Viking Motorsports’ rapid rise in NASCAR is exciting to watch as they work hard to earn a NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase spot.
In an industry where middle-of-the-pack NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series teams often struggle to overcome the gap separating them from championship-contending organizations, Viking Motorsports seemingly skipped the many years it frequently takes organizations to reach the upper echelon in 2026. However, it’s difficult to attribute Viking Motorsports’ rapid performance improvement purely to a confluence of talent and luck.
NASCAR’s 2026 five-week In-Season Challenge comes to a close this weekend at Indianapolis Speedway for the the Brickyard 400. The final matchup comes down to Team Penske champion Ryan Blaney and the no.25 seed of Todd Gilliland driving for Front Row Motorsports. The matchup comes as a surprise after Gilliland’s impressive eighth place finish Sunday night at North Wilkesboro over Chase Elliott who finished the race 17th after being trapped several laps down due to an ill-timed caution.