 | |
| Category | Stock cars |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Inaugural season | 1982 |
| Manufacturers | Chevrolet · Ford · Toyota |
| Engine suppliers | Chevrolet · Ford · Toyota |
| Tire suppliers | Goodyear |
| Drivers' champion | Jesse Love |
| Makes' champion | Chevrolet |
| Teams' champion | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| Official website | NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series |
 Current season | |
TheNASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series (NOAPS) is astock car racing series organized byNASCAR. It's the company's second national division, behind theNASCAR Cup Series and in front ofNASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. NOAPS events are frequently held as asupport race on the day prior to a Cup Series event scheduled for that weekend.
The series was previously called theBudweiser Late Model Sportsman Series in 1982 and 1983, theNASCAR Busch Grand National Series from 1984 through 2002, theNASCAR Busch Series from 2003 through 2007, and theNASCAR Nationwide Series from 2008 through 2014. From 2015 to 2025, it was sponsored byComcast via its consumer cable and wireless brandXfinity.[1][2] Starting in 2026, the series will be sponsored byO'Reilly Auto Parts and will be called theNASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series.[3]
.jpg)
The series emerged from NASCAR's Sportsman division, which had been formed in 1950 as NASCAR'sshort track race division. It was NASCAR's fourth series (after theModified andRoadster series in 1948 andStrictly Stock Series in 1949). The sportsman cars were not current model cars and could be modified more, but not as much asModified series cars.[4] It became theLate Model Sportsman Series in 1968, and soon featured races on larger tracks such asDaytona International Speedway. Drivers used obsolete Grand National cars on larger tracks but by the inception of the touring format in1982, the series used older compact cars. Short track cars with relatively small 300 cubic inchV-8 motors were used. Drivers used smaller current year models featuringV6 motors.
The modern-day O'Reilly Auto Parts Series was formed in 1982, whenAnheuser-Busch sponsored a newly reformed late-model sportsman series with itsBudweiser brand. In 1984, the series switched sponsorship to Anheuser-Busch'sBusch Beer brand and was renamed theBusch Grand National Series.
"Grand National" was dropped from the series' title in2003 as part of NASCAR's brand identity (the "Grand National" name was later used for theBusch East andWinston West series as part of a nationwide standardization of rules for NASCAR's regional racing; both series are now run underARCA Menards Series banner after NASCAR purchased the organization in 2018). Anheuser-Busch dropped the sponsorship after the2007 season;Nationwide Insurance took over the sponsorship for the2008 season, renaming it theNationwide Series.[5] The Nationwide sponsorship was a seven-year contract, and did not include the banking and mortgage departments of Nationwide. The sponsorship reportedly carried a$10 million commitment for 2008, with 6% annual escalations thereafter.[6]
On September 3, 2014, it was announced thatComcast would become the new title sponsor of the series via its cable television and internet brandXfinity, renaming it theXfinity Series.[7]
In2016, NASCAR implemented a seven-raceChase system similar to the one used in the NASCAR Cup Series.[8]
O'Reilly Auto Parts race fields have varied in the number of drivers. Prior to2013, the grid size resembled its Cup counterpart with 43 cars per race; that year, it shrank to 40 maximum cars.[9] The field was further reduced in2019 and2020 to 38 and 36, respectively.[10][11] During the 2020 season, fields were temporarily increased to 40 cars again to accommodate part-time teams that were otherwise unable to qualify due to such sessions being canceled in the wake of theCOVID-19 pandemic.[12]
In February 2025, Comcast renewed its sponsorships of NASCAR, but dropped its sponsorship of the Xfinity Series after the 2025 season. The company elected to focus more on Xfinity's "Premier Partner" sponsorship for the Cup Series, as well as its sponsorship of the newly-introduced fastest lap award in the three national series.[13] On August 18, 2025, NASCAR announced thatO'Reilly Auto Parts would become the new title sponsor of the series beginning in the2026 season, renaming it theO'Reilly Auto Parts Series.[3]
On March 6,2005, the series held its first race outside the United States, theTelcel-Motorola 200. The race was held inMexico City,Mexico at theAutodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, a track that has heldFormula One andChamp Car races in the past. It was won byMartin Truex Jr. On August 4,2007, the series held its second race outside the United States, at theCircuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal,Quebec, another road course. It was won byKevin Harvick, while Quebec nativePatrick Carpentier finished second. In July2008, NASCAR announced that the Nationwide Series would not return to Mexico City in2009, and in2012 they announced that it would not be returning to Montreal in2013. In 2025 the then-Xfinity Series returned to Mexico City where Mexican nativeDaniel Suárez won.
