For the second time in three years, Justin Allgaier is the champion of the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.
The 40-year-old out of Springfield, Illinois maintained his points lead through Saturday night’s championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Allgaier finished seventh in the race to claim the 2026 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship by 14 points over Jesse Love.
It marks Allgaier’s second career championship after winning the title in 2024. Allgaier won both championships behind the wheel of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet as he became the first driver to win multiple titles with JR Motorsports.
The 34-time series winner becomes just the 10th driver in NOAPS history to win multiple championships. Allgaier scored a series-high six wins in 2026 and won the regular season title.
Brandon Jones Wins Season-Finale Race as Allgaier Wins The Title
While Justin Allgaier became the 2026 champion, it was Brandon Jones driving to victory lane in the race. With a late-race pass on Carson Kvapil, Jones wheeled the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to the win at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
It marked the second win for Jones in 2026 and ninth career victory overall. Piloting a Toyota, Jones delivered the manufacturer’s 700th NASCAR win.
Here are the full results from the race:
- Brandon Jones
- Carson Kvapil
- Brent Crews
- Jesse Love
- Parker Retzlaff
- Sheldon Creed
- Justin Allgaier
- Austin Hill
- Sam Mayer
- William Sawalich
- Kyle Sieg
- Ryan Sieg
- Will Rodgers
- Taylor Gray
- Sammy Smith
- Nicholas Sanchez
- Patrick Staropoli
- Rajah Caruth
- Anthony Alfredo
- Josh Williams
- Lavar Scott
- Jeb Burton
- Harrison Burton
- Preston Pardus
- Jeremy Clements
- Joey Gase
- Brennan Poole
- Blaine Perkins
- Ryan Ellis
- Josh Bilicki
- Andrew Patterson
- Brad Perez
- Dean Thompson
- Corey Day
- Dawson Cram
- Mason Maggio
- Garrett Smithley
- JJ Yeley
How The Other Championship Contenders Fared at Homestead
Entering the season-finale race, five drivers could mathematically win the 2026 championship.
Allgaier entered with a 22-point lead over Love, a 23-point edge over Corey Day, a 31-point buffer over Kvapil, and a 42-point advantage over Sheldon Creed.
Day’s championship hopes at Homestead ended almost as soon as it began.
On just the ninth lap of the 200-lap race, Day slid up in front of Rajah Caruth while racing for position, sending the driver of the No. 17 crashing into the outside retaining wall. The damage was significant enough to send Day to the garage.
Day returned to the race but wound up finishing multiple laps down in the 34th position.
Love, who needed to win to claim the championship, wound up finishing fourth. It was Love’s final race in the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. After three full-time seasons, Love is joining Wood Brothers Racing to pilot the No. 21 Ford in the Cup Series next year.
Kvapil wound up finishing second in the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet after pacing the field for 36 laps. Creed, who led a race-high 99 laps, came home sixth in the No. 00 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet.
Allgaier faced adversity of his own on Saturday night after suffering a right-rear tire failure. Fortunately, it was in the middle of a green flag pit stop cycle, allowing the veteran driver to not make an unscheduled stop.
While it was a nail-biting championship battle until the end, it was Allgaier who came out on top.
Justin Allgaier Wins 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Championship