Sammy Smith executes final-lap pass for thrilling O’Reilly victory at Talladega

Sammy Smith nabbed a final-lap slingshot, overtake, and edge on teammate Carson Kvapil to win The Progress Group 250 at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, October 24.

The two-time ARCA Menards Series East champion from Johnston, Iowa, led only the final lap of the event’s 94 scheduled laps. Smith qualified in 11th place and spent the event’s entirety mixing up the competition within the draft with his fellow competitors, Chase contenders, Chevrolet-affiliated competitors, and JR Motorsports’ teammates. After finishing in 15th place at the conclusion of the first stage period and notching eight stage points by finishing in third place in the second stage period, Smith was lined up in second place behind Kvapil within the draft amid a 16-lap dash to the finish.

After spending a majority of the closing laps tucked behind Kvapil amid the draft, Smith seized a draft by teammate Justin Allgaier through the backstretch on the final lap to reel in Kvapil and execute a slingshot move to Kvapil’s left. Both Smith and Kvapil dueled for the lead approaching the tri-oval until the former received a push by Jesse Love to motor ahead with the inside lane. With Kvapil unable to quickly reel in his deficit, Smith capitalized on the late surge to notch his first elusive NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victory of the 2026 season and his second win of this weekend following Friday’s Craftsman Truck Series victory at Talladega.

With on-track qualifying determining the starting lineup, points leader Jesse Love notched his third O’Reilly pole of the 2026 season with a pole-winning lap of 182.626 mph in 52.435 seconds. Jake Finch qualified in second place with a lap of 182.619 mph in 52.437 seconds as he shared the front row with Allgaier.

Prior to the event, Chase contender Corey Day dropped to the rear of the field due to an engine change. Lee Pulliam also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments.

When the green flag waved and the event commenced, pole-sitter Jesse Love and Jake Finch dueled for the lead in front of Carson Kvapil, Sam Mayer and the field through the first two turns until Finch was shoved ahead of Love by teammate Kvapil through the backstretch. Amid Finch’s early defensive drive, Kvapil made a move to Finch’s right side and managed to lead the first lap by 0.022 seconds.

With the field fanning out in three-wide formation amid a tight pack during the second lap, Kvapil led the latter lap before he was challenged by Finch for the lead. As teammate Rajah Caruth tried to ignite a third drafted lane towards the outside lane, Kvapil managed to fend off Finch to lead the next lap while being pushed by Austin Hill in the middle lane. By then, Sam Mayer, who was racing upfront in the early laps before he was shuffled out of the draft, was the third competitor mired in the middle lane behind Hill and Anthony Alfredo. 

As Kvapil utilized defensive driving to maintain his early lead by the fifth lap mark, Caruth, Sheldon Creed, Justin Allgaier and Corey Day were in the top five while Love, Finch, Mayer, Hill and Brent Crews filled in the remaining top-10 spots, respectively. For the following lap, Finch got shuffled back to 16th place as six Chevrolet competitors led by Kvapil and including Caruth, Creed, Allgaier, Day and Mayer raced upfront towards the outside lane while Love tried to ignite a charge while leading the inside lane. A majority of the field would line up in single-file formation behind Kvapil towards the outside wall, while a few led by Love remained on the inside lane.

Through the first 10 laps, Kvapil was leading ahead of teammate Caruth, Creed, teammate Allgaier and Day while Mayer, Brandon Jones, Parker Retzlaff, William Sawalich and Connor Mosack were in the top 10, respectively. Behind, Taylor Gray, Anthony Alfredo, Love, Austin Hill and Sammy Smith occupied the top-15 spots while Finch was mired in 16th place ahead of Jeremy Clements, Brent Crews, Josh Williams and Ryan Sieg, respectively. In addition, all 38 starters on the track were separated by eight seconds of one another as Kvapil continued to lead at the Lap 15 mark.

