Brandon Jones turned NASCAR’s Chicagoland comeback into a late restart ambush, beating Chase Elliott by 0.171 seconds in Saturday night’s rain-delayed Cuervo 300.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver cleared Elliott after the pair ran side-by-side through the first two corners on the overtime restart, then covered the high line on the final lap to secure his first O’Reilly Auto Parts Series win of 2026.
Jones converts after Elliott loses control of the restart
NASCAR’s race report confirmed Jones took charge in Turn 3 on the white-flag lap after Elliott’s No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet failed to carry the momentum he needed from the outside lane.
The result carries extra weight because Chicagoland had not hosted the series since 2019. Read Motorsport had already tracked the venue’s wider return in its earlier Chicagoland test explainer, but this was the first real proof of how chaotic the reborn 1.5-mile oval could become under race pressure.
Elliott led a race-high 78 laps, while Taylor Gray led 55 and finished seventh. Jesse Love completed the podium, with Brent Crews fourth and Austin Hill fifth.
Connor Zilisch’s night swung from pole to recovery drive after qualifying was lost to weather. He won Stage 1, later ran out of fuel under caution, cut a tyre, spun, and still fought back to 10th.
Post-race inspection confirmed Jones as the winner. NASCAR also reported the Nos. 0 and 54 had one unsecured lug nut each, costing both teams pit selection at EchoPark Speedway.
