The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series made its return to Chicagoland Speedway for the first time since 2019 on Saturday night for the Cuervo 300. Connor Zilisch started the race on the pole, with Brent Crews starting second. The race was delayed for nearly five hours due to rain.
Connor Zilisch led the opening 47 laps, including winning the first stage. After that, he would have three separate issues with a loss of fuel pressure, a flat right-rear tire, and a spin. In the second stage, Chase Elliott took the lead from Jesse Love on lap 50. He would lead 45 laps to win the second stage.
In the final stage, the race came down to Brandon Jones, Chase Elliott, and Jesse Love. With four laps to go, Chase Elliott was leading the race, with Brandon Jones taking second place away from Jesse Love when Kyle Sieg and Patrick Staropoli made contact at Turn 2 to bring out the caution. It was one of seven cautions throughout the race for 40 laps.
On the restart, Chase Elliott and Brandon Jones were side-by-side coming to the final lap. Elliott brushed the wall at Turn 2, allowing Jones to take the lead and the win by 0.171 seconds over Chase Elliott. Jones led a total of 12 laps, while Chase Elliott led a race-high 78 of 201 laps.
It was Jones’s first win of the season, and the eighth of his career. Jesse Love, Brent Crews, and Austin Hill rounded out the five. Justin Allgaier, Taylor Gray, Sam Mayer, Cole Custer, and Connor Zilisch completed the top ten. Click here to view the full results.
The O’Reilly Auto Parts Series heads to EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway) next Saturday at 7 pm on The CW.