| Date | Race name | Location | Track | Race winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 6, 2005 | Telcel Motorola 200 |  Mexico City, Mexico | Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez |  Martin Truex Jr. |
| March 5, 2006 | Telcel Motorola 200 | Denny Hamlin | ||
| March 4, 2007 | Telcel-Motorola Mexico 200 |  Juan Pablo Montoya | ||
| August 4, 2007 | NAPA Auto Parts 200 |  Montreal, Canada | Circuit Gilles Villeneuve | Kevin Harvick |
| April 20, 2008 | Corona México 200 | Mexico City, Mexico | Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez | Kyle Busch |
| August 2, 2008 | NAPA Auto Parts 200 | Montreal, Canada | Circuit Gilles Villeneuve | Ron Fellows |
| August 30, 2009 | NAPA Auto Parts 200 | Carl Edwards | ||
| August 29, 2010 | NAPA Auto Parts 200 | Boris Said | ||
| August 20, 2011 | NAPA Auto Parts 200 |  Marcos Ambrose | ||
| August 18, 2012 | NAPA Auto Parts 200 | Justin Allgaier | ||
| June 14, 2025 | The Chilango 150 | Mexico City, Mexico | Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez | Daniel Suárez |
In 2016, the NXS andTruck Series adopted a playoff format similar to the NASCAR Cup Series Chase for the Championship. Unlike the Cup Series, whose Chase consists of four rounds, the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series and Truck Series both use a three-round format. After each of the first two rounds, the four Chase grid drivers with the fewest season points are eliminated from the grid and Chase contention.
In the 1980s, races were sparsely shown, mainly byESPN if they were covering the cup race at the same track. Starting in 1990, more races began to be shown. By the mid-1990s, all races were shown. Most standalone races were aired onTNN, which helped grow coverage of the series, while races that were companion races with Winston Cup dates mostly aired on the network airing the Cup race. TNN aired some of these races, which also aired onCBS,NBC,ESPN,ABC andTBS.
From 2001 until 2006,Fox Sports covered the entire first half of the Busch Grand National season, whileNBC andTNT both aired races during the second half, with Turner Sports producing all the coverage for both networks. However, in even numbered years, coverage was changed, with the opening race at Daytona airing on NBC in 2004, on TNT in 2002 and 2006 (due toNBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics) and the track's July race airing on FX. Large portions ofFox's coverage aired on sister networkFX, with a few marquee events on the network itself.
From 2007 until 2014,ESPN was the home of the renamed Nationwide Series. Generally four races per season aired on ABC, with the remainder on ESPN,ESPN2, andESPNews. Early in ESPN's run,ESPN Classic was used for NNS overflow, however with less carriage of that network, this practice ended. Fox Sports made a return to the series, airing the 2011Bubba Burger 250 atRichmond onSpeed Channel, as ESPN gave up its exclusive rights to the race because of programming conflicts.
In 2015, the NXS returned toFox Sports during the first half of the season. Like the previous time Fox held rights to the series, most of the coverage aired on cable, though this time onFS1. Four races aired on Fox itself until 2019, when all races moved to FS1. The second half of the NXS season was televised byNBC Sports. Four to five races air onNBC itself, while the others air onNBCSN (until 2020) or, during the Olympics,CNBC orUSA Network (prior to 2020). Since 2021, USA Network had carried all races not aired on NBC or Fox Sports.
On July 28, 2023, it was announced the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series will move exclusively toThe CW in 2025 as part of a seven-year deal. It was then announced on April 11, 2024, that the move would begin a year early to broadcast the final eight races of the 2024 season.[14][15]
The NOAPS is available in most Latin American countries on cable and satellite TV. Since 2006,Fox Sports 3 (formerly calledSPEED until 2013) carries live coverage of all events. The races are also shown onFox Sports Latin America, some of them live and some tape-delayed depending on the network's schedule.Televisa Deportes also broadcast a 30-minute recap every Sunday morning on national television inMexico. InBrazil,BandSports carries all three series.
