NASCAR
Who’s Up, Who’s Down to Make the O’Reilly Series Chase?
New name, new format, same old great Saturday racing. NASCAR’s rebranded O’Reilly Auto Parts Series is full steam ahead in a final push to the 2026 Chase. Only two regular season races are left between Iowa and Daytona, with five golden tickets up for grabs. The closest points battle in any NASCAR National Series, O’Reilly has an eclectic mix of teams surrounding their cut line. Here are the drivers currently in the O’Reilly Series Chase and those hoping to bump their way in over the final two chances.
Sammy Smith +98 points
JR Motorsports has been on another level of dominance throughout 2026, with Sammy Smith slotted eighth in points. Nearly 100 points clear of the cut line, Smith’s No. 8 may clinch a Chase spot this weekend in Iowa. The Iowa-born driver owns 10 top-10s in 22 starts this season, with a pair of third-place finishes as his best results.
Smith should make it a perfect JRM trifecta in this year’s 12-man dance, eyeing a new benchmark for his best season yet. Sitting in the fastest cars in O’Reilly Series competition more weeks than not this season, Smith could easily find a way back into victory lane too. JRM currently claims 14 wins on the 2026 campaign. Smith hopes to bring the flagship No. 8 more success in what could be JRM’s greatest year.
Sammy Smith’s No. 8 Pilot Chevrolet Camaro on the grid at Chicagoland Speedway before the Cuervo 300 on Saturday, July 4, 2026. Photo Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Parker Retzlaff +56 points
Perhaps the most improved team in all of NASCAR this year is Viking Motorsports, led by 23-year-old ace Parker Retzlaff. The No. 99 Chevrolet has placed itself far above its weight class at ninth in points. Now competing with former Kaulig Racing equipment, Viking and Retzlaff have blown all of their previous stats out of the water. Four top-fives and ten top-10s are nothing to overlook for an underdog team.
Second and third between both Atlanta dates are the 99’s breakout results of 2026 so far. These deft drafting finishes give great optimism for Daytona looming on the horizon. Almost an entire race’s worth of points above the cut line, Retzlaff faces down a career-defining maiden Chase appearance.
Parker Retzlaff’s No. 99 Funkaway Chevrolet Camaro on the grid at Chicagoland Speedway before the Cuervo 300 on Saturday, July 4, 2026. Photo Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Sam Mayer +29 points
If anyone in O’Reilly Series competition has been plagued by bad luck this year, it’s Sam Mayer. The eight-time Saturday winner finds himself 10th in points, far below Haas Factory teammate Sheldon Creed. Six DNFs for the No. 41 leads all drivers in the top 12; Mayer has seen loads of points be thrown away. Mayer does have five top-fives on the season though, with recent back-to-back eighth-place results between Sonoma and Chicagoland.
If the 41 can keep its wheels pointed forward, the fifth-year driver’s experience trumps most of his rivals. Having lived the pressure-packed Playoff format in previous seasons, Mayer should be seen as a championship-level threat. Team 41 merely needs to finish races and maximize points if they are to make waves in this year’s Chase.
Sam Mayer’s No. 41 Audibel Patriotic Chevrolet Camaro on the grid at Chicagoland Speedway before the Cuervo 300 on Saturday, July 4, 2026. Photo Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Brent Crews +13 points
From an O’Reilly Series veteran to a full-fledged rookie, Brent Crews still doesn’t even have 20 starts to his name. The teenage Toyota prodigy was too young to run the first four races of 2026, but has definitely made up for it since. Crews’ 18 starts to date in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 have been headlined by 12 top-10s, including three runner-up results.
Above water for the Chase with four fewer starts than everyone else should not be understated. The 18-year-old road racing phenom has turned many heads this year. Crews is on the fast track to what may be a very long and fruitful NASCAR career in the Toyota sphere of influence. His maiden victory on the National Series stage may come sooner than later. Learning more with every lap turned, Crews is on the cusp of a very high ceiling and a potential first Chase run.
Brent Crews’ No. 19 Young Life Toyota Supra on the grid at Chicagoland Speedway before the Cuervo 300 on Saturday, July 4, 2026. Photo Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Taylor Gray +7 points
The first 2026 race winner on this list, Taylor Gray took the checkers at Kansas in April. In 12 starts since then, however, the No. 54 Toyota has fallen to the Chase cut line, only in by seven points. Gray’s second career O’Reilly Series win was his first top-five of the year, a feat he’s only repeated twice. Similar to Mayer, Gray’s appeared to be a bad luck magnet this year with five DNFs.
Ninth in the standings was the highest point of 2026 for Gray, currently second in command for Joe Gibbs Racing. Gunning for back-to-back postseason showings, Gray hopes to be an outside title threat this fall.
Taylor Gray’s No. 54 Operation 300 Toyota Supra on the grid at Chicagoland Speedway before the Cuervo 300 on Saturday, July 4, 2026. Photo Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
William Sawalich -7 points
Another race winner this year for Joe Gibbs Racing, William Sawalich got the job done at Rockingham in April. The second full-time season for Sawalich did start off slow, but the 18 has turned a corner recently. Five of Sawalich’s last nine starts ended with top-fives, including his last two races in Atlanta and Indianapolis.
Rounding out a three-man JGR fight at the Chase cutoff, Sawalich will likely have to outscore a teammate to make the top 12. The second member into the 2026 first-time winners’ club, Sawalich looks to add a maiden Chase berth too.
William Sawalich’s No. 18 Starkey Toyota Supra on the grid at Chicagoland Speedway before the Cuervo 300 on Saturday, July 4, 2026. Photo Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Rajah Caruth -20 points
Racing in his first full O’Reilly Series season, Rajah Caruth has caught a lot of attention in 2026. Bouncing back and forth between JR Motorsports’ No. 88 and Jordan Anderson Racing’s No. 32, Caruth has found success in both teams. Two of Caruth’s seven top-10s this season came in the underfunded No. 32. The Washington, DC native will drive the 88, however, for the rest of 2026.
Fourth at Rockingham remains Caruth’s best O’Reilly Series result yet, but a new ceiling could be set. Caruth, currently 20 points outside of the Chase, likely needs a minor miracle or two to make the cut over the next two races. This 88 team did win 11 times a year ago, though, including the Daytona summer race. All hope is not yet lost on a potential late summer surge from the 24-year-old. Now fully in the JRM lineup, Caruth will need help to erase a 20-point deficit.
Rajah Caruth’s No. 32 HendrickCars.Com Chevrolet Camaro on the grid at Chicagoland Speedway before the Cuervo 300 on Saturday, July 4, 2026. Photo Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
12 spots exist in the reorganized O’Reilly Series Chase, with seven of them already locked up. Five coveted berths remain for the taking as the regular season winds down, with two very different tracks left. The tight confines of Iowa Speedway and Daytona International Speedway’s high banks will set the Chase lineup. When Daytona’s checkers fall, five hopeful drivers will be sent into title contention. Only seven points separate the current cut line battle. As a result, a lot is left on the line over the next two Saturday races.
Written by Peter Stratta
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