The stage is set for the second round of the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series season. The teams have completed qualifying at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta).
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Sam Mayer won the pole on Friday evening. He posted the fastest lap time in both rounds, and he won the pole with a time of 31.804 seconds. This marked his fifth career pole win and his first since Indianapolis Motor Speedway last season.
Talk about UNMISSABLE. pic.twitter.com/j6fNuM9qAU
— JR Motorsports (@JRMotorsports) February 20, 2026
Carson Kvapil, wearing a custom Arby's firesuit, qualified second with a lap of 31.885 seconds. He also started second in last season's summer race at Atlanta.
MORE: Atlanta O'Reilly Auto Parts Series starting lineup
The rest of the top 10 included Taylor Gray (31.905), Sheldon Creed (31.906), William Sawalich (31.927), Rajah Caruth (31.941), Gio Ruggiero (32.006), Sammy Smith (32.031), Corey Day (32.036), and defending champion Jesse Love (32.057).
Love qualifying 10th overall caught numerous people by surprise. After all, he and Richard Childress Racing teammate Austin Hill have been the best at drafting tracks in the secondary NASCAR series.
Love won the pole for the 2024 spring race while Hill lined up second. Love won the pole again for the 2024 fall race while Hill qualified fourth. Love then won the pole for the 2025 spring race while Hill qualified second.
Last season's summer race at Atlanta marked a bit of a change. Love qualified fifth while Hill qualified second. Creed actually won the pole at the mini-superspeedway.
Speaking of Hill, he qualified 20th overall with a time of 32.341 seconds. He will line up deep in the field as he pursues his sixth Atlanta win in the last eight races at the track.
"Me and Austin (Hill) I feel like we... we talked this week and we obviously feel bad about just stinking up the show, especially the first stage of the race," Love joked to CW Sports' Kim Coon.
"You know, we're always leading every lap, and I don't know, we want to have something for the fans to watch."
The O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race at EchoPark Speedway will take place on Saturday. CW will provide coverage at 5 p.m. ET.
