Late rally nets Justin Allgaier fourth Darlington victory: Justin Allgaier’s formula for winning Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway was simple enough: take advantage of excellent pit stops and muscle his way into the lead on the final two restarts.(Read more)(3-21-2026)
#7-Justin Allgaier won the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Darlington Raceway. Allgaier becomes the fifth driver to win at least four races at Darlington. He is also the first driver in 2026 to score multiple victories.
#20-Brandon Jones finished runner-up, scoring his first top-five finish of the season. #19-Christopher Bell placed third, while #88-Kyle Larson, who led a race-high 107 laps and swept the opening two stages, finished fourth. #1-Carson Kvapil rounded out the top five.
#17-Corey Day, #00-Sheldon Creed, #99-Parker Retzlaff, #8-Sammy Smith and #41-Sam Mayer filled out the rest of the top 10.
There were six lead changes among four drivers and three cautions for 25 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was: 112.442 mph.
See race details at: Race Results, Driver Points Standings, Owner Points Standings, Cumulative Report, Penalty Report.
Darlington Paint Schemes
Race Fast Facts – Darlington:
Justin Allgaier won the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200, his 30th victory in 510 O’Reilly Series races.
This is his second victory and fifth top-10 finish in 2026.
This is his fourth victory and 17th top-10 finish in 21 races at Darlington Raceway.
Brandon Jones (second) posted his eighth top-10 finish in 16 races at Darlington Raceway. It is his second top-10 finish in 2026.
Christopher Bell(i) (third) posted his fourth top-10 finish in six races at Darlington Raceway.
Patrick Staropoli (29th) was the highest finishing rookie.
O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Playoff Standings after Darlington (Race 6 of 33):
1)#7-Justin Allgaier 306, +187
2)#2-Jesse Love 254, +135
3)#1-Carson Kvapil 222, +103
4)#00-Sheldon Creed 218, +99
5)#21-Austin Hill 210, +91
6)#8-Sammy Smith 192, +73
7)#17-Corey Day 188, +69
8)#20-Brandon Jones 170, +51
9)#99-Parker Retzlaff 169, +50
10)#32-Rajah Caruth 151, +32
11)#41-Sam Mayer 149, +30
12)#54-Taylor Gray 132, +13
Currently below cutline
13)#18-William Sawalich 119, -13
14)#44-Brennan Poole 116, -16
15)#27-Jeb Burton 115, -17
16)#96-Anthony Alfredo 113, -19
See the Driver Points Standings and Owner Points Standings.
Race Updates:
Lap 147: #7-Allgaier wins at Darlington. #20-Jones, #19-Bell, #88-Larson, #1-Kvapil, #17-Day, #00-Creed, #99-Retzlaff, #8-Smith and #41-Mayer complete the top 10.
Lap 142: #7-Allgaier holds a 1.2-second lead over #20-Jones with five laps remaining.
Lap 135: #7-Allgaier continues running the fastest laps in the field, leading #20-Jones by three-quarters of a second. #88-Larson is 1.8 seconds behind in fourth.
Lap 132: #7-Allgaier carries momentum through Turns 1 and 2 to take the race lead. #88-Larson gained one spot to fourth.
Lap 127: #20-Jones wins the race off pit road. #7-Allgaier, #19-Bell, #17-Day and #88-Larson are the rest of the top five.
Lap 122: #26-Thompson got into the rear of #28-Sieg off the exit of Turn 2, who hit the outside wall. #21-Hill got tagged from behind and spun across the track and hits the inside wall. #18-Sawalich also received damage. #91-Labbe and #45-Scott collide trying to avoid the initial wreck.
Lap 120: #88-Larson has opened up a one-second lead over #7-Allgaier with 27 laps remaining.
Lap 115: #88-Larson gets to the inside of #7-Allgaier through Turns 1 and 2 to regain the lead.
Lap 112: #88-Larson is hounding #7-Allgaier for the lead with 35 laps remaining. #19-Bell remains in third, 1.8 seconds back.
Lap 104: #17-Day scrubs the wall, allowing #00-Creed to take fifth position.
Lap 102: #7-Allgaier continues to hold off #88-Larson, who led every lap in the first two stages. #20-Jones, #19-Bell and #17-Day are the top five. #00-Creed, #99-Retzlaff, #1-Kvapil, #41-Mayer and #2-Love are the rest of the top 10 with 45 laps remaining.
Lap 98: #7-Allgaier takes the lead on the restart, driving around the outside of #20-Jones. #88-Larson follows through for second spot.
Lap 94: #20-Jones wins the race off pit road. #88-Larson drops to second. #17-Day and #19-Bell jump four positions. #00-Creed gained five spots. #96-Alfredo tapped the rear of #9-Chastian entering his stall and spun him out.
Lap 90: #88-Larson wins Stage 2. #1-Kvapil, #20-Jones, #7-Allgaier, #99-Retzlaff, #9-Chastain, #96-Alfredo, #17-Day, #19-Bell and #18-Sawalich earn stage points.
Lap 86: #20-Jones is inching closer to #1-Kvapil for the runner-up position, more than four second behind race leader #88-Larson.
Lap 81: #7-Allgaier takes fourth position from #9-Chastain and #99-Retzlaff scoots by for fifth.
Lap 73: #19-Bell is fading later in the run, on the cusp of losing fifth position in a battle between #7-Allgaier and #99-Retzlaff.
Lap 69: #88-Larson has raced back out to a two-second lead over #1-Kvpail. #9-Chastain got by #7-Allgaier to enter the top five.
