he dropped off the pace with a fuel pickup issue. Despite nursing his entry to pit road after coasting it for a full lap, he lost two laps in the process. Back at the front, Crews reeled in on Smith for third place while Creed maintained the lead by more than a second over Day with five laps remaining. Meanwhile, Allgaier slipped out of the top-10 mark due to his rear tires chattering. Kvapil was also mired with racing with Allgaier as both competitors had potential race victories slip from their grasp.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Creed remained in the lead by two-and-a-half seconds over Day. With Day unable to reel in to Creed’s rear bumper and the latter smoothly nursing his No. 00 Ollie’s Chevrolet Camaro entry around Darlington’s tough turns, Creed was able to cycle back to the frontstretch and claim the checkered flag with the victory by nearly three seconds.
With the victory, Creed, who previously finished as high as second at Darlington, became the 140th competitor overall to achieve multiple victories in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series division as he notched his second career win in the series, his first at Darlington Raceway and the eighth competitor to notch multiple victories in 2026. The Californian also recorded the second victory of this season for Haas Factory Team and the 22nd for the Chevrolet nameplate.
Creed, who also accumulated eight stage points by finishing in third place from the second stage period, is ranked in the runner-up spot in the Chase standings. As he trails points leader Justin Allgaier by seven points, he has eight Chase races remaining on the schedule to extend his early momentum and contend for his first series’ championship.
“This [victory] is everything to me,” Creed said in Victory Lane on the CW Network. “I’ve been so close here so many times. If I could pick a place on the schedule to get a win, this is it. I finally get that. To be honest, I wasn’t real happy with the car the first run. We worked on it all night. [Crew chief Jonathan Toney] and the [No. 00] boys just gave me kind of what I needed there at the end. I was able to get away. Super proud of everyone at Haas Factory Team. Just super happy to open the Chase with a win. I don’t know where everyone stacked us, but hopefully, we put our name in the card. Hopefully, we can make a run for the championship.”
Corey Day nursed his damaged No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro entry to a runner-up result while rookie Brent Crews, Sammy Smith and Austin Hill finished in the top five. Anthony Alfredo, who lost the lead due to a slow pit service prior to the final stage period, rallied to finish in sixth place while Taylor Gray, Sam Mayer, Jeremy Clements and Brandon Jones completed the top 10 in the final running order.
Overall, Crews, Alfredo and Clements were the non-Chasers who finished in the top 10 on the track at Darlington. Meanwhile, the remaining Chasers, including Carson Kvapil, Jesse Love, Justin Allgaier, Parker Retzlaff and Rajah Caruth, ended up 12th, 13th, 17th, 21st and 26th, respectively.
The 2026 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series’ Chase opener generated eight lead changes for seven different leaders, and seven cautions for 38 laps. In addition, 25 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.
Race Results:
- Sheldon Creed, 53 laps led
- Corey Day, one lap led
- Brent Crews
- Sammy Smith
- Austin Hill
- Anthony Alfredo, nine laps led, Stage 2 winner
- Taylor Gray
- Sam Mayer
- Jeremy Clements
- Brandon Jones, three laps led
- Dean Thompson
- Carson Kvapil, 20 laps led
- Jesse Love, one lap led
- Nick Sanchez
- Brennan Poole
- Kyle Sieg
- Justin Allgaier, 60 laps led, Stage 1 winner
- Jake Finch
- Ryan Sieg
- Harrison Burton
- Parker Retzlaff
- Blaine Perkins
- Preston Pardus
- Josh Bilicki
- Garrett Smithley
- Rajah Caruth, two laps down
- Daniel Dye, two laps down
- Logan Bearden, two laps down
- Joey Gase – OUT, Overheating
- William Sawalich – OUT, Accident
- Lavar Scott – OUT, Accident
- Patrick Staropoli – OUT, Engine
- Jeb Burton – OUT, Accident
- Glen Reen – OUT, Accident
- Mason Maggio – OUT, Accident
- Dawson Cram – OUT, Electrical
- Ryan Ellis – OUT, Clutch
- Brad Perez – OUT, Brakes
*Bold indicates Chase Drivers
Following the first Chase event of the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season, Justin Allgaier leads the standings by seven points over Sheldon Creed. The rest of the 12-car Chase field is displayed below, with the points advantage indicating their deficit to points leader Allgaier.
Chase Standings:
- Justin Allgaier
- Sheldon Creed -7
- Carson Kvapil -19
- Austin Hill -36
- Corey Day -46
- Jesse Love -48
- Sammy Smith -55
- Brandon Jones -58
- Sam Mayer -66
- Parker Retzlaff -78
- Taylor Gray -79
- Rajah Caruth -104
With the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase officially underway, the next event on the schedule is World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, for the Nu Way 225. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network, MRN Radio, and SiriusXM.
