First Overtime of ’26 in O’Relly Series

After rain showers moved in over Chicagoland Speedway, practice for the Cuervo 300 on Friday afternoon was postponed until Saturday morning with qualifying cancelled and the lineup set by the NASCAR metric; putting Connor Zilisch on the pole in the number one JR Motorsports car.  Brent Crews will start on the front row alongside Zilisch.

Chase Elliott will be behind the wheel of the JRM 88 car this week.

NASCAR officials have announced that there will be no pit road speed runs available during today’s practice session.  Drivers frequently make at least one run from the track to pit road to check telemetry for pit road speeds.

The drivers are getting a full 50 minute practice session for all 38 drivers.

Justin Allgaier notes that the bump in turns one and two is “1,000 times better” than before; adding that the bump in turns three and four is about the same.

Normally displaying the agricultural item of the region on his number seven Brandt car, today Justin Allgaier’s car has the stars and stripes of the U.S. flag.

Cole Custer got loose  and made a run through the grass, spewing wet grass and dirt everywhere and got a flat tire.

Chase Elliott reports a possible power steering issue.

Jesse Love topped the leaderboard early in single lap times with 31.118 seconds around the 1.5 mile track.  Jesse Love topped the five lap leaderboard, Corey Day topped the 10 laps leaderboard, and Willliam Sawalich topped the 15 lap leaderboard.

The starting lineup for the Cuervo 300:
Connor Zilisch
Brent Crews
Carson Kvapil
Corey Day
Parker Retzlaff
Jesse Love
Anthony Alfredo
Sheldon Creed
Sam Mayer
Sammy Smith
Chase Elliott
Myatt Snider
William Sawalich
Ryan Sieg
Nick Sanchez
Austin Hill
Justin Allgaier
Harrison Burton
Josh Bilicki
Jeremy Clements
Cole Custer
Jeb Burton
Garrett Smithley
Brennan Poole
Taylor Gray
Dean Thompson
Patrick Staropoli
Ryan Ellis
Brandon Jones
Blaine Perkins
Leland Honeyman Jr
Rajah Caruth
Kyle Sieg
Lavar Scott
Tyler Tomassi
Dawson Cram
Joey Gase
JJ Yeley

Mother Nature has been very aggressive this season and has caused the delay in the start of another race.  The O’Reilly Series is hoping to get the race in on Saturday night.

At 9pm edt, track drying is in progress with plans to run the race.

Stages one and two are 45 laps each with stage three lasting 110 laps for a total of 200 laps around the 1.5 mile track.

At 9:52pm, pre-race events began.

Chase Elliott, Cole Custer, and Justin Allgaier are the only drivers in the field to have won a race at Chicagoland; Allgaier has two wins at the track.

Connor Zilisch brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Brent Crews alongside.  Drivers quickly spread out after the race start with Connor Zilisch getting out in front fro the lead.

Lap two, Connor Zilisch leads the race with Brent Crews in second; Corey Day, Jesse Love, and Carson Kvapil round out the top five.

Lap six, Connor Zilisch has pulled out to a lead of over a second and a half on Brent Crews; Jesse Love, Corey Day, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

Lap nine, Chase Elliott and Carson Kvapil battle for fifth.

Justin Allgaier started the race in 17^th place; he has worked his way up to 12^th.

Lap 12, Connor Zilisch continues to increase his lead and is now three seconds out in front of Brent Crews; Jesse Love, Corey Day, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

Lap 15, Connor Zilisch has never been on the oval at Chicagoland until this weekend; it doesn’t seem to be bothering him at all; he is now three and a half seconds out in front of Brent Crews.

Lap 18, Connor Zilisch has a four second lead on Jesse Love; Brent Crews, Corey Day, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

Lap 21, Brent Crews and Corey Day battle for third.

Lap 22, the top five are Connor Zilisch, Jesse Love, Corey Day, Brent Crews, and Chase Elliott.

Lap 25, Connor Zilisch holds a lead of over four seconds on Jesse Love; Corey Day, Chase Elliott, and Brent Crews round out the top five.

Sammy Smith reports that he is “plowing in the front”.  He has dropped to 23^rd.

Lap 30, Jesse Love is very slowly eating into Connor Zilisch’s lead which is now four seconds; Corey Day, Chase Elliott, and Sheldon Creed round out the top five.  Justin Allgaier has been stuck in 12^th after moving through the field.

After starting at the back of the field, Taylor Gray has worked his way to the top 10 and is just outside the top five in sixth place.

