2026 Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 6 of 33 in the 2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | March 21, 2026 | ||
| Location | Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 1.366 miles (2.198 km) | ||
| Distance | 147 laps, 200.802 mi (323.159 km) | ||
| Average speed | 112.442 miles per hour (180.958 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | JR Motorsports | ||
| Time | 29.994 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kyle Larson | JR Motorsports | |
| Laps | 107 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | |
| Time | 30.438 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | The CW | ||
| Announcers | Adam Alexander, Jamie McMurray, and Parker Kligerman | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth announcers | Alex Hayden, Mike Bagley, and Todd Gordon | ||
| Turn announcers | Dave Moody (1 & 2) and Tim Catafalmo (3 & 4) | ||
The 2026 Sports Clips Haircuts VFW 200 was a NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race held on Saturday, March 21, 2026, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. Contested over 147 laps on the 1.366-mile (2.198 km) egg-shaped oval, it was the sixth race of the 2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series season, and the 44th running of the event.
Justin Allgaier, driving for JR Motorsports, took advantage of a late restart, leading the final 14 laps and held off Brandon Jones in the closing stages to earn his 30th career NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series win, and his second of the season.[10] Allgaier's teammate Kyle Larson was the most dominant driver of the race, winning both stages and led a race-high 107 laps, before a late pit stop cycled him back and was unable to retake the lead. Jones finished second, and Christopher Bell finished third. Larson and Carson Kvapil rounded out the top five, while Corey Day, Sheldon Creed, Parker Retzlaff, Sammy Smith, and Sam Mayer rounded out the top ten.
Report
[edit]Background
[edit]
Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that is effective at both ends.
Surface issues
[edit]Darlington Raceway was last repaved following the May 2007 meeting (from 2005 to 2019, there was only one meeting; the second meeting was reinstated in 2020), and from 2008 to 2019, there was one night race. In 2020, a day race returned to the schedule, and instead of two races (one Xfinity and one Cup) during the entire year, the track hosted six races (three Cup, two Xfinity, and one Truck). The circuit kept repairing the circuit with patches during each summer before the annual Cup race in September. The circuit's narrow Turn 2 rapidly deteriorated with cracks in the tarmac allowing water to seep in the circuit. In July 2021, the circuit repaved a six hundred foot section at the entrance of Turn 2 and ending at the exit of the turn to repair the tarmac and resolve the issue for safety and to reduce the threat of weepers and surface issues in that section of the circuit.
Entry list
[edit]- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
[edit]The first and only practice session was held on Saturday, March 21, at 12:00 PM EST, and lasted for 50 minutes.[11]
Christopher Bell, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.149 seconds, and a speed of 163.110 miles per hour (262.500 km/h).[12]
Practice results
[edit]| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 | Christopher Bell (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 30.149 | 163.110 |
| 2 | 20 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 30.280 | 162.404 |
| 3 | 99 | Parker Retzlaff | Viking Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.295 | 162.324 |
| Full practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
[edit]Qualifying was held on Saturday, March 21, at 1:05 PM EST.[11] Since Darlington Raceway is an intermediate racetrack, the qualifying procedure used was a single-car, one-lap system with one round. Drivers were on track by themselves and had one lap to post a qualifying time, and whoever set the fastest time won the pole.[13]
Kyle Larson, driving for JR Motorsports, qualified on pole position with a lap of 29.994 seconds, and a speed of 163.953 miles per hour (263.857 km/h).[14]
Matt DiBenedetto was the only driver who failed to qualify.
