Yikes…what to say about the last weekend for NASCAR as The Chase marches on. Teams arrived at World Wide Technology (WWT) Raceway located in the shadows of the St. Louis Arch. The track for this particular 2026 rendition should be more appropriately WTF Raceway (I can’t take credit for this, but it works). Somewhat unexpected, major points implications were the story of the weekend.

While there were some great stories coming out of the O’Reilly Series event, many cars stuck in the spin cycle were the story of the day. In Cup….I don’t even know where to start. For what should have been a relatively short event at 240 laps, the race took over 3 1/2 hours to run with overtime…on the back of a record 18 cautions and 2 red flags. Stories coming out of this event are more about survival.

Also, the ARCA Menards Series returned to action in Salem, and while the usual cast of characters dominated the event, one veteran part-time driver had one of his best runs in recent memory.

Next week, we will be looking at a BIG weekend in Bristol, that will include every series I’ve covered in Best of the Rest at some point during the season.

Salem
SPRUCE 212

Winner: Max Reaves
Pole: also Max Reaves

#69 WILL KIMMEL

A series veteran of some 143 career ARCA starts, the family-owned Kimmel Racing team has had a presence in the series. As the years have worn on, time and money have caught up with the #69 team. That being said, Will Kimmel in his fourth start this season had a big impact on the small track as the 2026 ARCA schedule will soon be calling it a year.

THE STORY
Having run only 3 races prior to Salem this year, Kimmel’s #69 Ford made its presence felt. Picking up sponsorship from Aviation Tech and the Burger Foundation for the Salem weekend, Kimmel had some backing to make a serious run at the win. Rolling off 4th, Kimmel’s short track prowess was on display as he raced at the front of the field throughout the event. While victory lane will have to wait, Kimmel collected a season-best 3rd place finish for his efforts.

The #69 Kimmel team as a whole has made a handful of starts this season, with Salem being the best of Kimmel’s four starts thus far. Landon Brown also made two starts in the #69 entry, finishing 15th (Chicago) and 18th (IRP).

Gateway

NU WAY 225 sauced by BLUES HOG

Winner: Jesse Love

Pole: Carson Kvapil

#28 KYLE SIEG

The RSS Racing momentum continued in Gateway, but it was Kyle Sieg this time around who showed some muscle from their family-owned team’s Chevrolet. A long time competitor in O’Reilly Series competition, RSS Racing has to be one of the most successful independently run teams in series history.

Despite a relatively small budget compared to powerhouse teams like JR Motorsports, RSS Racing has proven they can compete. This took a big step forward in 2026, as the RSS team has an alliance with Haas Factory Team. Gateway yet again proved why RSS is one of the best little team’s in the garage. While the anchor #39 team certainly has made its presence felt, Kyle Sieg’s #28 team had something to say about that.

THE STORY

The #28 Chevrolet showed up quickly in Gateway. Adding to a recent wave of quiet momentum as the season continues to wind down, Kyle Sieg immediately went out and qualified 16th. Easily besting brother Ryan by quite a few spots, Sieg survived the chaos that was the 2026 trip to World Wide Technology Raceway, kept the car clean, and brought home a 9th-place finish for his efforts. The Haas Factory Team alliance has paid dividends for brother Ryan’s #39 team, and now it appears the #28 is on the same plane of existance.

Photo Credit: Jayski and RSS Racing

The 2026 season has been somewhat of a roller coaster for Kyle’s #28 RSS Racing team, but recent momentum shows that the bad luck may be letting up. WWT Raceway was Sieg’s second top ten finish this season, yes, but it was also his second top ten in the last six races. Sieg also finished 8th in Atlanta, as well as 12th (Iowa), and 16th (Darlington).

Gateway

ENJOY ILLINOIS 300

Winner:Kyle Larson

Pole: Joey Logano

#48 ALEX BOWMAN

Expectations were high (perhaps unfairly) going into 2026 for Alex Bowman and his #48 Hendrick Motorsports team. The season began with a roller coaster of results almost immediately, and the performance of the 48 team was beginning to be questioned. A member of the powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports team, Bowman started to fall behind his teammates due to bad luck and circumstances. Then a wreck early in the season sidelined Bowman with vertigo symptoms for weeks.

Bowman returned home to his #48 Chevrolet during the first Bristol weekend this season, and results were not coming. As the season wore on, the Hendrick driver began to regain his competitive form. Already announced that Bowman’s last full-time season of Cup competition comes next season, WWT Raceway was one of his best performances in 2026.

THE STORY

Bowman’s weekend immediately started out on a high note. Bowman placed the #48 Chevrolet 11th on the grid to start the race. Surviving a wreck fest of a race (18 cautions is extra, and a track record), Bowman stayed towards the front of the field as Stage 3 began. In what became a .333 second margin of victory, Bowman finished an easy season best second just behind teammate Kyle Larson.

Photo Credit: Jayski and Amy Kontras/Getty Images

Much has been made of Hendrick’s struggles to find winning speed this season, but the team as a whole has buckled down and seemingly found something. What has been noticeable as the season begins to wind down, is Bowman’s #48 Chevrolet has been quietly one of the best performing of the juggernaut team. In the last five races, the 48 has not finished worse then 15th (Loudon).