Nine laps remain in stage one with Connor Zilisch nearly five seconds in front of Jesse Love; Corey Day, Chase Elliott, and Sheldon Creed round out the top five.

Justin Allgaier is reporting a very tight condition in his car.

Just four laps remain in stage one, Justin Allgaier has entered the top 10.

With a lead of over five seconds, Connor Zilisch wins stage one.

The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Connor Zilisch
Jesse Love
Corey Day
Chase Elliott
Sheldon Creed
Taylor Gray
Sam Mayer
Willliam Sawalich
Justin Allgaier
Anthony Alfredo

After winning stage one, Connor Zilisch reports that he has lost fuel pressure and has to be pushed to pit road.

Drivers come down pit road for service with Chase Elliott winning the race off of pit road.

Brent Crews had dropped to 20^th place at the end of stage one.  One of his tires was corded and nearly unwinding.

William Sawalich was charged with a safety violation and will have to restart the race from the back of the field.

Chase Elliott brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Jesse Love alongside on lap 54.  Elliott gets out in front for the lead with Jesse Love in second.

Lap 55, the top five are Chase Elliott, Jesse Love, Corey Day, Sam Mayer, and Sheldon Creed.  Justin Allgaier is just outside the top five in sixth.

Armed with a fresh set of tires, Brent Crews is back in the top 10.

Lap 58, Justin Allgaier and Sheldon Creed battle for fifth.

Lap 59, Chase Elliott has pulled out to a near one second lead on Jesse Love; Corey Day, Sam Mayer, and Justin Allgaier round out the top five.

Connor Zilisch returns to the track full of fuel and is moving through the field; he has moved up 13 spots since the start of the stage two.

Lap 63, Chase Elliott has pulled out to a second and a half lead on Jesse Love/ Corey Day, Sam Mayer, and Justin Allgaier round out the top five.

Lap 68, Chase Elliott has increased his lead to over two seconds on Jesse Love.  Elliott has not been in an O’Reilly Series car for several years.

Lap 71, Corey Day and Sam Mayer battle for third.

Taylor Gray and Justin Allgaier battle for fifth.

Lap 72, Chase Elliott has a near two and a half second lead on Jesse Love; Sam Mayer, Corey Day, and Justin Allgaier round out the top five.

Lap 76, Chase Elliott has a three second lead on Jesse Love; Sam Mayer, Taylor Gray, and Justin Allgaier round out the top five.

Lap 81, Taylor Gray passes Sam Mayer for third.

Seven laps remain in stage two; Justin Allgaier passes Sam Mayer for fourth.

Fog is beginning to roll in after all the rain.

Chase Elliott wins stage two with a three second lead over Jesse Love.

The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Chase Elliott
Jesse Love
Taylor Gray
Justin Allgaier
Sam Mayer
Brandon Jones
Sheldon Creed
Brent Crews
Corey Day
Connor Zilisch
Brent Crews

Jeremy Clements lost a wheel, it finally stopped in the infield grass.

Drivers come down pit road for service with Taylor Gray winning the race off of pit road.

NASCAR said a mistake was made and gave Nick Sanchez his lap back.

Justin Allgaier was charged with a pit road penalty and will have to restart the race from the back of the field.

With stage three lasting over 100 laps, the drivers will have to make a pit stop during the stage.

Taylor Gray brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 100 with Jesse Love alongside.  Love gets out in front for the lead with Chase Elliott taking second; Taylor Gray drops to third.

Lap 101, the top five are Jesse Love, Chase Elliott, Taylor Gray, Sheldon Creed, and Sam Mayer.

Lap 103, Chase Elliott battles with Jesse Love for the lead.

As the battle continues, Taylor Gray moves up to make it a three way battle.

Lap 105, Chase Elliott takes the lead with Jesse Love in third and Taylor Gray in third; Sam Mayer and Brandon Jones round out the top five.

Sheldon Creed reports a tire issue and is dropping in the field.

After getting a penalty on pit road and starting back in the field, Justin Allgaier has moved up to 16^th place.

Lap 109, Taylor Gray passes Chase Elliott for the lead.

Lap 110, Sam Mayer and Brandon Jones battle for fourth.

Lap 117, Taylor Gray has a two second lead on Chase Elliott; Jesse Love, Brandon Jones, and Sam Mayer round out the top five.  Justin Allgaier is up to 13^th place.

Lap 120, Brandon Jones passes Jesse Love for third.

Lap 121 Sam Mayer and Austin Hill battle for fifth.

