The 2026 North Carolina Education Lottery 250 was a NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race held on Saturday, April 4, 2026, at Rockingham Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina. Contested over 250 laps on the asphalt speedway, it was the eight race of the 2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series season, and the second running of the event.
William Sawalich, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, made a late charge and dominated the final stage, leading the final 79 laps and holding off his teammate Brandon Jones to earn his first career NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series win. Corey Day swept both stages and led a race-high 118 laps, before a late pit stop cycled him back, eventually rebounding to finish tenth. Jones finished second, and Justin Allgaier finished third. Rajah Caruth and Carson Kvapil rounded out the top five, while Sheldon Creed, Taylor Gray, Parker Retzlaff, Ryan Sieg, and Day rounded out the top ten.
For the second consecutive year, the race, along with the Craftsman Truck Series race would take place during the first of two bye weeks for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series.
Background
Report
Rockingham Speedway and Entertainment Complex (formerly known as North Carolina Speedway from 1998 to 2007 and North Carolina Motor Speedway from 1965 to 1996) is a D-shaped oval track in Rockingham, North Carolina. The track has held a variety of events since its opening in 1965, including the NASCAR Cup Series from 1965 to 2004, and currently the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and the ARCA Menards Series East. It has a 32,000-seat capacity as of 2012. Rockingham Speedway is owned by the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA).
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver.
Driver Team Make 00 Sheldon Creed Haas Factory Team Chevrolet 0 Garrett Smithley SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet 1 Carson Kvapil JR Motorsports Chevrolet 02 Ryan Ellis Young's Motorsports Chevrolet 2 Jesse Love Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 5 J. J. Yeley Hettinger Racing Ford 07 Josh Bilicki SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet 7 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports Chevrolet 8 Sammy Smith JR Motorsports Chevrolet 17 Corey Day Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 18 William Sawalich Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Brent Crews (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Brandon Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Austin Hill Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 24 Harrison Burton Sam Hunt Racing Toyota 26 Dean Thompson Sam Hunt Racing Toyota 27 Jeb Burton Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet 28 Kyle Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet 31 Blaine Perkins Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet 32 Andrew Patterson Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet 33 Cleetus McFarland Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 35 Joey Gase Joey Gase Motorsports Chevrolet 39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet 41 Sam Mayer Haas Factory Team Chevrolet 42 Nathan Byrd Young's Motorsports Chevrolet 44 Brennan Poole Alpha Prime Racing Chevrolet 45 Lavar Scott (R) Alpha Prime Racing Chevrolet 48 Patrick Staropoli (R) Big Machine Racing Chevrolet 51 Jeremy Clements Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet 54 Taylor Gray Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 55 Blake Lothian Joey Gase Motorsports Chevrolet 74 Dawson Cram Mike Harmon Racing Chevrolet 87 Austin Green Peterson Racing Chevrolet 88 Rajah Caruth JR Motorsports Chevrolet 91 Alex Labbé DGM Racing Chevrolet 92 Josh Williams DGM Racing Chevrolet 96 Anthony Alfredo Viking Motorsports Chevrolet 99 Parker Retzlaff Viking Motorsports Chevrolet Official entry list
Practice The first and only practice session was held on Friday, April 3, at 1:30 PM EST, and lasted for 50 minutes, although it was delayed numerous times due to inclement weather.
Kyle Sieg, driving for RSS Racing, set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.208 seconds, and a speed of .
Practice results Pos.DriverTeamMakeTime128Kyle SiegRSS RacingChevrolet23.208145.812239Ryan SiegRSS RacingChevrolet23.212145.787321Austin HillRichard Childress RacingChevrolet23.216145.762Full practice results
Qualifying Qualifying was held on Friday, April 3, at 2:35 PM EST. Since Rockingham Speedway is a mile oval, the qualifying procedure used was a single-car, one-lap system with one round. Drivers were on track by themselves and had one lap to post a qualifying time, and whoever set the fastest time won the pole.
