O’REILLY: Yeley takes lead in 2026 LASTCAR O’Reilly championship with four races to go
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: Jared Haas, @RealJaredHaas
J.J. Yeley picked up the 18th last-place finish of his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series career in Sunday’s Blue Cross NC 300 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway when his unsponsored #38 RSS Racing Ford fell out with water pump issues after he completed 63 of 200 laps.
The finish, which came in Yeley’s 404th series start, was his series-leading fourth of the 2026 season and first since Bristol, two races ago. In the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 2nd from the water pump, the 28th for the #38, and the 183rd for Ford. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 6th from the water pump, the 70th for the #38, and the 1,110th for Ford.
With the finish, Yeley now takes the lead in the 2026 LASTCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series standings by a single finish over previous leader Dawson Cram. With four races to go, Yeley is in position to earn his second series title and first since 2019, when he was also piloting a “start-and-park” entry for RSS Racing.
The Charlotte race would see Yeley return to RSS’ part-time #38 entry, which wasn’t entered last week following his last-place showing in Bristol. Yeley also wouldn’t be running double-duty as his usual Cup ride, the returning #44 Chevrolet for the NY Racing Team, was driven by owner-driver B.J. McLeod, who finished in 33rd. Both Yeley and the other 37 entrants filled the field for what was scheduled to be a Saturday race, but was pushed until after Sunday’s Cup race due to torrential rain. Scheduled to be the first driver on track for qualifying, he was instead placed 38th and last on Sunday night’s grid.
PHOTO: David PeQueen, @CarSDS2078
Following a further rain delay on Sunday evening, Yeley incurred a redundant tail-end penalty for unapproved adjustments. But the first driver to find trouble was Lavar Scott, who was slated to start 27th in Alpha Prime Racing’s #45 Sunoco Ford. As NASCAR added more pace laps to address the drying race track, Scott reported his throttle was sticking. His crew called for a replacement spring from JR Motorsports’ #9 team, which was on the other end of the pits. This may not have been successful, as the team later reported they noticed a faulty spring and had to tie it off. “It’s gonna be a softer throttle here, so manage it,” they told him. By then, Scott’s was the last car on the inside line, and was encouraged to give himself some space for the start.
As the field crossed the stripe, Scott was now the last-place runner in 38th, showing 4.357 seconds back of the lead to 37th-place Dawson Cram, whose #47 Hoods Home Center Chevrolet for Mike Harmon Racing was shown nearly four-tenths of a second ahead of Scott, 4.098 behind the leader. Yeley had now moved up to 36th, another eight-tenths ahead of Cram and 3.294 seconds back of the frontrunners. Seconds later, Scott radioed “It’s stuck!” and the team called him back to pit road for the throttle issue. Pitted in Stall No. 18, just past the starting line, Scott completed his first lap as he entered, but soon started to lose laps.
Meanwhile, Derek Lemke got off to a sluggish start in Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen’s #53 Mike Efaw’s Complete Home Improvement Chevrolet. After crossing the stripe in 34th, 2.896 seconds back of the lead, by Lap 3, he’d fallen to 37th, 11.207 seconds back of the leader, two seconds back of 36th-place Cram (8.899) and six back of 35th-place Yeley (5.055). This may have had something to do with a penalty handed to 26th-place starter Matt DiBenedetto, who was handed a penalty for changing lanes before the line as he tried to avoid contact during a stack-up on the start. DiBenedetto’s #42 Eranova Chevrolet plummeted to 36th on Lap 5 and lost a lap as he served his pass-through penalty, putting him 37th. That same lap was when Scott returned to the track, three laps down in 38th, only to incur a speeding penalty that dropped him a fourth lap back.
On Lap 6, Lemke was now 18.759 seconds back of the lead, still five seconds back of 35th-place Cram and seven seconds of the now 34th-place running Garrett Smithley in the #0 Mullis Construction Chevrolet. By Lap 8, Lemke was 23.098 seconds back of the lead with 36th-place Cram 16.525 behind. As Scott’s crew remarked at how quick their car was – even matching race leader Corey Day’s speed on Lap 15 – they looked ahead to the competition caution as a way of making up as many as two laps. Unfortunately, Day was lapping more of the field, lapping 36th-place Lemke on Lap 14, then Dawson Cram, who had just climbed to 34th after passing Patrick Staropoli, whose #48 Syfovre Chevrolet dropped off the pace with smoke pouring from the left-front due to a leaking power steering system.
When the competition caution fell on Lap 20, Cram was told by NASCAR to stay behind the leader, and Staropoli made a quick pit stop before he returned to the track, still trailing white smoke. By Lap 22, Staropoli was back in the pits, the crew looking under the hood to refill his power steering fluid and reattach an unhooked clamp. Staropoli was now 37th behind Cram but ahead of Scott, who received extensive adjustments under the yellow. Scott’s crew pointed out they would wait to make that stop until after Yeley made his, even though Yeley’s Stall No. 37 was far from their Stall No. 18.
