The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series was sent into double overtime during the race at Iowa Speedway. The extra laps gave two drivers below the Chase cutline potentially season-altering runs.
First, Ryan Sieg sat on pole position and entered the first overtime in the second row with a chance to secure his first career win at last. An incident that started with Brent Crews took the driver of the No. 39 RSS Racing Chevrolet out of the race entirely. The driver-owner was forced to settle for 33rd-place, eliminating him from Chase contention.
Second, Rajah Caruth ran top-15 the entire race, but with several drivers running poorly at Iowa, this let him secure a runner-up to teammate Carson Kvapil. This left him only 15 points outside of the Chase with one race to go at Daytona International Speedway. Caruth is one of six drivers who will enter the regular season finale with a chance at one of four Chase spots.
Locks and Eliminations
Justin Allgaier, Carson Kvapil, Sheldon Creed, Jesse Love, Corey Day, Brandon Jones, Austin Hill, and (as of Iowa) Sammy Smith will are the other eight Chase drivers.
On the flip side, Ryan Sieg, Anthony Alfredo, Brennan Poole, Dean Thompson, Jeremy Clements, Harrison Burton, Jeb Burton, Blaine Perkins, Patrick Staropoli, Josh Bilicki, Kyle Sieg, Lavar Scott, and Ryan Ellis have mathematically been eliminated from Chase contention.
Above the Cutline
+46: Parker Retzlaff
Parker Retzlaff did not have a special day at Iowa. The driver of the No. 99 finished 13th and lost 13 points to the cutline. However, he still sits nearly a race above the Chase cutline. The Cinderella story of the 2026 season will likely make the Chase, but the storyline will quickly shift to the lack of momentum. Retzlaff has lost 25 points to the cutline in the past two races. This season has seen four top-5s and ten top-10s for the journeyman.
Superspeedways are Retzlaff’s best track type. He has two top-5s and three top-10s in seven O’Reilly starts at Daytona, but has back-to-back DNFs in the track’s summer race. A third top-5 and a fourth top-10 on the drafting tracks in 2026 will cement his spot. But it is likely all Retzlaff will need to do is avoid a hat trick in sub-30th place DNFs.
+19: Sam Mayer
Once again, stage points softened the blow of a somewhat disappointing finish for Sam Mayer. The 23-year-old earned 11 stage points, but crossed the line in 21st-place. He lost his win streak at Iowa as well as 10 valuable points to the cutline. Mayer has had the speed, securing five top-5s and ten top-10s, but also has six DNFs.
The one thing the 23-year-old for Haas Factory Team did not need to do was enter Daytona right on the bubble. Half of Mayer’s DNFs came on superspeedways, which means he can’t count on a strong points day at Daytona. Another DNF could be what costs him a Chase spot.
+1: William Sawalich
Like Caruth, Sawalich quietly secured a top-5 finish. A 3rd-place finish, Sawalich seventh top-5 and tenth top-10 of the season alongside his win at Rockingham Speedway, allowed him to gain eight points on the cut-line and move to the right side of it entering Daytona.
The 19-year-old has not finished top-10 in three NOAPS Daytona starts, and has historically struggled at superspeedway racing. The driver of the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 will need a change in luck to secure his first Chase spot. Sawalich does have momentum, as he is coming off three straight top-5s.
+1: Brent Crews
Brent Crews was the primary reason the race got sent into double overtime. The 18-year-old rookie finished 16th-place and only earned four stage points. This cost him 12 points to the cutline.
“I’ve never been (to Daytona),” Crews said to Frontstretch. “I ran an ARCA car there in practice so that’s all I’ve got for experience, so Daytona’s definitely a new one for me, but another one I’m excited to get to go learn at.”
In only one start at a traditional drafting track, Crews earned a runner-up at Talladega Superpseedway. The young driver still needs another strong day to secure a Chase spot. In four less starts then the field, the driver of the JGR No. 19 has eight top-5s, more then every driver except Allgaier, Kvapil, and Creed.
Below the Cutline
-1: Taylor Gray
Gray captured a top-10 at Iowa, but earned zero stage points. Despite the good result, Gray lost eight points to the cutline, moving him below with one race to go. The driver of the JGR No. 54 has a win, but only two other top-5s and eight other top-10s so far this season. Gray has both the least top-5s and top-10s of his teammates, two of which he will have to battle at Daytona for a Chase spot.
The 21-year-old only has one finish better than 27th-place in three Daytona NOAPS starts, but that one finish was a top-5. If the Chase was decided purely on the 12 fastest teams, Gray would easily make it, but execution has been a struggle this season.
-15: Rajah Caruth
This article led with Caruth’s impressive runner-up finish in the Hawkeye State, a race that helped him gain five points to the cutline. In a season where he has had to split time between JR Motorsports’ championship caliber No. 88 and the mid-pack Jordan Anderson Racing No. 32, Caruth has two top-5s and eight top-10s.
JRM is the team to beat at superspeedways, with the 24-year-old earning three top-10s in four races on the track type this season and was a real contender to win the summer EchoPark race. While Caruth is at a points deficit, he has the equipment advantage and the drafting track advantage.
Owner’s Chase Battle
Due to the slight differences in driver and owner points (Kvapil and Zilisch splitting the No. 1, Crews missing four races in the No. 19, and Caruth splitting the No. 88 with three of Hendrick Motorsports’ Cup drivers), there is a difference in the battle for the Driver’s and Owner’s Chase.
JRM’s No. 1, 7, 8, and 88 entries are all locked in. Richard Childress Racing and JGR also both have secured multiple Owner’s Chase spots. RCR has their Nos. 2 and 21 in, while JGR has their Nos. 19 and 20. The ten locked in entries are rounded out by HFT’s No. 00 and Hendrick’s No. 17.
Four entries enter Daytona within Chase contention. Viking’s No. 99 sits 45 points to the good, HFT’s No. 41 sits 18 points to the good, and the JGR No. 18 and 54 entries sit 18 and 10 points out respectively.
