BRISTOL, Tenn. — In terms of manufacturer success, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series has been the converse of the NASCAR Cup Series.
In NASCAR’s top division, Chevrolet was shut out for the first six races before Chase Elliott got a breakthrough win at Martinsville Speedway on March 29.
In the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Chevrolet drivers claimed the first seven trophies before William Sawalich got his first win last Saturday at Rockingham in a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
As NASCAR heads to Bristol Motor Speedway, Sawalich and his Toyota brethren will try to back up the Rockingham victory in Saturday’s Suburban Propane 300, the first of four Dash 4 Cash races in the series.
That might be a challenge, given that Aric Almirola’s win last fall is the only Toyota triumph in the last eight races at the 0.533-mile short track.
Sawalich’s competition for the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus is much more limited than the full-field scramble for the race win. Only the top four finishers at Rockingham—Sawalich, Brandon Jones, Justin Allgaier and Rajah Caruth—are eligible for the six-figure prize, with the top finisher among them taking home the money.
That means the Dash 4 Cash drivers won‘t have to beat Kyle Larson, who will make his third O’Reilly Series start of the season at Bristol. Larson has won in his last two series starts at Thunder Valley, including last year’s edition of this race.
Sawalich, Jones and Caruth will have to beat Allgaier, who has turned Dash 4 Cash races into a personal piggy bank. In 23 Dash 4 Cash appearances, Allgaier has claimed the prize seven times (most all-time) for a total of $700,000 (most all-time).
Allgaier has two race victories, two poles and 17 top 10s in 26 Bristol starts.
Both Sawalich and Caruth are eligible for the Dash 4 Cash bonus for the first time. Jones has been shut out in seven tries for the $100,000.
Caruth charged into the critical fourth-place finish at Rockingham with a two-position pass of Carson Kvapil and Sheldon Creed with nine laps left. Caruth will be behind the wheel of the No. 32 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet this weekend, not the arguably more potent No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet he drove at Rockingham.
It’s also incumbent on Caruth to put recent incidents with defending series champion Jesse Love behind him. The two drivers tangled at both Martinsville and Rockingham—to Love’s severe detriment at the latter track.
Love and Caruth engaged in an extended post-race conversation in the Rockingham garage.
“I’ve had a couple of moments like that this year where, you know, there’s points on the table that I probably gave away where if I didn’t have those, if I didn’t make those decisions or have those emotional reactions, then that positively impacts my finishing position,” Caruth said.
“I’d say I’m a pretty tough critic, but that’s the reason why I’d say I’m like, probably a C-plus or B-minus to start the year. But as tough as those mistakes were, I’m glad I made them, because now I know for next time.”