Still under caution on Lap 24, both 34th-place Cram and the now 35th-place DiBenedetto were back on the lead lap, ahead of 36th-place Lemke, who was the only driver one lap down. Staropoli fell three laps down by Lap 26, dropping Staropoli to the last spot behind the now 37th-place Scott. Scott, in turn, was told by his crew to not restart behind either Staropoli due to his issue, nor behind Lemke since he was struggling for speed. Instead, Scott lined up behind DiBenedetto.
The race restarted on Lap 27, and on Lap 29, Staropoli dropped Scott back to last place. Scott reported his water was at 240 degrees, then bottomed out badly on the apron. Scott didn’t think he got on the apron, but the spotter said he “pounded the apron” which “probably knocked the fucking exhaust off this thing.” Again, Scott was still running fast lap times. The driver said his engine felt weak, which the team said could be fixed by giving him more help in the center of the corner. Scott continued to log laps toward the end of Stage 1 on Lap 45, during which Lemke lost a second lap by Lap 44, the Cram in 35th lost his first lap. Again, Cram got his lap back when the Stage 1 fell.
PHOTO: David PeQueen, @CarSDS2078
Under the yellow, Scott read off the data on his gauges, which the team said were optimal, then discussed possible damage to the exhaust pipe, which explained a flatter engine note the driver was hearing. The crew brought out jack stands to further examine the exhaust during his next stop for tires and fuel. Cram received his lap back on Lap 50 while both Staropoli and Scott remained in the final two spots, both three laps down. It was also during this caution that Yeley stayed out to lead two laps before he dropped to the back of the field. It appeared Yeley came to pit road as cameras showed him pulling off the apron exiting Turn 2, but he instead appeared to drop back voluntarily.
By the Lap 54 restart, Yeley was now in 34th, still on the lead lap, but 5.241 seconds back of the leaders and two seconds ahead of 35th-place Cram. By now, Staropoli had climbed to 36th as he was now two laps down and passing a now 37th-place Lemke while Scott remained last, the only driver three laps down. On Lap 59, Yeley’s crew radioed “about five more (laps),” then “one or two more” on Lap 62. On Lap 63, they radioed, “That’s about 10 right there, J.J.,” and Yeley pulled behind the wall using the entrance near victory lane. “All right boys, good job,” said the team, which took last from Scott on Lap 68. The result was the third last-place finish for the #38 in the last five series races.
That same time by, Cram pulled behind the wall and into a garage stall, dropping him to 33rd. “We’re gonna go ahead and pack this up,” said Cram’s team over the radio as Cram took 37th from Scott on Lap 71. On Lap 74, Yeley was declared out, but Cram’s crew waited several laps, watching the action on the track. On Lap 103, right when it appeared Cram might return to the race, team owner Mike Harmon told the team to pack it up. Cram was declared out on Lap 112, securing 37th. Taking the 36th spot was Rajah Caruth, who blew a right-rear tire on his #88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, causing him to collide with Jake Fich in the #9 Wilde Protein Crackers Chevrolet. Kyle Sieg ended up 35th after he trailed smoke in the late stages, signaling a blown engine on his #28 Brilin Electric Chevrolet. Rounding out the Bottom Five was Ryan Ellis, who wrecked and spun his #02 The Loaded Tea Shop Chevrolet, drawing the next-to-last caution of the night.
Carson Brown and Joey Gase earn stunning finishes
As Corey Day rolled to his second-straight win, a pair of surprising runs went unnoticed. Taking the 5th spot in only his second career start was 17-year-old Carson Brown, who after his first four ARCA Menards Series wins this season finished best of the non-Chase drivers on Sunday night in Jordan Anderson Racing’s #32 TestEquity Chevrolet. Further back in the order, Joey Gase climbed from 31st on the grid, got his lap back when the caution fell to end Stage 2, then rallied to an impressive 15th-place finish in his #55 NFPA Fire Prevention Week Ford. This was Gase’s best finish of the entire season and his best in the series as a driver since he also ran 15th in the 2025 season opener at Daytona.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the second time Yeley led at least one lap before finishing last in an O’Reilly race this season, joining his one lap led at Nashville on May 30th.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
38) #38-J.J. Yeley / 63 laps / water pump
37) #47-Dawson Cram / 66 laps / brakes
36) #88-Rajah Caruth / 126 laps / crash
35) #28-Kyle Sieg / 145 laps / engine
34) #02-Ryan Ellis / 163 laps / crash
2026 LASTCAR O’REILLY AUTO PARTS SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) RSS Racing (7)
2nd) Mike Harmon Racing (3)
3rd) DGM Racing x JIM, Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen, Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport, Young’s Motorsports (2)
4th) AM Racing, Big Machine Racing, Haas Factory Team, Hendrick Motorsports, Hettinger Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, JR Motorsports, Sam Hunt Racing, SS-Green Light Racing, Viking Motorsports (1)
2026 LASTCAR O’REILLY AUTO PARTS SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (18)
2nd) Ford (8)
3rd) Toyota (2)
2026 LASTCAR O’REILLY AUTO PARTS SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
