Where the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase is concerned, Justin Allgaier has been the poster boy for Murphy’s Law.
After suffering calamities in the first four postseason races, the driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet is looking for a reversal of fortune in Saturday’s Blue Cross NC 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (4 p.m. ET, The CW, ESPN Unlimited, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“Charlotte has been a really strong track for us over the last few years, but all of those races were in the heat of May, so it will be interesting to see how this weekend plays out,” said Allgaier, who has fallen from first to fourth in the standings since The Chase began at Darlington Raceway.
“I know that everyone on this team is ready to get there. Our Chase hasn’t started quite like we hoped, but this group is ready to go out there and do what we’ve done all year. There is still a lot of racing left to be done, and I feel like Charlotte is a great place to get that momentum back on our side.”
Allgaier, who trails Chase leader Sheldon Creed by 30 points with five races left, is the only former Charlotte oval winner in the field for Saturday’s race. The last 14 races on the 1.5-mile track have produced 14 different winners.
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Both second-place Carson Kvapil (19 points behind Creed) and third-place Jesse Love (21 points behind) gained ground at Allgaier’s expense in last Saturday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Love, the defending series champion, finished third behind race winner Corey Day and runner-up Kvapil at Las Vegas, sparking optimism for Saturday’s race at Charlotte.
“We were really good here in the spring,” said Love, who finished second to full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver Ross Chastain in a rain-shortened race in May. “It fits our package.
“We learned some things last week in Las Vegas that we will implement in Charlotte and go from there. I think we’re struggling with some things that, if we fix for Charlotte, we’ll be in good shape.”
The top six drivers in The Chase standings remain within striking distance of Creed’s lead. Sixth-place Sam Mayer, who has gained four positions in the standings since The Chase presented by Mobil 1 began, is 52 points behind Creed.