Corey Day, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, qualified on pole position with a lap of 22.717 seconds, and a speed of .
No drivers failed to qualify.
Qualifying results Pos.DriverTeamMakeTime117Corey DayHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet22.717148.96322Jesse LoveRichard Childress RacingChevrolet22.781148.545399Parker RetzlaffViking MotorsportsChevrolet22.822148.27847Justin AllgaierJR MotorsportsChevrolet22.823148.27151Carson KvapilJR MotorsportsChevrolet22.839148.168654Taylor GrayJoe Gibbs RacingToyota22.850148.096741Sam MayerHaas Factory TeamChevrolet22.852148.083820Brandon JonesJoe Gibbs RacingToyota22.860148.031900Sheldon CreedHaas Factory TeamChevrolet22.863148.0121019Brent Crews (R)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota22.888147.8501121Austin HillRichard Childress RacingChevrolet22.891147.8311239Ryan SiegRSS RacingChevrolet22.893147.8181388Rajah CaruthJR MotorsportsChevrolet22.894147.8121418William SawalichJoe Gibbs RacingToyota22.958147.4001596Anthony AlfredoViking MotorsportsChevrolet22.967147.3421624Harrison BurtonSam Hunt RacingToyota22.967147.3421751Jeremy ClementsJeremy Clements RacingChevrolet23.043146.8561826Dean ThompsonSam Hunt RacingToyota23.058146.760198Sammy SmithJR MotorsportsChevrolet23.088146.5702045Lavar Scott (R)Alpha Prime RacingChevrolet23.128146.3162128Kyle SiegRSS RacingChevrolet23.158146.1272248Patrick Staropoli (R)Big Machine RacingChevrolet23.165146.0822387Austin GreenPeterson RacingChevrolet23.179145.9942444Brennan PooleAlpha Prime RacingChevrolet23.265145.4552592Josh WilliamsDGM RacingChevrolet23.343144.9692642Nathan ByrdYoung's MotorsportsChevrolet23.390144.6772731Blaine PerkinsJordan Anderson RacingChevrolet23.417144.510285J. J. YeleyHettinger RacingFord23.489144.0672927Jeb BurtonJordan Anderson RacingChevrolet23.500144.0003091Alex LabbéDGM RacingChevrolet23.529143.8233132Andrew PattersonJordan Anderson RacingChevrolet23.578143.5243202Ryan EllisYoung's MotorsportsChevrolet23.578143.524Qualified by owner's points3307Josh BilickiSS-Green Light RacingChevrolet23.669142.9723474Dawson CramMike Harmon RacingChevrolet23.871141.7623533Cleetus McFarlandRichard Childress RacingChevrolet23.978141.1293635Joey GaseJoey Gase MotorsportsChevrolet24.074140.5673755Blake LothianJoey Gase MotorsportsChevrolet24.686137.082380Garrett SmithleySS-Green Light RacingChevrolet——Official qualifying resultsOfficial starting lineup
Race
Race results
Stage results Stage One Laps: 60 Pos.DriverTeamMakePts117Corey DayHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet10254Taylor GrayJoe Gibbs RacingToyota9320Brandon JonesJoe Gibbs RacingToyota847Justin AllgaierJR MotorsportsChevrolet7518William SawalichJoe Gibbs RacingToyota662Jesse LoveRichard Childress RacingChevrolet578Sammy SmithJR MotorsportsChevrolet4819Brent Crews (R)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota3988Rajah CaruthJR MotorsportsChevrolet21099Parker RetzlaffViking MotorsportsChevrolet1 Stage Two Laps: 60 Pos.DriverTeamMakePts117Corey DayHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet10218William SawalichJoe Gibbs RacingToyota937Justin AllgaierJR MotorsportsChevrolet8419Brent Crews (R)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota7520Brandon JonesJoe Gibbs RacingToyota6688Rajah CaruthJR MotorsportsChevrolet5799Parker RetzlaffViking MotorsportsChevrolet4800Sheldon CreedHaas Factory TeamChevrolet3951Jeremy ClementsJeremy Clements RacingChevrolet2101Carson KvapilJR MotorsportsChevrolet1
