Justin Allgaier, one of the oldest full-time drivers in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, continues to take it to the youth and up-and-coming talent in NASCAR’s second-tier division, putting on another commanding performance in Saturday’s NFPA 250 at Martinsville Speedway.
The Riverton, Illinois-native succeeded in holding off Corey Day and Sammy Smith on a late-race restart to capture his third victory of the season, already matching his win total from last year in the opening seven races of 2026.
Allgaier, driving the No. 7 BRANDT Fresh Agriculture Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports, started from the pole position in Saturday’s event, after qualifying was axed Friday evening due to inclement weather. With track position on his side, the 39-year-old dominated the first stage.
But, as is typical in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Martinsville, an onslaught of different strategy calls had the No. 7 shuffled back outside the top-10, forcing Allgaier to stay vigilant and out of trouble, as the field cycled through pit calls.
Once things finally got shuffled out, Allgaier found himself in the thick of the battle for the victory in the NFPA 250, fighting against Hendrick Motorsports development driver Corey Day and a short track legend, Lee Pulliam, who was making his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut in the No. 9 for JR Motorsports.
Allgaier was able to get the lead for the final time with 27 laps to go, when Pulliam was sluggish on a late-race restart, and the No. 7 Chevrolet slipped by and retained the lead for the remainder of the event — although the highlight reel certainly didn’t stop in that time.
The final restart inside the race’s final 10 laps saw Allgaier drive away from the battle for the runner-up spot between Corey Day and Sammy Smith, which, when the caution flew on the final lap for a spin by JR Motorsports driver Rajah Caruth, went to the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet.
“Just this team behind me; I keep saying it, and I keep talking about how great this team is, and we have fired off 2026 better than I could ever imagine,” Allgaier told The CW post-race. “So proud of the race cars we’ve brought to the racetrack and all of our partners. Just so proud of this team.”
The victory is the 31st in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series for Allgaier, tying him with series legend Jack Ingram for sixth on the all-time wins list. The win also marks the fifth consecutive for JR Motorsports in the series, between drivers Allgaier, Kyle Larson, and Shane Van Gisbergen.
“Just the emotion… I said it last week, you get later on in your career, and you never know if you’ll ever win another one, so to do it the way we’ve done it this year has been pretty special.”
RACE RESULTS: NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series NFPA 250 (Martinsville)
Corey Day spent a substantial amount of time in front of the pack on Saturday, marking the second time in the last three races where the No. 17 was able to lead laps. The runner-up result is a career-best for the Clovis, California-native and protege of Kyle Larson.
Sammy Smith finished third, uneventfully, on Saturday, and made some history of his own — matching Sam Ard with a seventh consecutive top-10 finish at Martinsville. Sheldon Creed came home in fourth, with Lee Pulliam inside the top-10.
Pulliam ended up being “the main character” towards the end of Saturday’s event, leading the race in his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut. Things went a little bit awry late in the going, though, when the 37-year-old missed a shift and caused a massive accident that involved at least 19 vehicles, and put the race under the red flag for nearly 30 minutes.
BIG pile-up during the restart with many cars taking damage.
We'll have a furious finish coming up here at Martinsville on The CW! pic.twitter.com/8tSFZydmt1
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) March 28, 2026
Austin Hill recovered from a starting spot outside the top-20 to finish in sixth, with Dean Thompson finishing seventh and collecting his first top-10 of the year. Ross Chastain finished eighth for DGM Racing, while Ryan Sieg and Brent Crews rounded out the top-10.
Obviously, after an insane stretch to begin the season, Justin Allgaier holds a 92-point lead in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series standings, with Jesse Love in second and Sheldon Creed in third. Austin Hill and Carson Kvapil round out the top-five.
Next for the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series is a special Easter Weekend trip to Rockingham Speedway, for one of the only standalone events of the season — where the NASCAR Cup Series won’t join them, but the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series East will.
Coverage of the event will be on Saturday, April 4 at 2:30 PM ET on The CW, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