Lap 59: #20-Jones had a piece of debris on his grille and allowed #1-Kvapil to get by to suck is off via the draft.
Lap 56: #88-Larson excels through the restart zone to clear for the lead on the restart. #20-Jones powers to the runner-up spot. #1-Kvapil. #19-Bell and #7-Allgaier are the top five.
Lap 51: #2-Love spins entering his pit stall and hit a tire, causing damage to the hood. #88-Larson wins the race off pit road. #19-Bell dropped two positions to fourth.
Lap 49: #28-Sieg and #51-Clements are both limping back to pit road with no power.
Lap 48: #54-Gray pitted before the pits were open with a flat right-side tire.
Lap 45: #88-Larson wins the opening stage. #19-Bell, #1-Kvapil, #20-Jones, #7-Allgaier, #99-Retzlaff, #2-Love, #18-Sawalich, 96-Alfredo and #9-Chastain earn stage points.
Lap 40: Defending race winner #20-Jones takes fourth position from #7-Allgaier.
Lap 38: #21-Hill is off the pace with a flat right-front tire.
Lap 35: #19-Bell has cut the deficit to #88-Larson to only 1.5 seconds with 10 laps remaining in the stage. #1-Kvapil remains in third, nearly six seconds back of the lead.
Lap 32: #96-Alfredo gets around #21-Hill to take 10th position.
Lap 29: #21-Hill has re-entered the top 10 after smacking the wall earlier in the race. #41-Mayer has fallen outside the top 10.
Lap 21: #88-Larson has caught the tail of the field, allowing #19-Bell to chop into the field slightly. #20-Jones has cracked the top fifth, passing #99-Retzlaff.
Lap 18: #88-Larson continues extending the lead, now four seconds ahead of #19-Bell. #99-Retzlaff has raced to fifth, holding off #20-Jones. #41-Mayer has dropped to eighth spot.
Lap 10: #88-Larson has gaped the field by over two seconds. #41-Mayer has gotten by #7-Allgaier for fourth place. #99-Retzlaff is hanging tough inside the top 10 in seventh.
Lap 5: #21-Hill got loose off Turn 2 and slapped the outside wall, dropping back to 12th position. #2-Love shot to the middle to avoid his teammate and gained three positions to eighth.
Lap 4: #88-Larson has already extended the lead to more than a second over #19-Bell. #1-Kvapil has dropped to 2.2 seconds off the lead.
Lap 1: #88-Larson launches out of the restart zone to clear #19-Bell and leads the opening lap. #1-Kvapil, #7-Allgaier and #41-Mayer are the top five.
Race Info:
Broadcast: CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 147 laps / 200.8 miles
Stages: 45 / 90 / 147
Average time of race: 1:58:20
Pit road speed: 45 mph
Caution car speed: 50 mph
Fuel window: 71 laps
Cars to the rear: #25-Nick Sanchez, #42-Nathan Byrd, #48-Patrick Staropoli (all for unapproved adjustments); #91-Alex Labbe (engine change).
Pit-Stall Selections
In the last car out for qualifying, #88-Kyle Larson won the pole for the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Darlington Raceway (163.953 mph). It’s JR Motorsports’ first ever pole at Darlington.
#19-Christopher Bell will start alongside on the front row (163.696 mph). #1-Carson Kvapil (162.942 mph), #7-Justin Allgaier (162.727 mph) and #99-Parker Retzlaff (162.302 mph) round out the top five.
#41-Sam Mayer, #18-William Sawalich, #20-Brandon Jones, #9-Ross Chastain and #2-Jesse Love complete the top 10.
Did Not Qualify: #35-Matt DiBenedetto
See the complete Darlington Starting Lineup and Qualifying Results.
Qualifying Fast Facts — Darlington Raceway:
Kyle Larson(i) won the Pole Award for the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 with a lap of
29.994 seconds, 163.953 mph.
This is his ninth pole in 122 NASCAR O’Reilly Series races.
This is his first pole and second top-10 start in 2026.
This is his first pole in eight races at Darlington Raceway.
Christopher Bell(i) (second) posted his first top-10 start of 2026 and his fifth in six races at Darlington Raceway.
Carson Kvapil (third) posted his second top-10 start at Darlington Raceway. It is his third in six races this season.
Patrick Staropoli (28th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
Qualifying Order
Practice for the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Darlington Raceway is complete. The top five, slowest, news and notes:
#19-Christopher Bell 163.109 mph
#20-Brandon Jones 162.404 mph
#99-Parker Retzlaff 162.323 mph
#1-Carson Kvapil 162.318 mph
#41-Sam Mayer 162.313 mph
Slowest: #42-Nathan Byrd 152.483 mph
Most laps run: #00-Sheldon Creed, 65
Best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 34 drivers): #19-Bell 157.868 mph
Notes: #7-Justin Allgaier scraped the wall early in the session. There were no on-track incidents over the 50 minutes.
See full Darlington Practice Results.
Crew Rosters
Goodyear Tire Notes
There are 39 drivers/teams on the entry list for the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Darlington Raceway. One car will miss the race.
Notables: #0-Garrett Smithley, #5-JJ Yeley, #9-Ross Chastain, #19-Christopher Bell, #30-Myatt Snider, #32-Rajah Caruth, #35-Matt DiBenedetto, #42-Nathan Byrd, #55-Joey Gase, #88-Kyle Larson, #91-Alex Labbe.
Mike Harmon Racing has withdrawn from entering the #74-Dawson Cram entry.
See the full Darlington Entry List.
Darlington At-Track Schedule
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Race rules and information: (Will be updated for 2026 as needed).
