LAS VEGAS — In marked contrast to the NASCAR Cup Series, the first four events in the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series have produced four different winners.
With a field salted with full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers, that trend is likely to continue in Saturday’s The LiUNA at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Kyle Larson, favored by oddsmakers in both races this weekend, will take a turn in the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, but Larson won’t be the only significant Cup competitor in the field.
Chase Briscoe is scheduled to drive the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota that carried part-timer Aric Almirola to victory in last year’s fall race at the 1.5-mile track. Connor Zilisch, a 10-time O’Reilly winner last season, will be behind the wheel of the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, as series regular Carson Kvapil rotates to the No. 9.
Zilisch finished second behind Almirola in the fall.
If there’s a candidate to get a second O’Reilly victory this season, Justin Allgaier would be most likely to succeed. Allgaier took the checkered flag last Saturday at Phoenix Raceway after a late charge and vaulted into the series standings lead with the victory.
Allgaier is the defending winner of the spring O’Reilly Auto Parts race at LVMS.
“I’ve always enjoyed racing in Las Vegas,” said Allgaier, who has won at least one race in the series for a record 10 straight years. “It’s a track that has really suited my driving style and is somewhere that I know we will have a great chance to battle for the win at each time we come here.
“(Crew chief) Andrew (Overstreet) has given me great cars all year long and I know that will be the case again this weekend. If we can just go out and execute the way we are capable of, I see no reason why we can’t replicate what happened last week in Phoenix. This group is ready to go.”
Allgaier, however, has a full plate this weekend. He is competing in the NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday as a substitute for Alex Bowman, who will miss his second straight event after being diagnosed with vertigo.
As with the Cup Series, qualifying will be important to the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series drivers. Only four times since 2008 has a winning driver at Las Vegas started outside the top 10.
