NASCAR | O'Reilly

Justin Allgaier Wins Second O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Championship

Image Provided by: Eryn Harris/ATYL Media

Justin Allgaier won the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship on Saturday, leading the No. 7 JR Motorsports team to victory. Entering the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a 22-point lead, a veteran Allgaier succeeded in fending off some of the top prospects in the sport to make himself a two-time champion.

Brandon Jones won the final race of the 2026 season, beating championship contender Carson Kvapil in a prolonged third-stage battle. Though Jones was outside of championship contention, he did manage to seal his second win of the year.

Allgaier won six times in the 2026 season, setting a new career-high. Though he entered the Chase with a near-insurmountable points lead, the format’s reset allowed several competitors to surge within striking distance.

At 40 years old, Justin Allgaier is the subject of annual speculation over how long he’ll continue racing. For multiple seasons theories took hold that Allgaier would hang up his helmet at season’s end. He even told media on Thursday that he was sure 2026 would be last year, but that team owners Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt Miller talked him into signing a two-year extension.

With two career championships, Justin Allgaier further cements himself as one of the most successful drivers in O’Reilly Auto Parts Series history. With 34 wins to his name, Allgaier ranks behind only Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, and Carl Edwards.

One of Allgaier’s top challengers, 20-year-old Corey Day, arrived at Homestead 23 points out of the lead. On Lap 8 his race took a turn for the worse – Day’s No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet turned across the nose of Rajah Caruth’s car and into the outside wall. Day was forced behind the wall, taking him out of the championship hunt.

Jesse Love was the closest to Allgaier entering Homestead at just 22 points back. He picked up eight points in Stage 1 to Allgaier’s four, closing the gap to 18. In Stage 2 Love again earned eight, but this time Allgaier managed seven points to keep his lead at 17.

Of each Chase contender’s 2026 season, none overcame more uncertainty than Carson Kvapil. The 23-year-old split the first 20 races between two different JR Motorsports entries and the No. 91 far of DGM Racing. Once he settled into the stability of the No. 1 car, Kvapil found his stride. Three wins later, Kvapil still faced a 31-point climb if he hoped to catch Allgaier and win his first championship.

Sheldon Creed also arrived at Homestead with a shot at the title, following his breakout three-win season. 42 points back in his last start for Haas Factory Team, Creed likely needed catastrophe for his Chase rivals to have a realistic shot. That sequence of fortune was not in the cards.