The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series field couldn’t decide amongst themselves who would triumph in Saturday’s Focused Health 250 at EchoPark Speedway, so they went with an oldie, but a goodie, Justin Allgaier.
With the No. 7 Jarrett Industries Chevrolet Camaro spitting sparks and dragging on the racing surface, Allgaier, who entered Saturday’s event with a massive points lead, continued to assert his dominance over the youngsters of NASCAR’s second-tier series.
Allgaier snagged his sixth NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victory of 2026, and the 34th of his career, but managed to cross under the checkered flag with a battered race car, after being involved in each of the final two cautions of the evening.
The first, coming to three laps to go, started when Nick Sanchez muscled under Austin Hill to battle for the race-lead and spun the No. 21 around, who then came down the racetrack and tagged Allgaier – giving him the damage that left him sparking during the second attempt at NASCAR Overtime.
But, before Allgaier even got the chance to fight for the win, he was involved in another incident when Jeremy Clements couldn’t get going at full speed in NASCAR Overtime. As a result, Allgaier got locked onto the rear bumper of the No. 51 and turned him around.
However, in order to secure the victory, things still had to work out perfectly for the No. 7.
Just after the start-finish line, Ryan Sieg, second on the outside lane slowed dramatically, running out of fuel, which let Allgaier’s lane, the inside, surge ahead down the backstretch and moved the Riverton, Illinois-native to third, behind Brennan Poole and Nick Sanchez.
Then, on the final lap, when the two collided, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series veteran swept to the inside lane and cleared the incident, and with barely any help behind him, the No. 7 was able to hold off a defense from Carson Kvapil and Parker Retzlaff.
“This, right here, this team, so proud of everybody at JR Motorsports,” Allgaier said post-race. “We had five great Chevrolets, and I knew at the end there were going to be some guys close on fuel, and you just never give up. Andrew Overstreet [crew chief], this whole No. 7 team, Eddie D’Hondt [spotter], they talk over and over again about never giving up and that’s what this team is all about.”
Carson Kvapil, still looking for his first career victory in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, came up one spot short – again – leading 29 laps around the 1.54-mile superspeedway. After being involved in the 11-car wreck late in the race, Parker Retzlaff managed to finish third place for Viking Motorsports.
William Sawalich was the highest-finishing Toyota in the field on Saturday, coming home in fourth place, with Anthony Alfredo rounding out the top-five – putting two Viking Motorsports entries inside the top-five for the second time in three races.
Garrett Smithley finished just one spot shy of a career-best, bringing the SS-GreenLight Racing No. 0 home in the sixth position, with Brandon Jones seventh, Kyle Sieg eighth, Rajah Caruth ninth, and Jeremy Clements – despite spinning in the first NASCAR Overtime restart – rounding out the top-10.
Mason Maggio and Glen Reen finished 11th and 15th, both earning career-best results.
The night was filled with many incidents, helping the race reach a record-setting 13 caution flags – the most in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Atlanta. That included a pair of multi-car wrecks that took out Richard Childress Racing teammates Jesse Love (Lap 153) and Austin Hill (Lap 161). The event included a total of red flags – two for multi-car accidents and two for oil on the racetrack.
Leaving EchoPark Speedway, Justin Allgaier boasts a 240-point lead, making him the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series regular-season champion. Second-place in points, Jesse Love has also clinched a spot in “The Chase”.
Next for NASCAR’s second-tier series is a trip to the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway in two weeks time, on Saturday, July 25 at 4:00 PM ET on The CW.
