Jesse Love scores first victory of 2026 at Gateway: In a race that kindled the rivalry between Corey Day and William Sawalich to full flame, Jesse Love showed the form that made him a NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion last year. (Read more)(9-12-2026)

Taking the lead in the closing laps, defending O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion #2-Jesse Love won the Nu Way 250 Powered by Bobcat and Sauced by Blues Hog race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. It’s his first victory since clinching the 2025 championship last season, 26 races ago.
#00-Sheldon kicks off The Chase with consecutive top-two finishes. Haas Factory Team put two cars inside the top three with #41-Sam Mayer rounding out the podium. #54-Taylor Gray overcame an early spin to finish fourth and #1-Carson Kvapil dropped from the lead to fifth in the closing laps after leading a career-high 105 laps.
#99-Parker Retzlaff finished sixth, as #19-Brent Crews, #8-Sammy Smith, #28-Kyle Sieg and #27-Jeb Burton filled the rest of the top 10.
Chase drivers that finished outside the top 10 include: #88-Rajah Caruth (11th). #7-Justin Allgaier (13th), #20-Brandon Jones (15th), #21-Austin Hill (29th) and #17-Corey Day (33rd).
There were eight lead changes among four drivers and seven cautions for 37 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was: 92.965 mph
See race details at: Race Results, Driver Points Standings, Owner Points Standings, Cumulative Report, Penalty Report.

Gateway Paint Schemes

Race Fast Facts – World Wide Technology Raceway:
Jesse Love (C) won the Nu Way 225 Powered by Bobcat and Sauced by Blues Hog, his fourth victory in 92 O’Reilly Series races.
This is his first victory and 14th top-10 finish in 2026.
This is his first victory and second top-10 finish in two races at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Sheldon Creed (C) (second) posted his first top-10 finish in two races at World Wide Technology Raceway. It is his 18th top-10 finish in 2026.
Sam Mayer (C) (third) posted his first top-10 finish in two races at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Brent Crews (C) (seventh) was the highest finishing rookie.
Sheldon Creed (C) leads the point standings by 3 points over Justin Allgaier (C).

O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase Standings after Gateway (Race 26 of 33):
1)#00-Sheldon Creed 2,175
2)#7-Justin Allgaier 2,172, -3
3)#1-Carson Kvapil 2,166, -9
4)#2-Jesse Love 2,159, -16
5)#21-Austin Hill 2,114, -61
6)#41-Sam Mayer 2,114, -61
7)#8-Sam Mayer 2,111, -64
8)#17-Corey Day 2,106, -69
9)#20-Brandon Jones 2,099, -76
10)#99-Parker Retzlaff 2,092, -83
11)#54-Taylor Gray 2,089, -86
12)#88-Rajah Caruth 2,057, -118
See the Driver Points Standings and Owner Points Standings.