At the Lap 20 mark, a majority of the field, led by the race leader Kvapil, continued to race in single-file formation towards the outside wall while Mayer tried to ignite a run from the inside lane as he was followed by Retzlaff, Alfredo, Hill and Mosack. With the latter group blending back within the long single-line formation by the next lap, Mayer drifted back to 17th place as Caruth, Creed, Allgaier, Day, Gray, Mosack, Finch, Clements and Sawalich followed suit in the top-10 mark behind Kvapil, respectively. Retzlaff then spun through the grass entering the third turn, but he remained below the track’s apron and the event remained under green flag conditions as the front-runners began to fan out and shuffle behind the leader Kvapil.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 25, Kvapil edged Caruth by 0.055 seconds to win his fifth O’Reilly stage period of the 2026 season. Caruth settled in second ahead of Allgaier, Day and Crew while Mosack, Gray, Finch, Clements and Sawalich were scored in the top 10, respectively. With six of 12 Chase contenders (Kvapil, Caruth, Allgaier, Day, Creed and Gray) racking up the event’s first round of stage points, the remaining Chasers that include Hill, Mayer, Jones, Sammy Smith, Love and Retzlaff were scored in 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 17th and 38th, with Retzlaff mired two laps behind the leaders.

Under the event’s first stage break period, nearly the entire field led by Kvapil pitted while Ryan Ellis, Patrick Staropoli, Nick Leitz, Caesar Bacarella and Joey Gase remained on the track. Once the latter five pitted during the next lap, Day, who exited pit road first, cycled to the lead ahead of Creed, Sawalich, Gray, Caruth, Finch, Jones, Allgaier, Mayer and Love, respectively. During the pit stops, Kvapil stalled his entry while leaving his pit box and was mired back in 12th place. In addition, Austin Hill spent an extensive time in his pit stall to have radio issues addressed while teammate Love was sent to the tail end of the field as a penalty for improper fueling.

The second stage period started on Lap 31 as Day and Sawalich occupied the front row. At the start, early shuffling that fanned out the field ensued as Day motored ahead of the field through the first two turns. Through the backstretch, Sawalich lost a bevy of spots while racing on the inside lane as a majority of the field migrated back up towards the outside lane behind Day. As Day led the next lap Creed, Caruth, Allgaier, Gray and Finch were the next five competitors lined up behind Day’s entry while Kvapil tried to ignite a charge from the inside lane. As Kvapil, Creed and Day battled three wide for the lead for the next lap, Dean Thompson nearly got sideways amid contact, but he managed to keep his entry straight as Kvapil slid his way back into the lead over Day. 

Just past the Lap 35 mark, Kvapil led both the event and a long line of competitors filed towards the outside lane while Hill, who jumped out of line just past the start/finish line, tried to ignite a charge while leading the inside lane that included Sawalich, Creed and Mayer. By then, Day, Caruth, Allgaier, Gray, Thompson and Sammy Smith were lined up behind Kvapil as Hill drew closer to the front by navigating his way up to second place by Lap 38. Hill would be scored in fourth place at the Lap 40 mark and Kvapil retained the lead over Day and Caruth, respectively, as the lead pack was mired by two-stacked lanes.

For the following lap, Allgaier gave Hill a strong shove that enabled Hill and the competitors racing on the inside lane, including Allgaier, Sammy Smith, Mayer and Jones, to gain the advantage. As Kvapil led Lap 41 by 0.009 seconds over Hill, the latter then assumed command before Allgaier made a move beneath Hill and motored his way to the front for the next lap. With a variety of shuffling ensuing at the front and within the leaderboard, Allgaier maintained the lead on Lap 45 in front of a stacked, three-wide field and ahead of Kvapil, Love, Smith, Jones, Alfredo, Caruth, Hill, Finch, Mosack, Day, Crews, Harrison Burton, Clements, Dean Thompson, Leland Honeyman Jr., Blaine Perkins, Gray, Creed, Sawalich, Lee Pulliam, Mayer and Josh Williams, respectively.

