Daytona Drama Determines Final O'Reilly Series Chase Spots

Rajah Caruth (88) and Taylor Gray (54) both raced their way into the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase field Friday night at Daytona Int’l Speedway. (John Harrelson/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

By Justin Glenn, SWN Staff Writer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 29, 2026) – Classic superspeedway racing has its high and lows. For racers in the draft, getting caught up in someone else’s mess can happen no matter how promising the night seemed to be.

That’s a part of the game. And Friday night, the tough motto ultimately determined the Chase cut line battle in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series regular season finale at Daytona Int’l Speedway. 

Prior to the green flag, it was a five-way scrap between Sam Mayer, William Sawalich, Brent Crews, Taylor Gray and Rajah Caruth. Four of these drivers were involved in crashes throughout the night, leaving the final battle in the 24-week-long regular season on edge. 

At the end, Mayer seeded 10th, Gray seeded 11th, and Caruth seeded 12th survived and advanced into the Chase postseason field. 

The 24-year old Caruth had a strong night in the heavyweight battle, despite friendly fire in the closing laps after being spun from second place by JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier.

Despite a possible win being stripped, his 18 stage points and 11 laps led were enough to earn his first career postseason berth. 

“[I] felt pretty calm all night and was in a great spot. I felt coming to two to go, [Allgaier] got me in the tail a little bit. Obviously it wasn’t on purpose, just a bummer,” said Caruth, who finished 32nd. 

“We were in a really good spot. Thankfully still able to make the Chase and a huge thanks to everybody at JRM. Really proud of the effort.. this whole company to have such fast cars. I hate that we tore this thing up, really wanted to take it to Talladega [(Ala.) Superspeedway on Oct. 24] but that’s alright.”

Caruth was a force on the high banks Friday night. He mixed it up with his teammates, battled with Austin Hill – an O'Reilly drafting track all-time great – and veteran wild card drivers. He excelled in blocking, passing, air and lane manipulation, an early two-tire strategy and teamwork. 

All seemed to be going well for the first full-time year driver. 

But, it all unraveled once team orders fizzled out in the closing laps. The field was single file and led by JRM trio Carson Kvapil, Caruth and Allgaier. It was time to go as the miles ticked away. Allgaier gave a big push to generate a run for the No. 88. 

Caruth didn’t take it, instead killing the run in order to be a good teammate to Kvapil and not leave him stranded prior to the white flag. However, Allgaier sent another push to Caruth. This time, instead of controlling the shove, he spun and couldn’t save it.

Caruth wasn’t at fault, but some late race runs are too great not to take advantage. He settled for 32nd, but his early points saved the effort. 

“Thanks as well to everybody at Jordan Anderson Racing for helping me fill the points, there was a couple of times earlier in the year that I threw away some points,” Caruth said. “I’m glad I mostly capitalized tonight. At the moment, I’m pretty bummed about the end of the race, but we’ll go to a new chapter tomorrow and get to work.”

In a year where Caruth wasn’t full time at JRM, splitting time at Jordan Anderson Racing as well, he still made the playoffs. 

For his cut line rivals, different stories ensued for each. 

Mayer was strong, as he also was another great force early that could control the field. He led five laps. However, with three to go in stage one, Patrick Staropoli spun in the middle of the field, and in a chain reaction, Mayer collected damage.

He limped around, but managed to drive up to seventh in stage two, claiming four points. But he finished 25th, and relied on his five top fives and 10 top 10s to advance to his fifth straight postseason. 

The biggest loser on the night was Joe Gibbs Racing. Three drivers entered with a shot to make the field, and only Taylor Gray advanced. Gray was quiet throughout the night, with just one point from stage one. He didn’t have the strongest car, but due to the fear of getting caught up in a wreck, he chose to lay low to avoid heartbreak. 

“It sucks, I wish I could’ve went up there and challenged and fought for a better position, top five or whatever it may be,” said Gray, who clinched his second postseason appearance. “Once we got past stage two, the bigger picture shined a bit brighter. We’ve had a lot of speed this year, shame on me for being in this position [a nailbiting cut line fight] going into Daytona.

“There’s been a handful of races that I’ve given up [results], but I’ve come to learn a lot from those mistakes, hopefully we don’t make them. Obviously there’s going to be some [in a season], but I feel like there’s a lot of really good race tracks for us in the postseason, so we have to cross the T’s and dot the I’s.”

Gray was able to do that because of the misfortune of his teammates. Crews and Sawalich both suffered from severe damage, serving as a saving grace to their competitors as two cars were going to miss the cut regardless. 

The young pair both were virtually retired from competition before the halfway point. Crews came into the race race 12th in the standings holding the last provisional spot. He fell victim to the Staropoli caution. And Sawalich was swept in a lap-45 Sammy Smith and Corey Day wreck. 

“We worked really hard after Chicagoland [to make up] my points deficit,” Sawalich said. “We worked hard on the simulator everywhere, and [tonight] we were just taken out. It really sucks.” 

The 18-year old Crews’ shot at the postseason fell just short, even after missing four early-season races due to age restrictions. Yes, he drives top tier JGR equipment, but he managed to make his rookie year playoff-competitive even after starting late. 

“It's definitely frustrating, ultimately I put ourselves [the No. 19] in that position when I cost us 20 points at Iowa,” Crews said. “It goes back to all the ‘ifs, whats and buts,’ but I know it happened for a reason. This team works so hard, and I'm so grateful to be in a position that I am with them.”

Bigger picture, Friday was a trademark example of superspeedway racing. Wrecks, wrong place, wrong time from JGR were a gift to the remaining three, despite individual rollercoasters throughout the night. That is the nature of Daytona, there’s no predicting the ups and downs. 

Mayer, Gray and Caruth will now look to climb the reset postseason standings at the Chase opener of Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. 

Coverage of the Fleetio 200 from Darlington is slated for Saturday, Sept. 5 at 7:30 p.m. ET on The CW, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.