NASCAR
Carson Kvapil Wins Martinsville, O’Reilly Championship Showdown Set
RIDGEWAY, Va. – NASCAR’s closest remaining championship battle put on another excellent display at Martinsville. Short track ace Carson Kvapil takes home the Grandfather Clock trophy after another career-defining run around The Paperclip. Not far in the No. 1’s rearview mirror, Justin Allgaier made it a JRM 1-2 finish. The ageless veteran is now poised very nicely for a chance at a second NASCAR title next week.
Taking the green flag in third, Justin Allgaier flexed his muscles at the start. The No. 7 Chevrolet took the lead on the opening lap, and led the entirety of Stage 1. Allgaier then opted to pit for fresh tires, and raced his way all the way back to second by the Stage 2 checkers. This second segment win went to Anthony Alfredo.
Allgaier inherited the lead for the final Stage, and looked unstoppable through several successive restarts. Allgaier only chose to pit with most of the field just outside of 80 laps left. This exchange sent the 7 to mid-pack for the restart, causing him to burn up his tires regaining lost ground. The final restart saw Allgaier line up to Carson Kvapil’s outside with 32 laps left, but the 7 was no match for the 1. Kvapil, the 2024 ValleyStar Credit Union 300 winner, added another Martinsville milestone to his racing résumé with this major Chase victory. Thanks to Jesse Love’s struggles, Allgaier took over the championship lead and Kvapil is 31 points back in a five-man title fight.
“Yeah it’s awesome, I knew when we unloaded for practice we had a really fast Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet,” Kvapil said. “Rodney [Childers, crew chief] really worked hard. Him and everyone on this 1 team worked really hard from the spring race to come back with a better racecar, something with forward drive off the corner.”
“I was able to qualify on pole, that was cool, but we just had a rough race there from the beginning of Stage 1 to the end there. Just kept getting shuffled back, and couldn’t really do nothing right. So, we made the call to come in early, which in turn made us stay out on some older tires later. Just really worked out. Rodney and everyone on that team made the right call. It’s super cool to have Johnny [Morris, Bass Pro Shops owner] here for a win, that’s pretty awesome. Just super excited winning here is always great. But finally getting one and a track where I feel I’m really good at is really cool.”
Behind the top JR Motorsports duo, Corey Day rallied from an early restart crash to finish third. The No. 17 just beat out Brandon Jones and Sam Mayer in the closing laps. Much farther back, a night from hell ended with past points leader Jesse Love nine laps down in 30th. Hear from these three contenders below.
.@J_Allgaier retakes the O’Reilly points lead by 22 after finishing 2nd tonight:
“That just means we’re the hunted…hate that for Love and the 2 team…we know what we need to do next week from Homestead”
#NASCAR pic.twitter.com/xULFHAM7Yb— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) October 31, 2026
.@corey_day_ finishes 3rd after early restart contact put the @Hendrick17Team in the turn one wall, and heads to Homestead 23 points off the lead. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/RcNJrgMgnh
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) October 31, 2026
.@jesselovejr1 says he’s already focused forward after a disappointing Martinsville. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/J2wBzbaTiS
— Noah Lewis (@Noah_Lewis1) October 31, 2026
22 points is the championship lead that Justin Allgaier carries into next week, looking for his second title in three years. Thanks to Kvapil winning, five drivers have a mathematical shot at hoisting the O’Reilly Series championship trophy. The season finale race will go green from Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET on The CW, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. As unlikely as it may be, four organizations are still vying for NASCAR’s second-highest title in South Beach.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to David Jensen/Getty Images