With 74 laps remaining in the race, Taylor Gray has pulled out to a three second lead on Chase Elliott; Brandon Jones, Jesse Love, and Austin Hill round out the top five.  Justin Allgaier has been stuck in 13^th.

Lap 130, teammates Jesse Love and Austin Hill battle for fourth.

Chase Elliott taps the wall a couple of times.

The caution flag comes out on lap 133 for an on track incident for the first time for with flat time and the tire carcass rolling around.

Lap 135, the drivers have not yet reached the window to make it to the end of the race on fuel.

The drivers come down pit road for service with Taylor Gray winning the race off of pit road with teammate Brandon Jones in second.

Taylor Gray brings the field down for the green flag restart with Brandon Jones alongside on lap 140.  Jones edges out for the lead but Gray moves up to battle for the lead.

Chase Elliott makes it a three way battle for the lead and gets out in front after driving down on the apron.

Justin Allgaier has entered the top 10.

Lap 142, the top five are Chase Elliott, Taylor Gray, Brandon Jones, Jesse Love, and William Sawalich.

Fifty to go, Chase Elliott has a half second lead on Taylor Gray; Brandon Jones, Jesse Love, and William Sawalch round out the top five.

Running all over the track, Justin Allgaier has entered the top 10.

The caution flag comes out on lap 154 for a crash involving Connor Zilisch.  He got loose and hit the wall.

The drivers are now withing their window to make it to the end of the race with a pit stop. 

Drivers come down pit road for service with Ryan Sieg winning the race off of pit road after taking fuel only.

Ryan Sieg brings the field down for the green flag restart with 38 laps remaining in the race.  Brandon Jones is alongside on the inside lane.  Drivers spread out three and four wide with Brandon Jones in the lead.

The top five are Brandon Jones, Chase Elliott, Taylor Gray, Jesse Love, and Carson Kvapil.

The caution flag comes out when William Sawalich goes for a spin with a flat tire after contact from teammate Brent Crews.

Brandon Jones brings the field down for the green flag restart with teammate Taylor Gray alongside on lap 170.  Drivers spread out three and four wide.  Brandon Jones and Taylor Gray battle for the lead with Gray getting out in front.

The top five are Taylor Gray, Brandon Jones, Chase Elliott, Jesse Love, and Carson Kvapil.

Chae Elliott battles Brandon Jones for second.

Jesse Love moves up to make it a three way battle for second.

Twenty-five to go, Taylor Gray has a second and a half lead with Brandon Jones and Chase Elliott in a battle for second.

Twenty to go!  Austin Hill passes Carson Kvapil for fifth.

Brent Crews passes Carson Kvapil for sixth.

The caution flag comes out with 17 laps to go when Ryan Sieg has a blown tire and leaves debris all over the track.

Taylor Gray brings the field down for the green flag restart with Brandon Jones alongside with just eleven laps remaining in the race.  Drivers spread out three and four wide in a battle for the lead.  Chase Elliott takes the lead from the outside.

The top five are Chase Elliott, Brandon Jones, Jesse Love, Austin Hill, and Brent Crews.

Connor Zilisch got loose after some on track contact but saved the car

Just eight laps remain in the race with Chase Elliott leading the race; Brandon Jones, Jesse Love, Austin Hill, and Brent Crews rounding out the top five.

The caution flag comes out with just six laps in the race for a crash involving Patrick Staropoli and Kyle Sieg. 

Anthony Alfredo is on pit road with the hood up.

In the first overtime of 2026, Chase Elliott brings the field down for the overtime shootout to end the race with Brandon Jones alongside.  Brandon Joens edges out for the lead.

Brandon Jones takes the white flag.

Brandon Jones wins the race!

The unofficial results of the Cuervo 300:
Brandon Jones
Chase Elliott
Jesse Love
Brent Crews
Austin Hill
Justin Allgaier
Taylor gray
Sam Mayer
Cole Custer
Connor Zilisch
Carson Kvapil
Nick Sanchez
Sammy Smith
Parker Retzlaff
Harrison Burton
Sheldon Creed
Dean Thompson
Garrett Smithley
Corey Day
Jeb Burton
Leland Honeyman
Ryan Ellis
Myatt Snider
Rajah Caruth
Brennan Poole
Anthony Alfredo
Patrick Staropoli
Lavar Scott
William Sawalich
Kyle Sieg
Ryan Sieg
Blaine Perkins
Tyler Tomassi
Joey Gase
Jeremey Clements
Josh Bilicki
JJ Yeley
Dawson Cram