In week two of The Chase, the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series travels to the Midwest and World Wide Technology Raceway for the Nu Way 225.
Joey Gase is sporting a very special paint scheme today, honouring organ donors. The car is adorned with the hand prints from family members of organ donors on the Donate Life car.
Just 36 drivers are entered for 38 starting spots in today’s race. Every driver will make the race tonight.
The drivers get a 50 minute practice session before making a qualifying run to set the field.
Brandon Jones has to come down pit road with a flat tire.
Taylor Gray topped the leaderboard after practice with a lap of 33.958 seconds.
The first driver on the track to make a qualifying run on a hot summer afternoon is Ryan Elliss who posted a time of 34.768 seconds.
Dawson Cram had an engine issue and will not make a qualifying run but will start the race from the back of the field.
The first driver to break the 34 second mark is William Sawalich with a time of 33.812 seconds
With a time of 33.626 seconds, Carson Kvapil put his JR Motorsports number one on the pole with Jesse Love alongside on the front row. Kvapil is the first driver in 15 weeks to repeat a pole.
Carsson Kvapil spoke on making the pole and said that he felt his lap was okay but not great.
The starting lineup for the Nu Way 225:
Carson Kvapil
Jesse Love
Sheldon Creed
Corey Day
Justin Allgaier
Austin Hill
Harrison Burton
William Sawalich
Rajah Caruth
Brent Crews
Taylor Gray
Sammy Smith
Anthony Alfredo
Nick Sanchez
Brandon Jones
Kyle Sieg
Dean Thompson
Sam Mayer
Parker Retzlaff
Jeb Burton
Patrick Staropoli
Brennan Poole
Jeremy Clements
Blaine Perkins
Myatt Snider
Josh Bilicki
Lavar Scott
Ryan Sieg
Brad Perez
Josh Williams
Jordan Anderson
Mason Maggio
Ryan Elliss
Joey Gase
Austin J Hill
Dawson Cram
Stages one and two are 45 laps each with stage three lasting 90 laps for a total of 180 laps around the track.
Lavar Scott and Josh Williams will start the race from the back of the field after the crews made some unapproved adjustments to the cars.
Dawson Cram is starting the race in the garage.
Carson Kvapil brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Jesse Love alongside. Kvapil gets out in front for the lead with Jesssse Love in second.
Lap three, Carson Kvapil has a half second lead on Jesse Love; Corey Day, Austin Hill, and William Sawalich round out the top five.
Lap seven, Carson Kvapil has pulled out to a one second lead on Jesse Love; Corey Day, Austin Hill, and William Sawalich round out the top five. Justin Allgaier is just outside the top five in sixth.
Lap 10, William Sawalich in fifth and Brent Crews in eighth are the only drivers in the top 10 not in The Chase.
The caution flag comes out on lap 13 when Taylor Gray spins out in a single car incident. Gray kept the car off the wall and drove away from the incident.
Some of the drivers come down pit road for service.
Carson Kvapil brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 17 and jumps out in front for the lead. corey Day takes second with Jesse Love, Austin Hill, and Justin Allgaier rounding out the top five.
Drivers are getting three wide on the track.
Lap 20, Carson Kvapil has a lead of over half a second on Corey Day; Jesse Love, Justin Allgaier, and Austin Hill round out the top five.
The teams gets just three sets of sticker tires for the race.
Lap 24, Carson Kvapil has pulled out to a one second lead on Corey Day; Justin Allgaier, Jesse Love, and Austin Hill round out the top five.
Jesse Love is having shifter issues.
Lap 28, Carson Kvapil has increased his lead to a second and a half on Corey Day.
With 12 laps remaining in stage one, Carson Kvapil holds a second and a half lead on Corey Day; Justin Allgaier, Austin Hill, and Jesse Love round out the top five.
Sheldon Creed, Austin Hill, and Jesse Love battle for fourth.
