The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series kicked off the 2026 season on Saturday evening from Daytona International Speedway in the United Rentals 300. The Richard Childress teammates of Austin Hill, who won the pole, and Jesse Love, who started second, led the field to the green flag.
However, just before they crossed the line, some of the drivers were antsy to get going, while the others waited for the field to go, which led to the first caution. A total of five cars were involved in the crash. They were Mason Maggio, Jeremy Clements, Patrick Emerling, Brennan Poole, and Anthony Alfredo. Mason Maggio was the first driver to retire from the race.
The caution was one of seven for 36 laps. Two of those crashes were big ones. The first happened on lap 93 involving nine cars, and the other on lap 101 involving 11 cars. A total of 14 cars did not finish the race.
After Jeb Burton left debris on the racetrack, the race resumed with two laps to go. Austin Hill got a push from Jordan Anderson. Hill held on to win the race by 0.081 seconds over Justin Allgaier. It was Hill’s fourth win at Daytona in five years. Hill led 78 of 120 laps, which was the most laps led in the race.
Ryan Sieg, Jordan Anderson, and Sammy Smith rounded out the top five. Ryan Ellis, Carson Kvapil, Blaine Perkins, Jesse Love, and Rajah Caruth completed the top ten.
The O’Reilly Auto Parts Series heads to EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway) next Saturday, February 21, 2026, at 5 pm on The CW.