Race Updates:
Lap 180: #2-Love hangs for the victory, his first of the season. #00-Creed, #41-Mayer, #54-Gray, #1-Kvapil, #99-Retzlaff, #19-Crews, #8-Smith, #28-Sieg and #27-Burton complete the top 10.
Lap 175: #2-Love leads #00-Creed by 1.280 seconds with five laps remaining. #21-Hill is off the pace and hits pit road with five laps remaining with a right-side tire issue.
Lap 170: #2-Love leads #00-Creed by .990 seconds with 10 laps remaining.
Lap 168: #1-Kvapil continue to plummet, losing fifth place to #21-Hill.
Lap 165: #54-Gray is next in line to pass #1-Kvapil, who had faded to fifth.
Lap 164: #2-Love clears #1-Kvapil for the lead with a nudge, who gets pounced by the Haas Factory teammates of #00-Creed and #41-Mayer to drop to fourth position.
Lap 162: #2-Love has cut the deficit down to a quarter of a second.
Lap 158: #2-Love takes the runner-up spot from #00-Creed, a half-second behind #1-Kvapil.
Lap 156: #1-Kvapil and #00-Creed clear #2-Love from the outside line. #41-Mayer cycles into fourth with #54-Gray rounding out the top five. Love slipped entering Turn 3, allowing Mayer to get beside him.
Lap 153: #7-Allgaier is among a handful of drivers to make a pit stop under the caution to repair the right-front fender.
Lap 150: #42-Perez got loose underneath #07-Bilicki and both hit the inside wall. #55-Gase also piles in and received damage.
Lap 140: #1-Kvapil takes the lead on the restart, passing #2-Love around the outside. #00-Creed slots into the runner-up spot. #41-Mayer and #51-Gray round out the top five.
Lap 133: #17-Day and #18-Sawalich trade paint for fifth position. Sawalich hangs a left and door slams Day who clobbers the inside wall. #7-Allgaier has damage to the right-front fender after Day came down the track.
Lap 132: #2-Love fires off on the bottom lane to keep the lead. #1-Kvapil files out third, with #00-Creed, #41-Mayer and #17-Day rounding out the top five.
Lap 129: #2-Love retains the lead off pit road. #00-Creed jumped two positions to fourth; #17-Day lost two positions.
Lap 126: Caution is out for #45-Scott backing into the wall in Turn 4, overdriving into Turn 4underneath #20-Jones.
Lap 121: #1-Kvapil passes #41-Mayer for second, 3.2 seconds behind #2-Love.
Lap 117: #21-Hill has fallen outside the top 10 on older tires, losing 10th to #8-Smith.
Lap 111: #1-Kvapil takes third place from #17-Day, over three seconds behind race leader #2-Love.
Lap 109: #7-Allgaier makes a slide job pass on #21-Hill to take sixth position and immediately loses it to #00-Creed who gained two positions in corner.
Lap 104: #1-Kvapil has raced back inside the top five, passing #18-Sawalich and #21-Hill after the three cars tangled a couple of laps earlier.
Lap 102: #41-Mayer clears #21-Hill for second place, nearly a second off the lead.
Lap 100: #2-Love has driven out to a half-second lead over #21-Hill. #41-Mayer, #17-Day and #18-Sawalich complete the top five. #1-Kvapil is in sixth position, the lowest he’s been in the race.
Lap 98: #21-Hill stayed out on old tires to restart with the lead and lost it on the jump to #2-Love.
Lap 94: #2-Love keeps the lead on and off pit road. #18-Sawalich jumps three positions to second. #7-Allgaier dropped two positions to eighth.
Lap 90: #2-Love wins Stage 2, his fourth stage victory of the season. #41-Mayer, #1-Kvapil, #00-Creed, #18-Sawalich, #7-Allgaier, #17-Day, #99-Retzlaff, #8-Smith and #39-Sieg earn stage points. Chase drivers finishing outside the top 10: #54-Gray (14th), #88-Caruth (16th), #20-Jones (23rd) and #21-Hill (30th).
Lap 85: #41-Mayer makes it three wide for the lead and takes the runner-up spot from #1-Kvapil.
Lap 84: The top three cars of #2-Love, #1-Kvapil and #41-Mayer have driven away from the rest of the field. #00-Creed holds fourth with #18-Sawalich being challenged by #7-Allgaier for fifth.
Lap 80: #7-Allgaier has raced back to seventh position after restarting the prior caution at the rear of the field.
Lap: 78: #2-Love takes the lead from #1-Kvapil through Turns 3 and 4.
Lap 72: Caution is out for debris on the frontstretch. #21-Hill will receive the free pass and get back on the lead lap.
Lap 70: #96-Alfredo is off the pace with a flat left-front tire.
Lap 69: #21-Hill hits pit road for service with a possible loose wheel.
Lap 66: #21-Hill has fallen two more positions, believing he has a loose wheel.
Lap 61: #21-Hill has dropped a pair of spots in the last couple of laps to #41-Mayer and #18-Sawalich.
Lap 54: #1-Kvapil holds the lead on the restart, with #2-Love, #21-Hill, #41-Mayer and #18-Sawalich complete the top five.
Lap 52: #7-Allgaier had to pit a second time for a loose wheel.
Lap 50: Massive crash on the entry of pit road. #88-Caruth got turned by #87-Sanchez, clogging up the width of pit road. #51-Clements, #24-Burton, #20-Jones all accordion and get into #19-Crews who was stopped in his stall. The red flag has been displayed.
Lap 45: #1-Kvapil wins Stage 1, his third stage victory of the season. #17-Day, #7-Allgaier, #21-Hill, #2-Love, #00-Creed, #19-Crews, #18-Sawalich, #41-Mayer and #99-Retzlaff earn stage points. Chase drivers missing out on stage points: #8-Smith (11th), #88-Caruth (12th), #20-Jones (17th) and #54-Gray (28th).
Lap 41: #17-Day has closed the deficit to within one-second of the lead, trailing #1-Kvapil.
Lap 38: #2-Love has gotten clear of #00-Creed to re-take fifth position, with #19-Crews and #18-Sawalich closing in.
Lap 34: #2-Love gets loose entering Turn 3 and loses two positions to sixth, getting passed by #21-Hill and #00-Creed.
Lap 31: #99-Retzlaff has entered the top 10, passing #88-Caruth.
Lap 25: #7-Allgaier has gotten by both Richard Childress Racing entries in the last couple of laps to take third position, 2.5 seconds behind #1-Kvapil.
Lap 23: #41-Mayer clears #8-Smith to take 10th position. #99-Retzlaff is up to 13th after qualifying the worst of the 12 Chase drivers.
Lap 19: #18-Sawalich has sunk to ninth place since the restart after taking the green flag in fifth position.
Lap 17: #1-Kvapil launches out of the restart zone with a sizeable lead. #17-Day clears #2-Love for the runner-up spot, who has a challenge from #21-Hill for third.
Lap 15: #54-Gray pits for fresh tires after reporting a vibration during the caution period.
Lap 13: #54-Gray spins underneath #88-Caruth to bring out the caution.
Lap 12: #54-Gray and #88-Caruth bounce off each other down the backstretch while racing for ninth position.
Lap 9: #1-Kvapil has extended the lead to one-second over #2-Love. #41-Mayer has gained six spots since the start of the race and is up to 12th position.
Lap 4: #00-Creed has dropped to seventh position, with #7-Allgaier scooting by for sixth spot.
Lap 2: #18-Sawalich is rolling around the top five, picking off three cars, cracking the top five after passing #00-Creed.
Lap 1: #1-Kvapil gets the jump on the start, pulling out to a half-second lead on the opening lap. #2-Love, #17-Day, #21-Hill and #00-Creed round out the top five.