Just seven laps remain in stage one, Carson Kvapil has a lead of a second and a half on Corey Day; Justin Allgaier, Austin Hill, and Jesse Love round out the top five.
Brandon Jones reports a number of handling issues in the car; stressing no grip in the rear.
Carson Kvapil wins stage one for his third stage win of his career.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Carson Kvapil
Corey Day
Justin Allgaier
Austin Hill
Jesse Love
Sheldon Creed
Brent Crews
William Sawalich
Sam Mayer
Parker Retzlaff
Drivers come down pit road for service. Jeremy Clements, Nick Sanchez, Harrison Burton, Ryan Sieg, Brandon Jones, Dean Thompsson, Jeb Burton, Patrick SStaropoli, Anthony Alfredo, Rajah Caruth and Brent Crews were all involved in a pit road crash in the turn four portion of pit road. Carson Kvapil wins the race off of pit road. All crew members are fine and were not injured in the incident.
NASCAR has red flagged the race in order to get everything sorted out.
The cars have been separated with a few being pulled away on the wrecker; while others are in their pit stalls getting repairs under the caution flag.
Justin Allgaier had to make a second trip down pit road for a loose wheel.
Nick Sanchez is out of the race after the pit road incident.
Carson Kvapil brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Jesse Love alongside on lap 54. After a short battle with Jesse Love, Carson Kvapil holds on to the lead.
The top five are Carson Kvapil, Jesse Love, Austin Hill, Sam Mayer, and William Sawalich.
Lap 57, Justin Allgaier is up to 14th.
Lap 61, Carson Kvapil has pulled out to a one second lead on Jesse Love; Sam Mayer, Austin Hill, and William Sawalich round out the top five.
Lap 62, William Sawalich passess Ausstin Hill for fourth.
Lap 65, drivers are getting three wide.
Lap 66, Justin Allgaier is slowly working his way through the field and is now in twelfth place.
Anthony Alfredo has a tire rub and a smoking car.
Lap 69, Justin Allgaier has entered the top 10.
Austin Hill makes an unscheduled trip down pit road reporting a loose wheel.
Lap 70, Sam Mayer passes Jesse Love for second; Carsson Kvapil hass a lead of over two and a half seconds.
Anthony Alfredo’s tire finally blew and he makes it to pit road; the track stays green.
Lap 72, the top five are Carson Kvapil, Jesse Love, Sam Mayer, William Sawalich, and Sheldon Creed.
The caution flag comes out on lap 73 for debris.
Austin Hill is the “lucky dog”.
So far, seven of the 12 Chase drivers have had some sort of issue in the race.
Carson Kvapil brings the field down for the green flag restart with just 12 laps remaining in stage two. Kvapil takes the lead but Jesse Love is making it a battle and Love gets out in front for the lead.
The top five are Jesse Love, Carson Kvapil, Sam Mayer, Sheldon Creed, and William Sawalich. Justin Allgaier is in seventh.
With nine to go in stage two, Justin Allgaier passes Corey Day for sixth.
With six to go in stage two Jesse Love, Sam Mayer, and Carson Kvapil battle for the lead.
Jesse Love wins stage two for his fourth stage win of the season.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Jesse Love
Sam Mayer
Carsson Kvapil
Sheldon Creed
William Sawalich
Justin Allgaier
Corey Day
Parker Retzlaff
Sammy Smith
Ryan Sieg
Drivers come down pit road for service with Jesse Love winning the race off of pit road. Justin Allgaier came out in ninth.
After staying out on the track, Austin Hill brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three with teammate Jesse Love alongside on lap 99. The drivers will have to make a pit stop during the stage to make it to the end of he race. Austin Hill gets out in front but Jesse Love comes up on the inside and retakes the lead.
The top five are Jesse Love, Austin Hill, Sam Mayer, Corey Day, and William Sawalich.
Lap 102, Justin Allgaier passes Sheldon Creed for seventh.