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 50, Allgaier fended off the field to notch his 12th O’Reilly stage victory of the 2026 season. Kvapil, Smith, Hill, Day, Creed, Harrison Burton, Crews, Alfredo and Honeyman were scored in the top-10 mark, respectively. With Allgaier, Kvapil, Smith, Hill, Day and Creed racking up the event’s second round of stage points, the remaining Chasers that include Gray, Mayer, Love, Jones, Caruth and Retzlaff were mired in 11th, 12th, 15th, 16th, 19th and 38th, respectively.

During the event’s second stage break period, nearly the entire field led by Allgaier returned to pit road for service while the rest led by Joey Gase, Nick Leitz, Caesar Bacarella, Ryan Ellis and Josh Bilicki remained on the track. Once the latter five pitted, Harrison Burton, who only pitted for two tires, cycled to the lead along with Gray and Sawalich, the latter two of whom also pitted for two tires. Kvapil, the first competitor with four fresh tires, exited in fourth place ahead of Allgaier, Day, Jones, Hill, Sammy Smith and Creed, respectively. 

With 38 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Harrison Burton and Gray occupied the front row. At the start, Burton, who restarted on the inside lane, was drafted by Kvapil ahead of Gray and the field through the first two turns and the backstretch before the outside lane led by Gray came storming back atop the competition. 

Seconds later as the field navigated through the tri-oval, the caution returned when Burton, who was trying to fend off Kvapil from the inside lane and Gray on the outside lane simultaneously, made contact with Gray’s left front while trying to move to the right and stall Gray’s momentum. The contact caused Gray to spin through the tri-oval and in front of the field as Hill, who made contact with Gray’s spinning entry, also spun. Jones also spun to avoid Hill’s spinning entry as the latter was just dodged by Finch. Brennan Poole and Honeyman also spun further at the rear of the field while the rest of the competition dodged the incident. Amid the incident, Burton retained the lead over Kvapil, Smith, Allgaier, Sawalich, Mayer, Day, Creed, Love and Crews, respectively.

The next restart with 32 laps remaining featured Kvapil getting pushed by teammates Smith and Allgaier ahead of Burton and the field that fanned out through the first two turns and the backstretch. As Burton got pinned in the middle lane, Kvapil, who was pushed to the lead from the inside lane, led the next lap before he and teammates Smith and Allgaier transitioned from the inside to outside lane to stall a charge by Day and a multitude of competitors just past the frontstretch. As Crews tried to ignite a charge from the inside lane, a majority of the field migrated in single-file formation towards the outside wall as Kvapil led with 30 laps remaining.

Down to the final 25 laps, Kvapil led a long line of competitors in single-file formation, with Smith, Allgaier, Day, Mayer, Creed, Love, Clements, Alfredo, Perkins, Thompson, Mason Maggio, Williams, Mosack, Jones, Jeb Burton, Retzlaff, Hill, Joey Gase, Sawalich and Caruth following suit in the top-21 mark, respectively. A lap prior, Caesar Bacarella spun through the tri-oval’s grass, but he managed to proceed without drawing a caution. Meanwhile, Gray was mired a lap down in 36th place as Kvapil retained the lead over the next three laps.

With 21 laps remaining, the caution flew due to debris detected in the first turn. At the time of caution, Kvapil was leading ahead of Smith, Allgaier, Day, Mayer, Creed, Love, Clements, Alfredo and Perkins, respectively while the top-35 competitors were separated by seven seconds of one another. During this latest caution period, some, including Caruth, Austin Hill, Kyle Sieg, Daniel Dye, Patrick Staropoli, Ran Sieg, Will Rodgers and Jake Finch, pitted while the rest, led by Kvapil, remained on the track.

For the next restart with 16 laps remaining, Kvapil was pushed ahead of Mayer by teammate Smith as Jones tried to ignite a third drafting lane through the middle within the top-10 mark. As Jones transitioned from the inside and middle lanes while storming his way to the front, Kvapil fended off the fanned-out field to lead the next lap. Jeb Burton then tried to mount a charge from the inside lane as he got close within the top-five mark by the following lap while being pushed by Jones. By then, a majority of the field still opted to line up in single-line formation behind Kvapil towards the outside lane as Smith, Mayer, Allgaier, Day, Love, Creed, Alfredo, Perkins and Jones settled in the top 10, respectively.

