NASCAR
Carson Kvapil Wins Again for Second O’Reilly Win at Iowa
NEWTON, Iowa – The newest winner in NASCAR O’Reilly Series competition kept his winning ways alive in Iowa. Following a caution-plagued HyVee Perks 250 at Iowa Speedway, Carson Kvapil found the front late and never looked back. Another Saturday largely dominated by JR Motorsports saw their young talent stay undefeated after late chaos ensued.
First-time polesitter Ryan Sieg led the entirety of Stage 1, only to lose the top spot to Sheldon Creed in Stage 2. Past Iowa winner Justin Allgaier soon got by the No. 00 for this second stage win. Allgaier’s No. 7 appeared to be the class of the field, until an off-sequence pit stop for tires set him back. Allgaier soon rallied to third for the overtime restart, but calamity soon broke out. Brent Crews and Ryan Sieg made contact into turn one, sending the No. 39 sideways into traffic, collecting Allgaier and many others.
It is chaos in corn country!
Several of the leaders are collected on the restart. pic.twitter.com/75o4egYWd6
— NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts (@NASCAROReillyAP) August 8, 2026
Up front meanwhile, Carson Kvapil cleared Ross Chastain for the lead and had command on the next overtime restart. Kvapil held his advantage from the outside lane and scooted away to back-to-back triumphs. The second generation star from North Carolina is the ninth driver in O’Reilly Series history to earn consecutive first and second wins.
“I knew we had a really fast car,” Kvapil said. “I knew the No. 7 was on fresher tires too. So that was really my biggest concern there. I think the 9 [Ross Chastain] probably had it if that yellow didn’t come out there at the end. We were fast, running him down, but just didn’t have enough there to fill the gap. Got to thank Rodney [Childers, crew chief], Johnny Morris, and everyone on this Bass Pro Shops, Clarience Technologies Chevrolet with Hendrick motors under the hood. We brought a really fast racecar and unlike the first two stages we were really able to run down the leaders there at the end and it just all worked out. We got that restart we needed and got the win.”
“It feels really cool to win again. Not as big as Indy I guess you’d say, but just super exciting. Just goes to show what this No. 1 group has, what they bring to the racetrack. I feel like we were not the greatest in the first two stages. But Rodney gave his touches to it and turned us into a race-winning car.”
Not far behind Kvapil was teammate Rajah Caruth, earning his career-best result. William Sawalich, Ross Chastain, and Sheldon Creed rounded out the top-five. The rest of Iowa’s top-10 were: Nick Sanchez, Taylor Gray, Dean Thompson, Harrison Burton, and Brennan Poole.
Allgaier still holds a 238-point championship lead over Kvapil, with another JRM driver locked into the Chase. Eighth in points Sammy Smith has clinched his way into the 12-man title fight, after he was 17th at Iowa. The cut line battle is only one point separation between three drivers: Sawalich, Crews, and Gray.
O’Reilly Series competitors will have three weeks off before returning to action at Daytona International Speedway. The green flag will fly Friday, August 28 at 7:30 p.m. ET on The CW, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The Winn-Dixie 250 will be O’Reilly’s regular season finale, securing their Chase grid. Four spots remain up for grabs with only 15 points between 11th and 14th on the grid.
Written by Peter Stratta
Be sure to follow us on Twitter/X
Be sure to follow the writer on Twitter/X
Photo Credit to Sean Gardner/Getty Images
