After battling hard with 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott, it was Brandon Jones who emerged victorious in the Cuervo 300 at Chicagoland Speedway.
Jones beat Elliott and the rest of the field on the final restart in overtime in Saturday night’s (July 4) NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race that was delayed several hours due to rain and wrapped up just before 1 a.m. ET.
It’s Jones’s first win of the NOAPS season and his first since Kansas Speedway last September. It’s his eighth career victory in the series and his first at Chicagoland in the first race at the track since 2019.
“I had to earn that one, haven’t had an exciting one like that in a long time,” Jones told The CW broadcast on the frontstretch. “Chase (Elliott) made it really difficult on me, he’s one of the best in the sport.”
Elliott won the second stage and led 78 laps but finished runner-up. Jesse Love, Brent Crews, and Austin Hill rounded out the top five.
“Ended up having momentum going the wrong way into turn 3, I tried to drive in really hard and got myself super tight,” Elliott told The CW broadcast on pit road. “Credit to Brandon (Jones), he did a good job.”
Justin Allgaier, Taylor Gray, Sam Mayer, Cole Custer and Connor Zilisch finished in the sixth to 10th positions.
Gray led 55 laps and was in contention for the win late in the event until he faded on the last couple of restarts.
Zilisch won the opening stage but had to overcome multiple obstacles throughout the remainder of the race. He lost fuel pressure after the first stage, cut a right rear tire down on Lap 133, and then spun out on Lap 155 but still rebounded to grab a top-10 finish.
Justin Allgaier still has the points lead by a wide margin over Love as he now holds a 195-point advantage. Crews sits 12th in the standings, holding the final Chase spot. He leads William Sawalich by 44 points and Rajah Caruth by 48 points with four races to go before The Chase begins.
O’Reilly Chicagoland Results
The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will return to action for the 21st race of the season on Saturday, July 11 at EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Ga. Television coverage will begin at 7 p.m. ET and broadcast on your local CW affiliate.
Michael Bellifemini joined Frontstretch in February 2026 as a contributor. Bellifemini was born and raised in New Jersey and graduated from Seton Hall University. He called Seton Hall men's and women's basketball games for their college radio station, 89.5 FM WSOU, and continues to broadcast in the area. Outside of covering NASCAR, Bellifemini is also an avid baseball, football, basketball, and hockey fan and enjoys watching different sports leagues on a daily basis.
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