Down to the final 10 laps and with nearly the entire field lined up in single-file formation on the outside lane, Kvapil led Smith, Mayer, Allgaier, Day, Love, Creed, Alfredo, Perkins and Jones while Thompson, Jeb Burton, Harrison Burton, Maggio, Crews, Nick Leitz, Bilicki, Ryan Sieg, Caruth, Joey Gase, Gray, Mosack and Retzlaff followed suit, respectively, as the top-35 competitors were separated by two seconds. By then, Hill made an unscheduled pit stop after he hit the wall and cut a tire, which dropped him out of the lead lap category.

As the laps dwindled, Kvapil maintained the lead in front of a long line of competitors, with Smith, Mayer, Allgaier, and Day, all of whom were in the top-five mark, electing to remain behind Kvapil within the draft as Kvapil continued to lead with five laps remaining and over the next three laps. 

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Kvapil remained in the lead over Smith as third-place Mayer darted his No. 41 Starkey Chevrolet Camaro entry to the left in his final-lap bid to the front. Kvapil quickly transitioned to the inside lane to block Mayer through the first two turns. As Mayer struggled to file back in line within the draft, Smith received a strong shove from Allgaier to reel in Kvapil before Smith darted his No. 8 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet Camaro entry to the left and drew alongside Kvapil’s No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro entry entering Turns 3 and 4. With two-stacked lanes charging through the tri-oval and the front-runners fanning out, Smith and Kvapil continued to duel until Smith, who was pushed by Love, started to motor ahead. Kvapil tried to fight back while being pushed by Allgaier, but Smith managed to cross the finish line by 0.084 seconds and claim the victory.

With the victory, Smith, who only led the final lap, notched his fourth career win in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series division, his second in the series at Talladega and his first overall victory since he was awarded a win at Rockingham Speedway in April 2025.

Smith, who also won Friday’s Craftsman Truck Series event at Talladega, became the first-ever competitor to notch two NASCAR national touring series victories during the fall Talladega weekend festivities. He also became the fifth competitor (Ernie Irvan, Dale Earnhardt, Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr.) to achieve multiple national touring series victories at Talladega in the same weekend. The Iowa native is the eighth competitor overall to achieve multiple O’Reilly victories at Talladega and he delivered JR Motorsports’ fifth O’Reilly victory at Talladega and the organization’s 16th victory of the 2026 season.

Smith’s Talladega victory was a sentimental one as he is down to his final two events both in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series division and with JR Motorsports. Next season, he will be competing in the Truck Series division on a full-time basis with TRICON Garage. 

“Man, I’m out of breath,” Smith said on the frontstretch on the CW Network. “That was mentally drained. Just thank you to everybody. It was a great-executed race by [JR Motorsports] and Corey [Day]. We did a good job sticking to our plan with getting those guys stage points. I’m sure they wanted them to win, but I had a good run there to take it. [Spotter] Tyler Green did a great job up top to help me get backed up. Thanks to Jesse [Love] for pushing me. I’m sure I’m his biggest fan right now, helping him [in the championship points battle], but really, I’m just happy for everyone on this No. 8 Pilot Chevrolet. It’s been a tough year this year. Thank you to everyone, [crew chief] Cory Shea, doing a good job just giving me fast race cars. I’m looking forward to Martinsville next week.”

Teammate Carson Kvapil, who led a race-high 69 laps, settled in second place for his 12th top-five result of the 2026 season. Prior to Talladega, Kvapil was scored 79 points behind the points lead. After notching a combined 19 stage points along with his runner-up result, he shaved off 20 points of his deficit and is ranked in fifth place in the Chase standings entering next weekend’s penultimate event of this season at Martinsville Speedway. Nevertheless, he remained disappointed at not gaining the maximum points for the Talladega victory.

