Ryan Sieg earns first OAP win; Rajah Caruth grabs last spot in Chase

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- After 424 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series starts and five runner-up finishes, Georgia owner-driver Ryan Sieg hoisted his first career trophy Friday night at Daytona International Speedway following a dramatic overtime victory in the Winn Dixie 250 Powered by Coca-Cola. A favorite in the garage and the grandstands, the 39-year-old from Tucker, Ga., benefited from a two-tire late-race pit stop to get inside the top five and was running fourth when a caution flew with a single lap of regulation remaining. Restarting the two-lap overtime period from the outside lane on the second row, Sieg was able to get around front-row starting JR Motorsports teammates Carson Kvapil and Justin Allgaier immediately and then drove away. His No. 38 Ryan Sieg Racing Chevrolet ultimately took the checkered flag by 0.149 seconds over Richard Childress Racing's Austin Hill. In the closing yards to the finish line, Sieg conceded he just kept thinking, 'Don't mess up.' He did not. 'This is incredible, unbelievable, especially doing it here at Daytona,' a grinning Sieg said as he received a hug from his brother Kyle and a kiss from his girlfriend. 'I've been coming here since I was a baby, we've come here every summer race. 'To do it right now and the way we did it, that's amazing and to get the pole last (race), just want to thank everybody that helped us out to get here. My mom and dad, my girlfriend, all the support from the whole team, everybody. 'This has been a long time coming. Last race got the pole and (now) we came back to Daytona where I really wanted to win and we freaking did it.' For much of the race, it looked as if Kvapil may earn his third consecutive win. The last-lap caution flag cut short his bid to become the first driver in series history to claim his first three career wins consecutively. His 50 laps out front in the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet were most on the night. Viking Motorsports driver Anthony Alfredo and newly re-signed Joe Gibbs Racing driver Brandon Jones rounded out the top five. Allgaier rallied to a sixth-place finish in the typically frenzied final laps. A two-lap overtime period was necessary after Allgaier and another of his JR Motorsports teammates touched with a lap remaining, the contact from behind sending pole-winner Rajah Caruth's No. 88 Chevrolet spinning. Fortunately for Caruth, the bad luck didn't end up ruining his night. He put himself in the last spot for the 12-driver Chase field that will now go on to challenge for the 2026 title. Caruth finished 32nd, but the greater misfortune of two other competitors put the 24-year-old into the Chase in his first full time season in the series. Similarly, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Taylor Gray moved from outside Chase contention to the 11th position, his 26th-place finish at Daytona good enough to move him forward after two of his teammates endured a heartbreaking night. The Chase standings took a dramatic turn mid-race with a pair of accidents -- both near the front of the field -- ending JGR teammates Brent Crews' and William Sawalich's hopes of contending for a title. Both had been running in the top 10 when separate incidents derailed their quests. Crews' No. 19 JGR Toyota sustained a lot of damage, collected in a five-car accident in Turn 3 on lap 28 and had to go to the garage for lengthy repairs. Only 19 laps later, Sawalich was an innocent victim in another five-car incident, the damage to his No. 18 JGR Toyota proving too much to return to the race competitively. Crews did come back on track with 42 laps remaining but was 31 laps down to the field. 'We did all we could but just got taken out and it sucks,' said a disappointed Sawalich, who won at Rockingham, N.C., this year and had made up 45 points to become Chase-eligible in just the last few weeks. After the points reset for the Chase run, the season's most dominant driver, six-race winner Allgaier, will take a 25-point lead into the 10-race trophy run that begins next week. His teammate Kvapil is seeded second, followed by Haas Factory Team's Sheldon Creed; the defending series champion, Richard Childress Racing's Jesse Love; Hill; Jones; Hendrick Motorsports rookie Corey Day; and JR Motorsports' Sammy Smith. Viking Motorsports' Parker Retzlaff will make his Chase debut, with Haas driver Sam Mayer, Gray and Caruth rounding out the Chase field. The NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series returns to action next week at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway with the Fleetio 200 (7:30 p.m. ET on CW, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). NASCAR Cup Series regular Christopher Bell won the second-tier series' last fall race at Darlington in 2024. Allgaier won at the track this March. NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Race -- Winn-Dixie 250 Powered by Coca-Cola Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida Friday, August 28, 2026 1. (12) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 105. 2. (8) Austin Hill, Chevrolet, 105. 3. (2) Carson Kvapil, Chevrolet, 105. 4. (9) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 105. 5. (13) Brandon Jones, Toyota, 105. 6. (18) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 105. 7. (33) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 105. 8. (11) Harrison Burton, Toyota, 105. 9. (29) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 105. 10. (4) Sheldon Creed, Chevrolet, 105. 11. (19) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 105. 12. (27) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 105. 13. (20) Leland Honeyman Jr(i), Chevrolet, 105. 14. (24) Parker Retzlaff, Chevrolet, 105. 15. (36) Blaine Perkins, Chevrolet, 105. 16. (15) Nick Sanchez, Chevrolet, 105. 17. (22) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 105. 18. (31) Lavar Scott #, Chevrolet, 105. 19. (35) Mason Maggio, Chevrolet, 105. 20. (3) Jesse Love, Chevrolet, 105. 21. (23) Kyle Sieg, Chevrolet, 105. 22. (26) Natalie Decker(i), Chevrolet, 105. 23. (32) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 105. 24. (34) Carson Ware, Chevrolet, 105. 25. (6) Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, 105. 26. (10) Taylor Gray, Toyota, 105. 27. (16) Dean Thompson, Toyota, 105. 28. (37) Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet, Accident, 104. 29. (14) Corey Day, Chevrolet, 104. 30. (38) Andy Jankowiak, Ford, 103. 31. (21) Caesar Bacarella, Chevrolet, 103. 32. (1) Rajah Caruth, Chevrolet, 103. 33. (28) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 94. 34. (30) Patrick Staropoli #, Chevrolet, 73. 35. (17) Brent Crews #, Toyota, 61. 36. (5) Sammy Smith, Chevrolet, Accident, 44. 37. (7) William Sawalich, Toyota, Accident, 44. 38. (25) Daniel Dye(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 27. Average Speed of Race Winner: 132.52 mph. Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 58 Mins, 51 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.149 Seconds. Caution Flags: 4 for 25 laps. Lead Changes: 21 among 11 drivers. Lap Leaders: S. Creed 1;R. Caruth 2-6;S. Creed 7-8;J. Love 9-11;S. Mayer 12-14;A. Hill 15-19;C. Kvapil 20;A. Hill 21-22;S. Mayer 23-24;C. Kvapil 25-26;A. Hill 27-31;C. Kvapil 32;P. Retzlaff 33;C. Kvapil 34-42;A. Hill 43-52;R. Caruth 53-58;A. Alfredo 59-60;H. Burton 61;B. Jones 62-66;C. Kvapil 67-103;R. Sieg 104-105. Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Carson Kvapil 5 times for 50 laps; Austin Hill 4 times for 22 laps; Rajah Caruth 2 times for 11 laps; Sam Mayer 2 times for 5 laps; Brandon Jones 1 time for 5 laps; Sheldon Creed 2 times for 3 laps; Jesse Love 1 time for 3 laps; Ryan Sieg 1 time for 2 laps; Anthony Alfredo 1 time for 2 laps; Parker Retzlaff 1 time for 1 lap; Harrison Burton 1 time for 1 lap. Stage #1 Top Ten: 21,1,88,96,8,24,7,20,18,54 Stage #2 Top Ten: 88,96,1,7,27,00,41,2,31,20 --By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media.