Wwt Raceway awaits Nascar O'reilly series title contenders seeking redemption

Here's the thing about World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway: it owes the top two drivers in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series standings absolutely nothing. Justin Allgaier and Sheldon Creed would gladly erase their memories of last year’s race at the 1.25-mile track, but Saturday’s Nu Way 225 Powered by Bobcat and Sauced by Blues Hog offers both men a clean shot at redemption. The action kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET, with coverage broadcast on The CW, MRN Radio, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Last year's race on the banks of the Mississippi River was an absolute disaster for both of them. Creed saw his third gear vanish on a Lap 135 restart, triggering a multicar pileup that left him buried in 30th place at the checkered flag. Allgaier didn't fare much better, catching a pit road speeding penalty right at the end of the second stage before getting caught up in that exact same Lap 135 carnage to limp home 28th.

Now, though, Creed arrives carrying massive momentum. Fresh off a victory in last Saturday’s O’Reilly Series Chase presented by Mobil 1 opener at Darlington Raceway—the second win of his entire career—the driver of the No. 00 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet has chopped Allgaier’s advantage in the standings down to a razor-thin seven points. Yet history serves up a chilling warning for Creed: across the entire 10-year history of postseason racing in the O’Reilly Series, the winner of the playoff opener has never gone on to claim the ultimate championship.

Allgaier’s Darlington afternoon started brilliantly with a first-stage win, but late-race contact with the outside wall ruined his handling and dragged him down to a 17th-place finish. Fortunately, this weekend feels like a home game for Allgaier, who hails from Riverton, Illinois. He even claimed a pole at WWT Raceway back in 2010. "It’s always special to be able to come back and race this close to home – not only for me, but for everyone at (sponsor) Brandt Professional Agriculture as well," Allgaier stated. "They are going to have a strong presence at the track this weekend, and hopefully we can go out there and put on a great show for them. (Crew chief) Andrew (Overstreet) and all the guys on this team have been working hard all week long, and we are ready to go."

Further down the order, Allgaier’s JR Motorsports teammate Carson Kvapil holds third in the Chase standings, sitting 19 points back after starting from the pole and finishing 12th at Darlington. Kvapil's lone previous start at Gateway ended in a brutal 37th-place heartbreak due to an engine failure. "We’ve been working hard in the sim this week preparing for St. Louis," Kvapil said. "I know (crew chief) Rodney (Childers) and this entire No. 1 Wilde Cracker team will unload another rocket ship at the track this weekend. We just need to go out and execute like we know we can, and if we do, we will continue to chip away at the points deficit."

Other title contenders are looking to turn the tables on a field featuring zero former Gateway winners. Brandon Jones quietly put together the strongest performance among Chase drivers here last year by coming home fourth; he currently sits eighth in the standings, 58 points behind Allgaier. Meanwhile, defending series champion Jesse Love steered his Richard Childress Racing machine to a fifth-place finish at the venue last year. Love enters this weekend sitting sixth in the standings, trailing Allgaier by 48 points as the battle intensifies.