“We’ve kind of been, if not the best car, one of the best cars at all the speedways this year, so I knew going into this weekend, it was gonna be a big opportunity for us to have a big points day and really eat away at that [points] gap,” Kvapil said. “I just feel like we’re a little too far to have that Hail Mary day at Martinsville. We can go out and win both stages and win the race. A few guys can have a bad day, and there might be an opportunity for that, but I just feel like today was more the day for that. ”

Meanwhile, Jesse Love rallied his way from his improper fueling pit road penalty early in the event to finish in third place after he pushed Sammy Smith to the victory. Despite recording no stage points, Love, who was satisfied with his Talladega result, maintains his points lead by 19 points over Justin Allgaier as he sets his sights on the final two events of this season, including next weekend’s event at Martinsville, and continues his pursuit for his series title defense. 

“The middle part of that race, if you would’ve told me I was gonna finish third, I would’ve been jumping up and down out of joy,” Love said. “[I’m] Happy to leave here with the [points] lead. Probably, not the most challenging, but the most strategically, challenging race I’ve ran here ever. Even on a day like that where literally 42 things are working against us, we’re still able to have a good day. Very proud of that. We don’t know yet what Martinsville’s gonna look like, but I know for sure that if there’s an opportunity there for us, we’ll take it and make the most of it.”

Justin Allgaier, who led 11 laps, settled in fourth place while Sheldon Creed finished in fifth place. Corey Day, Blaine Perkins, Dean Thompson, Brandon Jones and Anthony Alfredo finished in the top 10. With seven Chase contenders (Smith, Kvapil, Love, Allgaier, Creed, Day and Jones) finishing in the top 10, the remaining Chasers that include Sam Mayer, Rajah Caruth, Taylor Gray, Parker Retzlaff and Austin Hill finished 13th, 17th, 21st, 31st and 35th, respectively.

The seventh O’Reilly Auto Parts Series’ Chase event of the 2026 season at Talladega saw 11 lead changes among eight leaders, and four cautions over 20 laps. In addition, 34 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

Results:

1. Sammy Smith, one lap led
2. Carson Kvapil, 67 laps led, Stage 1 winner
3. Jesse Love
4. Justin Allgaier, 11 laps led, Stage 2 winner
5. Sheldon Creed
6. Corey Day, four laps led
7. Blaine Perkins
8. Dean Thompson
9. Brandon Jones
10. Anthony Alfredo
11. Jeb Burton
12. Mason Maggio
13. Sam Mayer
14. Ryan Sieg
15. Nick Leitz
16. Josh Bilicki
17. Rajah Caruth
18. Jeremy Clements
19. Connor Mosack
20. Joey Gase, one lap led
21. Taylor Gray, one lap led
22. Lee Pulliam
23. Josh Williams
24. Harrison Burton, eight laps led
25. Will Rodgers
26. Brennan Poole
27. Garrett Smithley
28. Kyle Sieg
29. William Sawalich
30. Ryan Ellis, one lap led
31. Parker Retzlaff
32. Patrick Staropoli
33. Daniel Dye
34. Brent Crews
35. Austin Hill, two laps down
36. Leland Honeyman Jr., six laps down
37. Caesar Bacarella, nine laps down
38. Jake Finch – OUT, Accident

*Bold indicates Chase Drivers

After the seventh Chase event of the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season, Jesse Love leads the standings by 19 points over Justin Allgaier, 29 over Corey Day, 50 over Sheldon Creed and 59 over Carson Kvapil. The rest of the 12-car Chase field is displayed below.

Chase Standings:

1. Jesse Love
2. Justin Allgaier -19
3. Corey Day -29
4. Sheldon Creed -50
5. Carson Kvapil -59
6. Sam Mayer -96
7. Sammy Smith -108
8. Taylor Gray -155
9. Austin Hill -168
10. Brandon Jones -189
11. Parker Retzlaff -201
12. Rajah Caruth -218

Next on the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series’ Chase schedule is Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia, for the National Debt Relief 250. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, October 31, and air at 4 p.m. ET on the CW Network, MRN Radio, and SiriusXM.