There are five drivers left standing in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship fight, and after Saturday night at Martinsville Speedway, they are probably all wondering what on earth is going to happen next.
Carson Kvapil made sure he would have a say in the matter, winning the National Debt Relief 250 and keeping his championship hopes alive. Meanwhile, Justin Allgaier walked away with the points lead, Corey Day somehow survived an afternoon that looked destined to end in disaster, and Jesse Love went from sitting comfortably atop the standings to needing a rather significant comeback in next week’s season finale.
In other words, Homestead just got even more interesting.
Kvapil led a race-high 121 laps around the half-mile Virginia track, then held off his JR Motorsports teammate Allgaier over the closing laps to claim his third victory of the season. The margin of victory was 0.434 seconds, which is close enough to make a driver start checking his mirrors even after the checkered flag.
The No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet driver had started from the pole and knew he had the equipment to get the job done. Getting it to the finish, however, required a little patience, some strategic thinking and a crew chief who apparently had a better idea of what was going on than anyone else.
“I knew when we unloaded for practice we had a really fast Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet,” Kvapil said. “Rodney [Childers] really worked hard. Rodney and everyone on this one team really worked hard from our spring race to come back with a better race car and something that had some forward drive off the corner.”
Things weren’t exactly straightforward after that.
Kvapil found himself shuffled backward during the early stages, struggling to make the kind of progress expected from a car that had just qualified on the pole. The team eventually made the call to pit early, a decision that left Kvapil running on older tires later in the race.
It also turned out to be the right call.
“We made the call to come in early, which in turn made us stay out on older tires later,” Kvapil said. “But it just really worked out. Rodney and everyone on that team made the right call.”
With Allgaier closing in during the final laps, Kvapil had one more job to do: keep his teammate behind him. He managed that, collecting the victory and ensuring the championship battle would have five drivers heading to Homestead.
“Winning is always great,” Kvapil said. “But finally getting one at a track where I feel like I’m really good at is really cool.”
For Allgaier, second place was nearly as valuable as a victory. The veteran JR Motorsports driver reclaimed the championship lead after a disastrous afternoon for the man who had arrived at Martinsville holding it.
Love entered the race with a 19-point advantage over Allgaier. He leaves Virginia 22 points behind.
That’s quite a change in circumstances.
The No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet had been dealing with mechanical issues throughout the afternoon following an early incident. Then, with fewer than 50 laps remaining, things went from unpleasant to downright catastrophic.
Love lost his brakes entering Turn 1 and slammed into the outside retaining wall. He was credited with a 30th-place finish, nine laps down, and watched his championship cushion disappear.
The difference between first and fifth in the standings is just 42 points.
And while Allgaier has the advantage, nobody should be ordering championship merchandise just yet.
Day, in particular, has reason to feel pretty good about his afternoon. The rookie’s race looked as though it might be over before it had properly started. His No. 17 Chevrolet struggled with speed during the opening stage, then suffered damage after an early-race incident.
Instead of disappearing into the middle of the pack, Day and his team fought their way back to a third-place finish.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Day said when asked whether the result felt like a victory after the early problems. “I thought we were going to run 15th at best today just with the speed we had in our car, and then getting caught up in that. I thought it knocked every little last bit of speed we had in our car out.”
Somehow, the team found a way to recover, make the right strategic calls and keep the car on the lead lap.
Day knows what comes next. He is 23 points behind Allgaier, and the season finale at Homestead is likely going to require something rather spectacular.
“I’d say we’re in a must-win,” Day said. “I don’t really see the seven running worse than top five there for sure. So yeah, must-win’s okay, though. I like that. I like those odds. It’s better than being out of it entirely.”
That’s one way of looking at it.
Brandon Jones finished fourth at Martinsville, followed by Sam Mayer. Creed finished sixth, Sammy Smith was seventh, William Sawalich eighth, Brent Crews ninth and Taylor Gray completed the top 10.
Smith and Mayer were eliminated from championship contention, leaving five drivers eligible for the title.
Allgaier has the points lead and the experience. Love has the speed, but now needs to recover from a miserable afternoon. Day is staring at a must-win situation, while Kvapil has momentum and a victory to his credit. Creed, meanwhile, remains close enough to make things uncomfortable for everyone.
The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship will be decided next Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Five drivers. One championship. And after what happened at Martinsville, it might be wise to leave the crystal ball in the garage.
RACE RESULTS
Greg was a writer for DriveTribe supporting Amazon's The Grand Tour and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, and a Masters degree in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek and a regular contributor to Forbes.
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