By: Chris Gollon, Ben Branscum
Justin Allgaier held off a hard charge from Jesse Love to win the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday. This win is the 29th of Allgaier’s career and his first in the 2026 season.
“So proud of this team,” Allgaier said. “It really wasn’t for lack of adversity. Really proud of this team.” He and his team overcame a tough pit stop at the end of Stage 2 after a hang-up on the right rear tire pushed him back to 21st.
Despite leading 114 laps on Saturday, Jesse Love was unable to recapture the magic of his championship win at Phoenix in November. The No. 2 team came home second after having a dominant first half of the race and winning the second stage. While it was a good day for points, the reigning series champion was disappointed once all was said and done.
“I think the only real misstep we had was tightening up there at the beginning of Stage 3,” Love said. “That put us behind and I don’t know what this tire life was like.”
Fellow JR Motorsports driver Carson Kvapil finished third in his No. 1 Chevrolet, followed by the Haas Factory Team duo of Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer. An altogether solid night for JR Motorsports continued with Sammy Smith’s sixth-place finish, followed by the two Jordan Anderson Racing cars of Jeb Burton and Rajah Caruth. Hendrick Motorsports prodigy Corey Day finished ninth, with Anthony Alfredo rounding out the top ten.
Only two cautions came out for incidents on Saturday. The first came on Lap 165 due to a spin from Lavar Scott after contact from Anthony Alfredo. Five laps after the restart, Brandon Jones spun following contact from Sammy Smith. A handful of drivers piled in, including Taylor Gray, William Sawalich, Blaine Perkins, and Ryan Sieg.
So far in the 2026 season, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series has had four winners in four races. Austin Hill opened the season with a win at Daytona International Speedway, followed by Sheldon Creed at EchoPark Speedway and Shane van Gisbergen at Circuit of the Americas. The 2024 series champion is now a race winner for a record tenth straight season.
Justin Allgaier has a slim three-point lead over Jesse Love in the 2026 standings exiting Phoenix. Austin Hill is only five points back, while Carson Kvapil is 38 points back in fourth and Sheldon Creed is 41 points behind in fifth.
