Brandon Jones Wins in Overtime at Chicagoland Speedway

Brandon Jones won the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday. Driving the No. 20 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing, Jones scored his first win so far in the 2026 season. He also became the first Chicagoland winner since 2019 when Cole Custer won the most recent O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race there.

“We’ve been in a little bit of a rut the last couple weeks,” Jones reflected. “So it’s just nice to do it like we did today. I mean, we had to earn that one.”

Despite two top-fives at Chicagoland in the Cup Series almost a decade ago, Chase Elliott was unable to capitalize on his experience for an O’Reilly Auto Parts Series win. He came up just short in an intense overtime battle, the sixth straight restart leader to relinquish the point upon taking the green.

“It was really at that point I think just about managing old tires and just trying to get a good launch more than it was about a shove,” Elliott said. “Ended up kinda having momentum going the wrong way into Turn 3. I tried to drive in really hard and got myself super tight.”

Starting At Last

The race began several hours after its scheduled start time due to heavy rainfall at the track. When the green flag finally did wave well into Saturday evening, Connor Zilisch led all of Stage 1 in the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet.

The second stage went to another Cup Series driver: Chase Elliott, driving the No. 88 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports. Zilisch had a fuel pressure issue under caution between stages, forcing him to work on fighting his way back up through the field.

In Stage 3, some of the series regulars took their turns at the front of the field. Taylor Gray took the lead on pit road in the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, while Jesse Love led five laps in his No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

Late Race Woes and Risky Strategy

Connor Zilisch’s recent streak of bad luck continued on Lap 156, when he brought out the caution with a solo spin. Still, in the 44 remaining laps he rebounded for an eventual tenth-place finish. The ensuing break in green flag racing presented a strategy dilemma for leader Elliott, Gray, Love, and Brandon Jones.

The boldest move on pit road came from Ryan Sieg’s team, who took fuel only and sent the No. 39 Chevrolet back out on older tires. Sieg inherited the lead, with the prior leaders lining up behind him. Jones flew by the ensuing restart as a four-wide battle briefly broke out behind him. Sieg slipped rapidly back down the running order, while Elliott resumed his forward offensive with Gray close behind.

With 36 laps to go the caution flew again due to a spin and wall impact by William Sawalich. The No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota received contact from teammate Brent Crews in the No. 19 Toyota. Sawalich appeared to lift as his car drifted up toward the wall, with Crews then clipping his left-rear corner.

Seizing the Win

.@BrandonJonesRac ends up on top in the first overtime restart of the season! pic.twitter.com/vWBQzs7znB

— NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts (@NASCAROReillyAP) July 5, 2026

On the next restart it was Taylor Gray who took the lead, opening a lead of over one second while Chase Elliott and Brandon Jones battled hard for second. The two veterans repeatedly forced each other into tough positions in corner after corner as Jesse Love persistently threatened to clear them both.

By the time the dust settled and Jones emerged in second, Gray was nearly two seconds ahead with under 20 laps to go. Just when it appeared Gray would check out for his second win of the season, Ryan Sieg’s tire gamble proved costly. The No. 39’s right-front blew, causing detached rubber to scatter shredded sheet metal across the track.

Immediately on the next restart a four-wide battle for the lead kicked off between Love, Elliott, Jones, and Crews. This time Elliott emerged as the leader and Gray plummeted to sixth. The margins stayed close, and Jones nearly reached Elliott’s bumper. With six laps to go, a wreck involving Kyle Sieg, Patrick Staropoli, Lavar Scott, and Brennan Poole froze the field once more.

On the first and only overtime restart Brandon Jones narrowly muscled the lead away from Elliott with two laps to go. Elliott came back with dive-bomb underneath Jones in Turn 4, but Jones had just enough drive on the exit of the corner to hold him off. Jesse Love, Brent Crews, and Austin Hill rounded out the top-five.

Race Results