Race Info:
Nu Way 225 Powered by Bobcat and Sauced by Blues Hog
Broadcast: CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 180 laps / 225 miles
Stages: 45 / 90 / 180
Average time of race: 2:28:00 est.
Pit road speed: 40 mph
Caution vehicle speed: 50 mph
Fuel Window: 65 laps

Cars to the rear: #45-Lavar Scott, #92-Josh Williams (unapproved adjustments)

Pit-Stall Selections

For the second consecutive week, #1-Carson Kvapil won the pole for the Nu Way 250 Powered by Bobcat and Sauced by Blues Hog O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway (133.825 mph). It’s his second career pole.
Defending series champion #2-Jesse Love will start alongside in second position (133.412 mph). Darlington winner #00-Sheldon Creed will take the green flag from third place (133.381 mph), with #17-Corey Day (133.381 mph) and #7-Justin Allgaier (133.183 mph) rounding out the top five.
#21-Austin Hill will start sixth, with #24-Harrison Burton being the best non-Chase driver in seventh. #18-William Sawalich, #88-Rajah Caruth and #19-Brent Crews complete the top 10.
Chase drivers starting outside the top 10: #54-Taylor Gray (11th), #8-Sammy Smith (12th), #20-Brandon Jones (15th), #41-Sam Mayer (18th) and #99-Parker Retzlaff (19th).
See the complete Gateway Starting Lineup and Qualifying Results.

Qualifying Fast Facts — World Wide Technology Raceway:
Carson Kvapil (C) won the Pole Award for the Nu Way 225 Powered by Bobcat and Sauced by Blues
Hog with a lap of 33.626 seconds, 133.825 mph.
This is his second pole in 68 NASCAR O’Reilly Series races.
This is his second pole and 19th top-10 start in 2026.
This is his first pole in two races at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Jesse Love (C) (second) posted his 18th top-10 start of 2026 and his first in two races at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Sheldon Creed (C) (third) posted his first top-10 start at World Wide Technology Raceway. It is his 17th in 26 races this season.
Brent Crews (C) (10th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.

Qualifying Order

Practice for the Nu Way 250 Powered by Bobcat and Sauced by Blues Hog O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway is complete. The top five, slowest, news and notes:
#54-Taylor Gray 132.516 mph
#51-Jeremy Clements 132.508 mph
#18-William Sawalich 132.387 mph
#2-Jesse Love 132.112 mph
#1-Carson Kvapil 132.038 mph
Slowest: #55-Joey Gase 127.804 mph
Most laps run: #99-Parker Retzlaff, 47
Best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 25 drivers): #54-Gray 131.194 mph
Notes: There was one stoppage in the session for debris. #00-Sheldon Creed spun late in practice, trying to enter pit road.
See full Gateway Practice Results.

Crew Rosters

Goodyear Tire Notes: NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series teams will run the same Goodyear Racing Eagles they used at Phoenix Raceway in March. The right-side was used at WWTR last year. As is customary on tracks one mile and longer, teams will run inner liners.

There are 36 drivers/teams on the entry list for the Nu Way 250 Powered by Bobcat and Sauced by Blues Hog O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. No cars will miss the race.
Notables: #0-Garrett Smithley, #32-Jordan Anderson, #42-Brad Perez, #47-Dawson Cram, #53-Austin J Hill, #55-Joey Gase, #91-Mason Maggio, #92-Josh Williams.
See the full Gateway Entry List.

Gateway At-Track Schedule

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Race rules and information: (Will be updated for 2026 as needed).

• Inspection Penalty Protocol
• Pit Road Penalties
• Pit Road Speeds
• Points Explanation
• Qualifying Procedures