Smith Leads JRM at Darlington, Allgaier Retains Chase Lead

Race 25 of 33: Fleetio 200 at Darlington Raceway
Track Specs: 1.366 mile oval
Race Winner: Sheldon Creed
Smith’s finish: P4
Kvapil’s finish: P12
Allgaier’s finish: P17
Caruth’s finish: P26

Sammy Smith

Sammy Smith, driver of the No. 8 Allstate Peterbilt Group Chevrolet, qualified 11th for the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Darlington Raceway and finished strong in fourth after gaining stage points and jumped a position in The Chase standings to seventh, only 55 points from the lead. Smith started the Fleetio 200 in 11th, fell back to nearly 20th by the first caution on lap 33 due to a loose handling No. 8 Chevrolet but after a pit stop for fresh tires and an adjustment, Smith was able to drive back up to 11th where he finished out Stage One on lap 45. Smith took the green for Stage Two on lap 53 and was maintaining position but when the third caution flew on lap 69, Smith reported to his crew chief, Cory Shea that he felt like pitting was going to give him the best shot at moving up through the field. Shea called the No. 8 down pit road for adjustments, against what the majority of the field did. With being one of the few cars to pit, Smith restarted 28th on lap 72 amongst the NOAPS field and quickly proved the call to pit, was the right call as he was 12th by lap 83. The JR Motorsports driver continued to plow through the field and stole fourth place as they crossed the line on lap 90 to close out Stage Two. The No. 8 pitted at the stage end, restarted third on lap 98 and quickly passed for second where he held strong for nearly 30 laps; ultimately finishing out the first Chase race, strong in fourth-place and gaining a position in the standings to seventh, only 55 points from the lead.

“This was a good start to The Chase and I’m looking forward to continuing the momentum. Thanks to this No. 8 team for tweaking on the car, although I think we had a fast car from the beginning, we just needed to be in clean air. This was a really good points night for us and I’m happy to get a top-five finish for Allstate Peterbilt Group. We’ll keep digging as we head to St. Louis.”

Carson Kvapil

Carson Kvapil, driver of the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet led the field to the green after qualifying on the pole Saturday afternoon at Darlington Raceway. Kvapil maintained his top-five running position throughout the first stage despite fighting a loose handling race car. The JR Motorsports driver was scored in the second position as the first stage ended. During the second stage the handling on the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet was improved. Multiple cautions caused varying pit strategies throughout the field during the second stage. The JRM driver took the lead on lap 65 and led the following 20 laps before settling into the top-five. When the green-and-checkered flag waved at the end of the second stage, Kvapil was scored in fifth. The final stage started and Kvapil remained inside the top-five. The handling on the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet started going away and Kvapil was battling a loose race car. Ultimately, Kvapil crossed the line for the final time in 12th.

“It was a disappointing finish after a strong start to the race. Rodney (Childers, crew chief) and this entire No. 1 Bass Pro Shops team brought another rocket ship to the track this weekend. It was good to still pick up valuable stage points and close the gap in the championship standings. We will regroup and get back to work this week and be ready to go next weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway.”

Justin Allgaier

Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 Arby’s Steak Nuggets Chevrolet, led for a race-high 60 laps and came away with the win in Stage One of Saturday evening’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series opening event in The Chase at Darlington Raceway. Starting second, Allgaier set sail in the opening stage, taking the race lead and driving away to secure the stage victory. The second stage saw Allgaier continue to fight for position within the top five, before a myriad of cautions saw the JR Motorsports driver ultimately take the green-and-white checkered flag in sixth. In the third and final stage, Allgaier looked to make his way back to the front, but a severe loose-handling condition developed over the final laps, sliding the Illinois native back to the 17th position by the time the checkered flag was displayed. Allgaier remains atop the point standings as the NOAPS heads to St. Louis for the second race in The Chase next weekend.

“It’s super unfortunate that our end result tonight doesn’t reflect how strong our Arby’s Steak Nuggets Chevrolet was tonight. Andrew (Overstreet, crew chief) and everyone on this No. 7 team gave me a great car. It just wasn’t meant to be tonight. But we’ll regroup from how tonight ended and get our focus ready for next weekend in St. Louis.

Rajah Caruth

Rajah Caruth and the No. 88 HendrickCars.com team started Saturday night’s race at Darlington Raceway from the ninth position and showed strong speed early in the event. On Lap 27, a fuel pickup issue forced Caruth to make an unscheduled trip to pit road, costing the team two laps and resulting in a 33rd-place finish in Stage One. A pair of cautions during Stage Two helped Caruth work his way back onto the lead lap, and he continued making steady progress through the field to finish the stage in 17th. With the issue seemingly behind them, Caruth and the No. 88 team kept moving forward in the final stage and climbed all the way to sixth as the laps wound down. Unfortunately, the fuel pickup issue returned late in the race and forced Caruth back to pit road, ending the team’s chance at a strong finish. Despite the setback, the No. 88 showed plenty of speed throughout the night and ultimately finished 26th.

“We had a great car tonight and I felt like we showed the speed we had once we were able to get our laps back and race our way toward the front. It’s definitely unfortunate, but there are a lot of positives we can take away from tonight. This team continues to bring fast race cars every week, and with eight races left, we still have plenty of opportunities to go out there, keep building and put together some really strong finishes. I’m thankful for everyone at JR Motorsports, HendrickCars.com and all of our partners for continuing to support us, and I’m really proud of the fight from everyone on this No. 88 team.”