Lap 104, Carson Kvapil and William Sawalich battle for fifth. Kvapil takes fifth and passes Austin Hill for fourth.
With 69 laps remaining in the race, Carson Kvapil passes Corey Day for third.
Lap 117, Austin Hill has dropped out of the top 10 with his older tires.
Lap 121, Carson Kvapil passes Sam Mayer for second; over three seconds behind leader Jesse Love.
The top five are Jesse Love, Carson Kvapil, Sam Mayer, Corey Day, and William Sawalich.
The caution flag comes out on lap 127 when Lavar Scott spins out and backs into the wall.
Drivers come down pit road for that last set of sticker tires with Jesse Love winning the race off of pit road with Carson Kvapil coming out second.
Jesse Love brings the field down for the green flag restart from the inside lane with 48 laps remaining in the race. Love takes the lead and pulls away from the field.
The top five are Jesse Love, Carson Kvapil, Sheldon Creed, Sam Mayer, and Justin Allgaier.
The caution flag comes out for a crash involving Corey Day and William Sawalich.
There are 29 cars on the lead lap.
Jesse Love brings the field down for the green flag restart with 41 laps remaining in the race. Carson Kvapil takes the lead. The top five are Carson Kvapil, Sheldon Creed, Jesse Love, Sammy Smith, and Brent Crews.
With some damage from the crash with Corey Day and William Sawalich, Justin Allgaier has dropped out of the top 10. He appears to have a tire rub.
Just 33 laps to go, Carson Kvapil has a lead of less than half a second on Sheldon Creed; Jesse Love, Sam Mayer, and Sammy Smith round out the top five.
The caution flag comes out for the seventh time for a wreck with 29 laps to go involving Joey Gase, Josh Bilicki, and Brad Perez.
Justin Allgaier is the lone driver on pit road.
Carson Kvapil brings the field down for the green flag restart with just 24 laps remaining in the race with Jesse Love on the inside lane. After making a pit stop, Justin Allagier restarts the race in 26th. Kvapil gets out in front for the lead with Sheldon Creed taking second.
The top five are Carson Kvapil, Sheldon Creed, Jesse Love, Sam Mayer, and Taylor gray.
Twenty to go, Carson Kvapil has a half second lead on Jesse Love; Sheldon Creed, Sam Mayer, and Taylor Gray round out the top five. Justin Allgaier is in the top 20.
Seventeen to go, Carson Kvapil and Jesse Love battle for the lead. Sheldon Creed, Carson Kvapil, and Sam Mayer get in a three way battle for second.
Twelve to go, Jesse Love has a near one second lead on Sheldon Creed; Sam Mayer, Taylor Gray, and Austin Hill round out the top five.
Just 10 laps remain in the race; Jesse Love holds a one second lead on Sheldon Creed; Sam Mayer, Taylor Gray, and Austin Hill round out the top five.
Carson Kvapil passes Austin Hill for fifth.
Austin Hill makes an unscheduled trip down pit road with just four laps remaining in the race.
Jesse Love takes the white flag.
Jesse Love wins the race at Gateway.
The unofficial results of the Nu Way 225:
Jesse Love
Sheldon Creed
Sam Mayer
Taylor Gray
Carson Kvapil
Parker Retzlaff
Brent Crews
Sammy Smith
Kyle Sieg
Jeb Burton
Rajah Caruth
Dean Thompsosn
Justin Allgaier
Ryan Sieg
Brandon Jones
William Sawalich
Patrick Staropoli
Josh Williams
Brennan Poole
Blaine Perkins
Mason Maggio
Anthony Alfredo
Jordan Anderson
Ryan Elliss
Myatt Snider
Josh Bilicki
Joey Gase
Brad Perez
Austin Hill
Lavar Scott
Jeremy Clements
Austin J Hill
Corey Day
Nick Sanchez
Harrisson Burton
Dawson Cram