Drivers outside the top 12 in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series have three more chances to muscle their way into the postseason Chase, with the first opportunity coming in Saturday’s Pennzoil 250 presented by Take 5 Oil Change at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (4 p.m. ET, The CW, IMS Radio Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Brent Crews and Taylor Gray currently occupy the 11th and 12th positions in the standings, but 13th-place Rajah Caruth is only 17 points behind Gray and 18 behind Crews with Indianapolis, Iowa Speedway and Daytona International Speedway left on the regular-season schedule.
Another Gibbs teammate, William Sawalich, trails Gray by just 21 points.
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The race to the postseason aside, there’s one truism about the Indianapolis oval that has been consistent in each of the past 10 O’Reilly Series races there: speed in qualifying translates into performance in the event itself.
In 2012, Brad Keselowski won from the eighth starting position. Last year, Connor Zilisch won from seventh on the grid. In between, all eight winners came from the top three starting positions, four from the pole.
Justin Allgaier is the only former Brickyard winner in the field for Saturday’s race, having triumphed at the track in 2018. With six victories this season, the driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet already has clinched the top seed in the Chase, but Indy remains a significant venue for the Riverton, Illinois, native.
“Indianapolis is such a special track,” said Allgaier, who had contemplated retirement after the current season but recently signed an extension with JRM. “With the history that comes with being here, it’s always been a place that we circle on the calendar.
“We came close here last year (leading 37 laps before a late crash), and there’s nothing I would love more than another opportunity to kiss the bricks come Saturday afternoon.”
Allgaier will have plenty of competition within his own team. Full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers Ross Chastain and Chase Elliott both are driving JRM cars.
In 34 aggregate starts on the Indianapolis oval, beginning in 2012, JR Motorsports has recorded three wins, 11 top fives, 19 top 10s and an average finish of 14.1.
A single top 10 for JRM on Saturday would constitute a significant milestone. The organization has placed at least one car in the top 10 for 78 consecutive races, one short of the 79-race record set by Roush Fenway Racing from 2008-2010.