Justin Allgaier Wins Darlington With Late-Race Surge

Justin Allgaier won the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Darlington Raceway on Saturday, his second victory of the 2026 season. He led 31 laps during the race, capitalizing on a surge in the final stage in his No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet.

“We have not been the best on pit road all year…these guys have never quit, they have gone to work, they’ve never given up, and they were on top of it all day,” Allgaier told The CW in Victory Lane. “We definitely weren’t the best all day, Kyle [Larson] obviously was amazing as covered.”

Runner-Up Brandon Jones

Finishing second was Brandon Jones, who drove his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to its first top-five of 2026. Years into their respective careers in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Allgaier and Jones had another memorable and clean battle for the win.

“I’ve been competitors with Brandon, I’ve been teammates with Brandon, we’ve been friends off the racetrack for probably all [of our starts together],” Allgaier continued. “He’s an insanely good racecar driver. Those are the moments that suck in the sport, when you beat somebody that you respect. But that’s my job.”

“Our weakness was slightly taking off, I think the No. 7 car…he was really strong towards the last restart at least of that stint,” Jones added. “He gapped us so much, but we started to begin to reel him back in, which is where are strength today was: our long-run speed.”

Kyle Larson Dominates But Falls Short

Perhaps the most dominant car of the evening was the JR Motorsports entry of Kyle Larson. After starting from the pole, Larson led 107 laps and won both of the first two stages. A slow pit stop after the final caution of the day relegated Larson’s No. 88 Chevrolet to fifth, and he was unable regain the ground.

“We all knew that the run was going to be short, so everybody ran really hard,” Larson said, “It brings the pace up and then it’s just hard to pass. When the runs were projected to be long you kinda manage it, and you get to the point of the run where managing it really pays off. You just never really get to that point in a 15-lap run.”

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell finished third in the No. 19 Toyota, followed by Larson in fourth. JR Motorsports’ Carson Kvapil rounded out the top-five, followed by Hendrick Motorsports prospect Corey Day in sixth.

Parker Retzlaff’s Breakout Year

Finishing eighth with his second top-ten of the season was Viking Motorsports’ Parker Retzlaff. So far in 2026 Retzlaff has two top-ten finishes, propelling him to ninth in the series standings. In his first year with a relatively new team, Retzlaff is quickly elevating his stock by outperforming his equipment. The 21-year-old leaves Darlington 50 points above the Chase cutoff line.

“I think the big jump is just how prepared these guys show up to the racetrack and preparation throughout the week,” Retzlaff said. “I’ve done more preparation this year than I’ve ever done in years prior. There’s a lot more leadership and guidance of what I should be doing.”

Four Straight for JR Motorsports

JR Motorsports now has four consecutive wins in the first six races of the 2026 season. Shane van Gisbergen started the streak at Circuit of the Americas, followed by Allgaier at Phoenix Raceway. Kyle Larson kept the wins coming at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last week before Allgaier returned to Victory Lane at Darlington.

Justin Allgaier is JR Motorsports’ winningest driver ever, with 27 of his 30 career wins coming for the team. His win Saturday tied him with Joey Logano for seventh on the all-time O’Reilly Auto Parts Series wins list. One more victory would tie him with Jack Ingram for sixth, and seven more beyond that would get Allgaier to Carl Edwards’ fifth-best 38 career wins.

Race Results