Smith Leads JRM in Torrid Talladega NOAPS Round

April 27, 2026

Race 11 of 33: Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway
Track Specs: 2.66-mile tri-oval / 113 laps
Race Winner: Corey Day
Smith’s finish: 4th
Kvapil’s finish: 22nd
Allgaier’s finish: 23rd
Caruth’s finish: 30th

Sammy Smith

Sammy Smith, driver of the No. 8 Arby’s Chevrolet, qualified 13th at Talladega Superspeedway on Friday and brought home a strong fourth-place finish in the Ag-Pro 300 on Saturday afternoon.

Powered by Horsey Sauce, Smith quickly broke into the top 10 in his Arby’s BBQ Chevrolet and then pushed his way into the top five while working with his JR Motorsports teammates. The NOAPS crowd saw a drag race to the green-white checkered flag in Stage One between Smith and his JRM teammate Carson Kvapil. In a photo finish with a difference of five thousandths of a second, Smith crossed the line in second to gain valuable stage points. Crew chief Cory Shea brought his driver down pit road along with the rest of the field and called for right-side tires, fuel and a minor adjustment to enhance the car’s handling in traffic. The No. 8 lined up to start the 25-lap second stage. Smith took the lead about halfway through the stage and held his ground for a few laps until shuffling back a few positions. He was poised to bring home another top-five finish before getting loose and ultimately finishing 23rd.

Smith pitted at the stage caution for four tires and a minor damage repair on the left-front nose piece, restarting 20th on lap 58. The young driver worked his way up to 17th in the first 10 laps. Five laps later, the field began green-flag pit stops and Smith was seventh when he pitted at lap 73 for fuel only. The JRM Chevrolet blended back into line 19th and within 10 laps, Smith took the lead. The field began dancing across all lanes of the superspeedway and Smith was shuffled back as far as 16th before charging back up the order in the closing laps to finish fourth.

“We had a fast Arby’s Chevrolet today. This No. 8 team did a great job preparing and we may not have won, but it was a solid points day and we’ll compete next week for the Dash 4 Cash. I appreciate all the support from Arby’s, Pilot, TMC and Allstate Peterbilt Group.”

Carson Kvapil

Carson Kvapil, driver of the No. 1 Champion Irrigation Chevrolet, started from eighth position in the Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday afternoon. Kvapil surged to the front and took the lead just six laps into the event. The JR Motorsports driver maintained his positioning and took home the Stage One win and the valuable 10 bonus points that came with it. The second stage started with Kvapil continuing to lead. When the green-and-white-checkered flag waved at the end of the second stage, Kvapil was scored sixth and added more stage points to his total. A penalty in the final stage forced the No. 1 Champion Irrigation Chevrolet to come down pit road and serve a drive-through penalty. Kvapil was ultimately scored with a 22nd-place finish.

“I hate it for our guys. Rodney (Childers, crew chief) and this entire No. 1 Champion Irrigation team brought a very fast Chevrolet to Talladega. It was good to pick up a stage win and some valuable points. We will regroup this week and look to bounce back next week at Texas.”

Justin Allgaier

Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet, ran up front for much of Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series event at Talladega Superspeedway before an untimely penalty during the final stage relegated the JR Motorsports driver with a 23rd-place finish. Taking the green flag from 11th, Allgaier drafted inside the top 10 throughout both stages, culminating in a last-lap pass in Stage Two to secure the green-and-white-checkered flag and the 10 bonus points that accompanied it. However, during the lone round of green-flag pit stops in the final stage, the Illinois native was dinged for a penalty while exiting pit road on the backstretch, forcing Allgaier to make a return trip to pit road. Doing all he could to regain the track position over the green-flag run that followed, Allgaier raced back into the top 35 and up to 23rd by the time the checkered flag flew. With the result, Allgaier remains solidly out front in the championship standings, maintaining a triple-digit lead over the field.

“We had a really strong BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet today. It’s really unfortunate that the end result doesn’t do justice to how strong we were, but I can’t thank Andrew (Overstreet, crew chief) and all the guys on this crew enough. We’ll regroup from today and be ready to go race for that Cowboy hat next week in Texas.”

Rajah Caruth

Rajah Caruth and the No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet showed speed throughout Saturday afternoon’s race at Talladega Superspeedway but were ultimately relegated to a 30th-place finish following a pit-road penalty. Caruth started seventh and ran inside the top 10 for much of Stage One, finishing fourth. After taking four tires and fuel, he restarted 12th in Stage Two and maintained that position through the end of the segment.

In the final stage, Caruth restarted seventh and drove to the lead by lap 63. The team elected to pit from the lead on lap 74 for fuel only, but a speeding penalty on pit road dropped the No. 88 to the rear of the field. Unable to recover track position, Caruth finished 30th.

“We had a really fast No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet and put ourselves in position there at the end. Hate that we made a mistake on pit road because I think we had a shot. Appreciate everyone at HendrickCars.com, the Hendrick Engine Shop and everyone at JR Motorsports for their effort.”