Network Ten's additional high-definition service,ONE, began broadcasting races from the NOAPS live or near live during the 2008 season. ONE continued to air highlights packages of each race until the end of 2014. Broadcasts of the series are now exclusively shown on theFox Sports pay TV channels.
All races are live onTSN channels using The CW’s coverage. Also, races are broadcast onRDS orRDS2 in French using the world feed produced by NASCAR.
In 2012,Motors TV broadcast all then-Xfinity races live, delayed and highlights, until 2018 when the channel ceased operations.
InPortugal,SPORT TV broadcasts every O'Reilly Auto Parts race live.
In theUnited Kingdom, the O'Reilly Auto Parts races—in full and highlights—are available onPremier Sports 2.
All races are live onSports Illustrated Television channels[16] using FOX's or NBC's coverage with highlights onFox Sports Asia.
Since the early days of the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, many NASCAR Cup Series drivers have used their days off to drive in the NOAPS. This can be for any number of reasons, most prominent or often claimed is to gain more "seat time", or to familiarize themselves with the track. Examples of this would beDale Earnhardt, who won the very first NOAPS race, andKyle Busch, who has won the most races in NOAPS history.
In recent years, this practice had been dubbed "Buschwhacking" by its detractors. The colloquialism originated when Anheuser-Busch was the main sponsor of the series by combining the name "Busch" with the term "bushwhacker," but it has gradually fallen out of use since Anheuser-Busch's sponsorship ended. Other nicknames, such as Claim Jumper (for when Nationwide was the series sponsor), and Signal Pirate (for the former sponsor Xfinity) have never really caught on, although the generic term "Cup leech" is often used after the end of Busch sponsorship.
Critics claim that NASCAR Cup Series drivers racing in the NOAPS take away opportunities from the NOAPS regulars, usually younger and less experienced drivers. On the other hand, many fans claim that without the NASCAR Cup Series stars and the large amount of fan interest they attract on their own races, the NOAPS would be inadequate as a high-tier division. In addition, many NOAPS drivers have welcomed the Cup drivers because it gives them the opportunity to drive with more seasoned veterans.[17]
In 2007, the NASCAR Cup Series began racing with theCar of Tomorrow, a radically new specification different from the NOAPS. NASCAR Cup Series drivers have admitted that driving the O'Reilly Auto Parts car the day before the race does little to help with the NASCAR Cup Series race, as the cars differ greatly. This loosely resulted in the new Nationwide Series car making its debut in the 2010 Subway Jalapeño 250 at Daytona International Speedway. This car has a set-up closer to the current Cup car and some Cup drivers who have tested the car say it has similar handling characteristics. The new car has gone full-time since the 2011 season. In 2007, six out of the top ten drivers in the final point standings were Cup regulars, withJason Leffler being the only non-Cup driver in that group to win a race in 2007. This number decreased from 2006 when 8 out of 10 drivers were Cup regulars. The decreased number is attributed to Cup regulars running only partial schedules, allowing for more NAOPS regulars to reach the top ten in points. However, the champions from 2006 to 2010 were all Cup regulars driving the full series schedule (Kevin Harvick,Carl Edwards,Clint Bowyer,Kyle Busch, andBrad Keselowski). As a result, beginning with the 2011 season, NASCAR implemented a rule stating that drivers could only compete for the drivers' championship in one of three national series (Cup, O'Reilly Auto Parts, and Truck) of the drivers' choosing.
On October 26, 2016, NASCAR announced plans to limit Cup participation in the lower series starting in 2017. Cup drivers who were competing for points in the Cup Series with at least five years of experience in the series would be allowed to compete in up to 10 NAOPS races, but are banned from racing in the series' regular season finale, Playoff, andDash 4 Cash races.[18]
In the early 1980s, teams were switching from the General Motors 1971–77 X-Body compact cars with 311-cubic inch engines. Later, teams were using General Motors 1982–87 G-body cars. Ford teams have used the Thunderbird cars consistently.
In 1989, NASCAR changed rules requiring cars to use current body styles, similar to the Cup cars. However, the cars still used V6 engines. The cars gradually became similar to Cup cars.
In 1995, changes were made. The series switched to V-8s with acompression ratio of 9:1 (as opposed to 14:1 for Cup at the time). The vehicle weight with driver was set at 3,300 pounds (as opposed to 3,400 for Cup). The body style changes, as well as the introduction of V-8s, made the two series' cars increasingly similar.
