Corey Day wins Charlotte NASCAR O'Reilly race with three-wide pass for the lead

The NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race ran after Sunday's Cup race due to Saturday rain, and it was Corey Day to claimed victory for the second consecutive week.

On the final restart with ten laps to go, Day pulled off a three-wide pass for the lead on Jesse Love and Justin Allgaier, and then held off Love in the closing laps to claim victory.

"I think the 2 [Love] got very loose in front of the 7 [Allgaier] and messed them both up, and that was just enough for me to get a run off them," recalled Day. "That was crucial. I think if I don't do that, I don't win the race. What a job by my guys. I screwed up and took too many boxes on entry. Just to have the car to do that, the execution to do that, everything to finish it off like that is just so cool."

Love finished second, Sheldon Creed third, Allgaier fourth, and rookie Carson Brown fifth. Brandon Jones, Austin Hill, Anthony Alfredo, Taylor Gray, and Brennan Poole completed the top ten.

Creed leads the championship, but he is just two points ahead of Love and seven points ahead of Day. Allgaier is 15 points behind, and Carson Kvapil fell to 40 points behind.

Ryan Sieg spins off the bumper of Rajah Caruth

Photo by: David Jensen / Getty Images

The action started early, with Day nearly losing control as Love made it three-wide for the lead. However, Day held on and drove off with the early advantage.

Allgaier had to work his way through the middle of the pack after the qualifying rainout, and was nearly collected in an incident as three cars -- including Creed -- slammed doors just ahead of him.

There was a competition caution at Lap 20, where Creed's team made minor repairs.

At the end of Stage 1, Day led the way over Love, Mayer, Allgaier, Kvapil, A. Hill, Crews, Clements, Tay. Gray, and Retzlaff.

During the stage break, the race leader was hit with an end-of-line penalty as Day drove through too many pit boxes, but he didn't stay back there for long.

Love led the way, but Allgaier quickly ran him down and took control of the race. Day drove back inside the top ten within a single run, but did get up into the wall in a sketchy moment for the Hendrick driver.

Allgaier went on to win Stage 2, followed by Love, Tay. Gray, Mayer, Crews, A. Hill, Day, Kvapil, S. Smith, and Creed.

Corey Day wins, No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: David Jensen / Getty Images

Hill had to go to the rear of the field for a battery change, while Love continued to lead the race. Allgaier fell back on the restart, but aggressively took positions back as they got deeper into the run.

Kvapil had to make an unscheduled pit stop after getting up into the wall with a flat tire, and had to go to the garage due to the damage in a major blow to his title hopes.

As green-flag pit stops approached, Ryan Sieg went spinning after contact with Rajah Caruth. With only two sets remaining, Crews opted to stay out to try and save a set of sticker tires for later.

Love took the lead back from him on the restart, and with 51 laps to go, Allgaier ran him down and moved into the lead.

Right after Crews pitted under green, another single-car spin (Ryan Ellis) derailed a sequence of pit stops before they could truly begin.

Allgaier led the way on the ensuing restart, and while Gray briefly held second, he quickly fell behind Love and Day. Those two drivers continued to pressure Allgaier throughout the run, with the 2024 series champion getting up into the wall and giving up the lead with 17 laps to go.

Soon after, Crews blew a tire and put the race back under caution. Mayer and a handful of cars chose to pit for more lightly used scuffed tires, but the leaders all stayed out.

On the restart, Love and Allgaier remained side-by-side as Day took a mighty run to the far inside on the backstretch, passing both into Turn 3.

He then had to hold Love at bay for the remaining ten laps, and he did just that to secure his fourth win of the 2026 season. He also became the first Hendrick NOAPS driver to win back-to-back races since Kyle Busch in 2004, though the team also wasn't full-time in that division for several years during that period.

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