Joe Gibbs Racing driver Brandon Jones secured a victory by nearly four seconds in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, delivering Toyota its 700th win in NASCAR competition, while Justin Allgaier claimed the 2026 series title.
That decisive win at the 1.5-mile South Florida track capped a dramatic night where five drivers entered mathematically eligible for the championship. But the veteran Allgaier managed his points advantage to capture his second title in three years, making him the first driver in JR Motorsports history to claim multiple championships.
Jones Gains Momentum After Second Win
- Brandon Jones enters the offseason with strong momentum after securing his second win of the year and ninth of his career, boosting his stock for the 2027 campaign.
- Jesse Love finished 14 points short of a back-to-back championship before departing Richard Childress Racing to campaign in the NASCAR Cup Series for Wood Brothers Racing.
- Carson Kvapil finished third in the final standings, cementing a strong rookie-adjacent campaign for the 23-year-old JR Motorsports driver.
Homestead Finale Unleashes Long-Run Pace
Brandon Jones took the lead with 14 laps remaining and pulled away from JR Motorsports driver Carson Kvapil to win by 3.937 seconds. The victory marked Jones’s second of the year, adding to an earlier triumph at Chicagoland, and put the driver of the No. 20 JGR Toyota eighth in the final championship standings.
Justin Allgaier wins second OReilly Series title. Brandon Jones wins race at Homestead.
Asnascar.com reported, Jones noted that his car was not the best at the start of the event. The team consistently made gains throughout the evening, relying on strong long-run pace to cycle to the front.
“There were so many cool positives to come out of today, first of all knocking Toyota’s 700th win out of the park, and it’s so cool to be a part of these big moments for this company,” Jones said, as quoted by nascar.com.
Behind the battle for the race win, the championship contenders waged a fierce strategic war across the 200 laps. Haas Factory Team pilot Sheldon Creed dominated the early stages, leading a race-best 99 laps—the most he has ever paced in a single event. Despite his speed, Creed ultimately crossed the finish line in sixth place.
Allgaier Navigates Pressure for Historic Title
Justin Allgaier executed a calculated race strategy in the No. 7 JRM Chevrolet, keeping his primary rivals in sight to secure a seventh-place finish and the series crown. At 40 years old, Allgaier became the second-oldest series champion since Tommy Ellis hoisted the trophy at age 41 in 1988.
The championship margin proved agonizingly slim for defending champion Jesse Love, who finished fourth in the race and 14 points behind Allgaier in the final standings.
Brandon Jones drove away with the lead at the end and gets his second win of the season at Homestead. Impressive drive to cap off the season. Justin Allgaier survives the tire issues to win his second NOAPS title in three years.#NASCAR
“There’s a thousand different things that could have gone differently to gain us those 15 points,” Love said, as reported by nascar.com.
JR Motorsports co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. praised the organization’s collective effort after watching Allgaier take the title and Kvapil finish third in the standings. Post-race inspection in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series garage concluded without issues, confirming Jones as the winner ahead of a scheduled engine teardown on the No. 7 Chevrolet.
| Driver | Team / Manufacturer | Race Result |
|---|---|---|
| Carson Kvapil | JR Motorsports / Chevrolet | 2nd |
| Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports / Chevrolet | 7th |
Looking Ahead to the 2027 Season
The conclusion of the Homestead finale closes the book on a competitive 2026 campaign that saw six wins from Allgaier and strong performances from drivers like Corey Day, who collected four wins in his first full season. Teams now look toward the winter break before cars hit the track for the season opener.
The 2027 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season begins Saturday, February 20, at Daytona International Speedway, with all 33 races scheduled to air on The CW, nascar.com reported.
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