In what can only be described as an extremely shocking change of pace, a car that didn’t come out of the Richard Childress Racing stable, or the stable of one of its affiliates, will be leading the field to green in a NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series event at a drafting track.
Sam Mayer, driving the No. 41 Audibel Chevrolet for Haas Factory Team, posted the quickest time in both rounds of qualifying on Saturday to pick himself up a pole in Saturday’s Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 at EchoPark Speedway.
With a strong lap time of 31.804 seconds (174.318mph), Mayer secured his fourth pole position in NASCAR’s second-tier series and dethroned the long-running reign of Richard Childress Racing on the drafting tracks (which now includes Daytona, EchoPark, and Talladega).
RELATED: Starting Lineup for Bennett 250 at EchoPark Speedway
It’s the third pole position for Haas Factory Team under the team’s new branding, after splitting off from Stewart-Haas Racing following 2024, and the fifth pole for Gene Haas as a car owner in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.
“We’re showing up pretty similar to what we have in the last year with this Haas Factory Team,” Mayer told The CW after being asked about the balance between handling and speed. “I feel like it’s going to be pretty good. We were in the race, top-five, top-10 all day, finished third [referring to last year], so I feel pretty good about what we have.”
.@sam_mayer_ wins the pole for tomorrow's race at Atlanta! pic.twitter.com/A7w3LOdcph
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) February 20, 2026
Carson Kvapil will start on the outside of the front row for Saturday’s Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 at EchoPark Speedway, matching his career-best start, which he earned in three different events last season, including twice at Martinsville Speedway.
Taylor Gray will roll from third place as he looks to get a handle on his second season in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. Sheldon Creed, teammate to Mayer at Haas Factory Team, qualified in fourth, while William Sawalich rounded out the top-10.
Rajah Caruth was sixth-quickest in the No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, while NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular Gio Ruggiero was seventh. Sammy Smith, Corey Day, and Jesse Love rounded out the top-10.
In a shocking turn of events, Austin Hill, the winner of the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series event at Daytona International Speedway, qualified a disappointing 20th in his No. 21 Chevrolet Camaro.
Other notables that will start outside the top-20 in Saturday’s second leg of an EchoPark Speedway double-header include Justin Allgaier (11th), Ryan Sieg (12th), Brandon Jones (15th), and Ross Chastain (30th).
With 39 cars entered in Saturday’s event, only Dawson Cram, driving the No. 74 Chevrolet for Mike Harmon Racing, failed to qualify for the event.
The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 at EchoPark Speedway will take place on Saturday, February 21, at 5:30 PM ET on The CW.