Qualifying results
[edit]Race
[edit]Race results
[edit]Stage results
[edit]Stage One Laps: 45
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 88 | Kyle Larson (i) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 2 | 19 | Christopher Bell (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 3 | 1 | Carson Kvapil | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 20 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 99 | Parker Retzlaff | Viking Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 2 | Jesse Love | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 18 | William Sawalich | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 96 | Anthony Alfredo | Viking Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 9 | Ross Chastain (i) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
Stage Two Laps: 45
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 88 | Kyle Larson (i) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 2 | 1 | Carson Kvapil | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 20 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 99 | Parker Retzlaff | Viking Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 9 | Ross Chastain (i) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 7 | 96 | Anthony Alfredo | Viking Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 17 | Corey Day | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 19 | Christopher Bell (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 10 | 18 | William Sawalich | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
Final Stage results
[edit]Stage Three Laps: 57
| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 147 | 31 | Running | 69 |
| 2 | 8 | 20 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 147 | 8 | Running | 50 |
| 3 | 2 | 19 | Christopher Bell (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 147 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 4 | 1 | 88 | Kyle Larson (i) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 147 | 107 | Running | 0 |
| 5 | 3 | 1 | Carson Kvapil | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 147 | 0 | Running | 49 |
| 6 | 12 | 17 | Corey Day | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 147 | 0 | Running | 34 |
| 7 | 13 | 00 | Sheldon Creed | Haas Factory Team | Chevrolet | 147 | 0 | Running | 30 |
| 8 | 5 | 99 | Parker Retzlaff | Viking Motorsports | Chevrolet | 147 | 0 | Running | 40 |
| 9 | 18 | 8 | Sammy Smith | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 147 | 0 | Running | 28 |
| 10 | 6 | 41 | Sam Mayer | Haas Factory Team | Chevrolet | 147 | 0 | Running | 27 |
| 11 | 10 | 2 | Jesse Love | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 147 | 0 | Running | 30 |
| 12 | 21 | 96 | Anthony Alfredo | Viking Motorsports | Chevrolet | 147 | 0 | Running | 31 |
| 13 | 22 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Chevrolet | 147 | 0 | Running | 24 |
| 14 | 9 | 9 | Ross Chastain (i) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 147 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 15 | 15 | 54 | Taylor Gray | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 147 | 0 | Running | 22 |
| 16 | 27 | 25 | Nick Sanchez | AM Racing | Ford | 147 | 0 | Running | 21 |
| 17 | 7 | 18 | William Sawalich | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 147 | 0 | Running | 24 |
| 18 | 23 | 44 | Brennan Poole | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 147 | 0 | Running | 19 |
| 19 | 30 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 147 | 0 | Running | 18 |
| 20 | 32 | 07 | Josh Bilicki | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 147 | 0 | Running | 17 |
| 21 | 33 | 26 | Dean Thompson | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 147 | 0 | Running | 16 |
| 22 | 14 | 24 | Harrison Burton | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 147 | 0 | Running | 15 |
| 23 | 19 | 32 | Rajah Caruth | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 147 | 0 | Running | 14 |
| 24 | 17 | 92 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 147 | 1 | Running | 13 |
| 25 | 20 | 5 | J. J. Yeley | Hettinger Racing | Ford | 147 | 0 | Running | 12 |
| 26 | 25 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 147 | 0 | Running | 11 |
| 27 | 24 | 0 | Garrett Smithley | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 147 | 0 | Running | 10 |
| 28 | 31 | 87 | Austin Green | Peterson Racing | Chevrolet | 146 | 0 | Running | 9 |
| 29 | 28 | 48 | Patrick Staropoli (R) | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 146 | 0 | Running | 8 |
| 30 | 26 | 31 | Blaine Perkins | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 146 | 0 | Running | 7 |
| 31 | 37 | 55 | Joey Gase | Joey Gase Motorsports | Chevrolet | 145 | 0 | Running | 6 |
| 32 | 36 | 02 | Ryan Ellis | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | 145 | 0 | Running | 5 |
| 33 | 35 | 30 | Myatt Snider | Barrett–Cope Racing | Chevrolet | 145 | 0 | Running | 4 |
| 34 | 38 | 42 | Nathan Byrd | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | 145 | 0 | Running | 3 |
| 35 | 11 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 142 | 0 | Running | 2 |
| 36 | 29 | 45 | Lavar Scott (R) | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 123 | 0 | Accident | 1 |
| 37 | 16 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | RSS Racing | Chevrolet | 121 | 0 | DVP | 1 |
| 38 | 34 | 91 | Alex Labbé | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 120 | 0 | Accident | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||||
Race statistics
[edit]- Lead changes: 6 among 4 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 3 for 25 laps
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 1 hour, 47 minutes and 9 seconds
- Average speed: 112.442 miles per hour (180.958 km/h)
Standings after the race
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References
[edit]- ↑ "2026 schedule". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Darlington Raceway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on February 19, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
- ↑ "NASCAR releases 2026 schedule, adding Chicagoland and shifting All-Star to Dover". NASCAR. August 20, 2025. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Entry list" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. March 20, 2026. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Practice Results" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. March 21, 2026. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Qualifying Results" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. March 21, 2026. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Starting Lineup" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. March 21, 2026. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Race Results" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. March 21, 2026. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. March 21, 2026. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Late rally nets Justin Allgaier fourth Darlington victory". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Wire Service. March 21, 2026. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
- 1 2 "2025 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Darlington Raceway Spring Race Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
- ↑ Srigley, Joseph (March 21, 2026). "NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Sports Clips 200 Practice Results (Darlington)". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
- ↑ "2026 NASCAR Qualifying Procedures". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
- ↑ Srigley, Joseph (March 21, 2026). "Kyle Larson Collects Darlington O'Reilly Pole". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved March 21, 2026.