Final Stage results Stage Three Laps: 130 FinStDriverTeamMakeLapsLedStatusPts11418William SawalichJoe Gibbs RacingToyota25080Running712820Brandon JonesJoe Gibbs RacingToyota2500Running49347Justin AllgaierJR MotorsportsChevrolet2501Running4941388Rajah CaruthJR MotorsportsChevrolet2500Running40551Carson KvapilJR MotorsportsChevrolet2500Running336900Sheldon CreedHaas Factory TeamChevrolet2500Running347654Taylor GrayJoe Gibbs RacingToyota2506Running398399Parker RetzlaffViking MotorsportsChevrolet2500Running3491239Ryan SiegRSS RacingChevrolet2500Running2810117Corey DayHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet250118Running47111121Austin HillRichard Childress RacingChevrolet2500Running2612198Sammy SmithJR MotorsportsChevrolet2500Running29131624Harrison BurtonSam Hunt RacingToyota2500Running24142444Brennan PooleAlpha Prime RacingChevrolet2500Running23152045Lavar Scott (R)Alpha Prime RacingChevrolet2500Running22162642Nathan ByrdYoung's MotorsportsChevrolet2500Running21172927Jeb BurtonJordan Anderson RacingChevrolet2500Running20183091Alex LabbéDGM RacingChevrolet2500Running19192592Josh WilliamsDGM RacingChevrolet2500Running1820285J. J. YeleyHettinger RacingFord2500Running17213132Andrew PattersonJordan Anderson RacingChevrolet2500Running16223202Ryan EllisYoung's MotorsportsChevrolet2490Running15232731Blaine PerkinsJordan Anderson RacingChevrolet2490Running14241596Anthony AlfredoViking MotorsportsChevrolet2490Running13251751Jeremy ClementsJeremy Clements RacingChevrolet2490Running14261019Brent Crews (R)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota24831Running212722Jesse LoveRichard Childress RacingChevrolet24815Running15281826Dean ThompsonSam Hunt RacingToyota2480Running929380Garrett SmithleySS-Green Light RacingChevrolet2460Running8303755Blake LothianJoey Gase MotorsportsChevrolet2450Running7313635Joey GaseJoey Gase MotorsportsChevrolet2450Running6323533Cleetus McFarlandRichard Childress RacingChevrolet2440Running5332387Austin GreenPeterson RacingChevrolet2430Running4342248Patrick Staropoli (R)Big Machine RacingChevrolet2420Running3353474Dawson CramMike Harmon RacingChevrolet2410Running2363307Josh BilickiSS-Green Light RacingChevrolet2410Running1372128Kyle SiegRSS RacingChevrolet2010Electrical138741Sam MayerHaas Factory TeamChevrolet1540Engine1Official race results
Race statistics
Lead changes: 8 among 6 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 7 for 44 laps Red flags: 0 Time of race: 2 hours, 22 minutes and 36 seconds Average speed:
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Justin Allgaier 422 2 Jesse Love 296 (–126) 3 Sheldon Creed 291 (–131) 4 Austin Hill 277 (–145) 2 5 Corey Day 272 (–150) 1 6 Carson Kvapil 267 (–155) 1 7 Sammy Smith 260 (–162) 8 Brandon Jones 247 (–175) 9 Parker Retzlaff 229 (–193) 10 Rajah Caruth 215 (–207) 3 11 William Sawalich 214 (–208) 12 Taylor Gray 203 (–219)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet 419 2 Toyota 247 (–172) 3 Ford 143 (–276) Note: Only the first 12 positions are included for the driver standings.
References