Thesuspensions, brake systems, transmissions, were identical between the two series, but TheCar of Tomorrow eliminates some of these commonalities. The Car of Tomorrow is taller and wider than theGeneration 4-based vehicles in the then-Nationwide Series, and until 2010, it utilized a front "splitter", opposed to a front valance. The Car of Tomorrow also setpole speeds slower than the NOAPS cars at companion races.[19]
Previously, Busch Series cars usedfuel that contained lead. NASCAR conducted a three-race test of unleaded gasoline in this series that began on July 29, 2006, with a race atGateway International Raceway. The fuel,Sunoco GT 260 Unleaded, became mandatory in all series starting with the second weekend of the 2007 series, with Daytona being the last race weekend using leaded gasoline.
Another distinction between the cars started in 2008:Goodyear had developed arain tire for NASCARroad course racing in both series but NASCAR had yet to use them under race conditions by the time NASCAR abandoned the program for the Cup Series in 2005 (the Cup Series eventually used rain tires at the2020 Bank of America Roval 400 and2021 Texas Grand Prix), but the Busch Series continued to use rain tires in races atAutodromo Hermanos Rodriguez andCircuit Gilles Villeneuve, since the races could not be planned with rain dates. When rain started to fall at the 2008NAPA Auto Parts 200, the tires were used in the rain for the first time.[20]
Another distinction was added in 2012, when NASCAR changed the fuel delivery system in the Cup cars from carburetion tofuel injection. NOAPS cars continue to use carburetors. Furthermore, with the Cup Series' switch toNext Gen car in 2022, O'Reilly Auto Parts cars (as well as Truck Series vehicles) continue to use traditional five-lug steel wheels and centered door numbers, as opposed to an aluminum center lock wheel and numbers being placed behind the front wheel on the Next Gen.
The then Nationwide Series unveiled its "Car of Tomorrow" (CoT) at the July 2010 race atDaytona International Speedway. Before being fully integrated in the 2011 season, it was also used in 2010 races atMichigan International Speedway,Richmond International Raceway andCharlotte Motor Speedway.[21] The Xfinity CoT has important differences from the NASCAR Cup SeriesCoT, and the now-retired Generation 4 style car. The body and aerodynamic package differs from the NASCAR Cup Series cars, marketing Americanpony cars from the 1960s such as theFord Mustang,Dodge Challenger, andChevrolet Camaro. The change to share the same CoT chassis as the Cup series resulted in the wheelbase being lengthened from 105 to 110 inches[22][23][24]
Each manufacturer uses a distinct body design (similar to 1960s muscle cars), built within strict aerodynamic guidelines provided by NASCAR. TheChevrolet car body currently resembles theSS, after initially running theImpala and then theZeta-based Camaro (which coincided with GM's Cup car being its four-door Zeta counterpart, theHolden VF Commodore-basedChevrolet SS, being used in Cup at the time); Camaro branding was removed after 2024 due to Chevrolet discontinuing the car, though it remains eligible under NASCAR homologation rules.Ford uses theMustang Dark Horse.Toyota runs theCamry, reconfigured in 2015 to resemble the current production model. Toyota announced they would be running theGR Supra starting in 2019, replacing the Camry, which had been run in the series since Toyota joined the Xfinity Series in 2007.[25]Dodge teams used theChallenger R/T model, despite the manufacturer pulling all factory support after 2012 (though it continued in Canada as FCA Canada supported the Pinty's Series until 2020). Following Dodge's exit, smaller underfunded teams continued to run second-hand Challenger chassis without factory support (thus earning the nickname "Zombie Dodges").[26][27] As a result of a rules change after the 2018 season, all Challenger bodies were rendered ineligible for competition, as the series made the switch to composite body panels. Since FCA had pulled factory support years earlier, no new body was submitted for competition, ending the possibility of running a Challenger body in the series.[28]
All figures correct as of theXfinity Series Championship Race atPhoenix Raceway (November 1, 2025).
| * | NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion |
|---|---|
| # | Driver is competing full-time in the2025 season |
| ° | Driver is competing part-time in the2025 season |
| ^ | Driver has been inducted into theNASCAR Hall of Fame |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
Articles related to NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
