What to Watch Out for in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Race at Rockingham

What’s Happening?

With the NASCAR Cup Series having the weekend off, it’s the stars of tomorrow, the greats of the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, who are taking center stage for a Saturday afternoon showdown on this Easter weekend at the famous Rockingham Speedway. Some of these drivers have never seen this track in their lives. For some, it’s the second time around. Last year’s race had many things. The return of Kasey Khane. A controversial finish which saw Jesse Love get disqualified, and Sammy Smith walk off with the win. What’s in store for us today? Here’s what you need to keep an eye on in today’s North Carolina Education Lottery 250 at the historic Rock.

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Pre-Race Notes:

• Corey Day captured his first pole award in his first trip to the Rock with a time of 22.717. Having cleaned up his act in recent weeks, and earning 6 top 10 finishes in the first 7 races of the 2026 season, including a 2nd place finish last week at Martinsville, many fans are wondering if today could be the day that he shatters the glass ceiling and captures that first elusive OAPS race win. He’s off to a great start as he will lead the field to the green this afternoon.
• Looking for redemption today is none other than Jesse Love. When the coverage for last year’s race ended, we all thought Jesse Love was the winner. However, the No. 2 team failed post-race inspection, resulting in a Sammy Smith victory. He’ll be starting on the outside pole position.
• Speaking of Sammy Smith, he’s looking to prove that last year’s win was no fluke. He’ll be going from win No. 2 today. After yesterday’s truck race didn’t go to his liking, he’ll have some work to do today as the defending race winner rolls off 19th.
• Many eyes will be on YouTube sensation Cleetus McFarland as he makes his O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut in the RCR No. 33. This move was met with a lot of controversy, considering his disastrous run in the Truck Series at Daytona earlier this season. But considering that he’s had modest results at the ARCA level, many of his fans are interested to see how he’ll fare. That No. 33 had a great run going last year with Kasey Khane until an incident took him out of the race. If he can keep his nose clean, he may be in for a big day and earn some respect to boot. He’s rolling off in the 35th position.
• The stage breakdown is as follows: 60-60-130. Teams were given 4 sets of Goodyear rubber and the fuel run is expected to be around 95-105 laps.
• Coverage for the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 begins at 2:30 PM EST on The CW.

Starting Lineup

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