The NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series opens its Chase on Saturday night with the Fleetio 200 at Darlington Raceway, 147 laps and 200.8 miles on the 1.366-mile oval, green flag at 7:30 p.m. ET. Darlington has never hosted an O'Reilly Series Chase race. And this is the first O'Reilly Series postseason run under the Chase format, 12 drivers across nine races.
The track
Two drivers in the field have won at Darlington. Justin Allgaier has won four of the last 10 O'Reilly Series races there, including the spring race this year, and his 17 top-10 finishes at the track trail only Mark Martin's 18. Brandon Jones won in 2020 and 2025. Among the other Chase drivers, only Jesse Love, with a 9.0 average finish, and Corey Day, sixth in his first start there this spring, average 10th or better.
Over the last 11 O'Reilly Series races at Darlington, JR Motorsports has six wins and Joe Gibbs Racing four. The driver who led the most laps won four of the last eight. Three of the last 12 were decided by a pass on the final lap.
The field
Points were reset after Daytona. Regular-season wins are in parentheses.
- Justin Allgaier, JR Motorsports No. 7: 2,100 (6)
- Carson Kvapil, JR Motorsports No. 1: 2,075, 25 back (2)
- Sheldon Creed, Haas Factory Team No. 00: 2,065, 35 back (1)
- Jesse Love, Richard Childress Racing No. 2: 2,060, 40 back
- Austin Hill, Richard Childress Racing No. 21: 2,055, 45 back (2)
- Brandon Jones, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20: 2,050, 50 back (1)
- Corey Day, Hendrick Motorsports No. 17: 2,045, 55 back (2)
- Sammy Smith, JR Motorsports No. 8: 2,040, 60 back
- Parker Retzlaff, Viking Motorsports No. 99: 2,035, 65 back
- Sam Mayer, Haas Factory Team No. 41: 2,030, 70 back
- Taylor Gray, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 54: 2,025, 75 back (1)
- Rajah Caruth, JR Motorsports No. 88: 2,020, 80 back
Allgaier's regular-season lead was 229 points, and stood at 240 as recently as July. Love, the 2025 champion, and Allgaier, the 2024 champion, are the only two in the field who have won the title. It is the first postseason for Hendrick Motorsports and for Viking Motorsports as O'Reilly Series teams.
The tire
Goodyear brings a right-side tire that is new to Darlington, first run at Charlotte this season, paired with the left-side tire last run at Iowa. Teams get seven sets: four new sets for the race, one carried over from qualifying, two for practice. Teams will run inner liners, as is customary on tracks a mile or longer.
Saturday
Practice runs 1:30 to 2:20 p.m. ET. Qualifying starts at 2:35. Driver introductions are at 7 p.m. and the green flag at 7:30, with stage breaks at laps 45 and 90. The CW carries the race from 6:30, with MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on channel 90. The purse is $1,661,806. The NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 follows on Sunday at 5 p.m.