The series has operated under several names: the Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series in 1982 and 1983, the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series from 1984 through 2002, the NASCAR Busch Series from 2003 through 2007, the NASCAR Nationwide Series from 2008 through 2014, and the NASCAR Xfinity Series from 2015 to 2025. Under the Xfinity name it was sponsored by Comcast via its consumer cable and wireless brand. O'Reilly Auto Parts assumed title sponsorship in 2026.
The series emerged from NASCAR's Sportsman division, which had been formed in 1950 as NASCAR's short track race division. It was NASCAR's fourth series, after the Modified and Roadster series in 1948 and the Strictly Stock Series in 1949. Sportsman cars were not current model cars and could be modified more than stock vehicles but less than Modified series cars. The division became the Late Model Sportsman Series in 1968 and soon featured races on larger tracks such as Daytona. Drivers used obsolete Grand National cars on larger tracks; by the inception of the touring format in 1982, the series used older compact cars with relatively small 300 cubic inch V-8 motors.
The modern-day series was formed in 1982 when Anheuser-Busch sponsored a newly reformed late-model sportsman series with its Budweiser brand. In 1984 the series switched sponsorship to Anheuser-Busch's Busch beer brand and was renamed the Busch Grand National Series. "Grand National" was dropped from the series title in 2003 as part of NASCAR's brand identity programme; the "Grand National" name was later used for the Busch East and Winston West series as part of a nationwide standardization of rules for NASCAR's regional racing. Both of those series are now run under the ARCA Menards Series banner after NASCAR purchased the organization in 2018.
Anheuser-Busch dropped its sponsorship after the 2007 season. Nationwide Insurance took over for the 2008 season, renaming the series the Nationwide Series under a seven-year contract reportedly worth US$10 million for 2008 with 6% annual escalations thereafter; the contract did not include the banking and mortgage departments of Nationwide.
On September 3, 2014, it was announced that Comcast would become the new title sponsor via its cable television and internet brand Xfinity, renaming it the Xfinity Series. In February 2025, Comcast renewed its NASCAR sponsorships but dropped its Xfinity Series title sponsorship after the 2025 season, electing instead to focus on Xfinity's "Premier Partner" sponsorship for the Cup Series and a newly introduced fastest-lap award across the three national series. On August 18, 2025, NASCAR announced that O'Reilly Auto Parts would become the new title sponsor beginning in 2026.
On March 6, 2005, the series held its first race outside the United States, the Telcel Motorola 200 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, Mexico. It was won by Martin Truex Jr.
On August 4, 2007, the series held its second race outside the United States at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec — a road course. It was won by Kevin Harvick, while Quebec native Patrick Carpentier finished second. NASCAR announced in July 2008 that the Nationwide Series would not return to Mexico City in 2009, and in 2012 confirmed it would not return to Montreal in 2013.
In 2025 the then-Xfinity Series returned to Mexico City, where Mexican native Daniel Suárez won.
In 2016, NASCAR implemented a seven-race Chase system in the series similar to that used in the NASCAR Cup Series. In 2026, along with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the NOAPS adopted a revised Chase format. After the twenty-fourth race of the season, the top 12 drivers in points qualify for the Chase. Unlike the Cup Series Chase, which consists of ten races and 16 drivers, the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase consists of nine races and 12 drivers. Points are reset based on regular-season finishing position: 1st place receives 2,100 points; 2nd place 2,075 points; 3rd place 2,065 points; 4th through 12th place decrease by 5 points per position down to 2,020 points.
In the 1980s, races were sparsely shown, mainly by ESPN when that network was covering a Cup race at the same track. From the mid-1990s, all races were broadcast. Most standalone races aired on TNN, while companion races with Winston Cup dates aired on whichever network carried the Cup event. CBS, NBC, ESPN, ABC, and TBS also broadcast races during this period.
From 2001 until 2006, Fox Sports covered the first half of the Busch Grand National season; NBC and TNT aired races during the second half, with Turner Sports producing coverage for both networks. From 2007 until 2014, ESPN was the home of the Nationwide Series, with generally four races per season on ABC and the remainder on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNews. Fox Sports returned to the series for the 2011 Bubba Burger 250 at Richmond on Speed Channel.
In 2015, the series returned to Fox Sports for the first half of the season; most coverage aired on FS1. The second half was televised by NBC Sports. Since 2021, USA Network carried all races not aired on NBC or Fox Sports. On July 28, 2023, it was announced the series would move exclusively to The CW in 2025 as part of a seven-year deal; on April 11, 2024, it was confirmed the move would begin a year early, with The CW broadcasting the final eight races of the 2024 season.
In Brazil, PicPay acquired the rights to all three NASCAR national series until 2027, streaming races on its Phiztv platform with coverage from the Motorsport.com channel. In Canada, all races are live on TSN channels. In Europe, Motors TV broadcast all Xfinity races until 2018 when that channel ceased operations; the series is now carried by Sport TV in Portugal and Premier Sports 2 in the United Kingdom.
Since the early days of the series, many NASCAR Cup Series drivers have competed in the NOAPS, typically to gain additional seat time or to familiarize themselves with a track. Dale Earnhardt won the very first NOAPS race; Kyle Busch has won the most races in NOAPS history.
This practice became known as "Buschwhacking" — a term originating during the Anheuser-Busch sponsorship era. Subsequent nicknames, including "Claim Jumper" (during the Nationwide era) and "Signal Pirate" (during the Xfinity era), did not achieve wide use; the generic term "Cup leech" has been employed informally since the end of Busch sponsorship.
In 2007, six of the top ten drivers in the final standings were Cup regulars, with Jason Leffler being the only non-Cup driver in that group to win a race. The champions from 2006 to 2010 were all Cup regulars driving the full series schedule: Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, and Brad Keselowski. Beginning with the 2011 season, NASCAR implemented a rule stating that drivers could compete for a drivers' championship in only one of the three national series of their choosing.
On October 26, 2016, NASCAR announced plans to limit Cup driver participation in the NOAPS starting in 2017: Cup drivers with at least five years of Cup experience would be allowed to compete in up to ten NOAPS races per season but were barred from the series' regular-season finale, Playoff, and Dash 4 Cash races.
In the early 1980s, teams used General Motors 1971–77 X-Body compact cars with 311-cubic inch engines, later transitioning to General Motors 1982–87 G-Body cars. Ford teams used the Thunderbird consistently. In 1989, NASCAR required teams to use current body styles similar to the Cup cars, though V6 engines were retained.
In 1995, the series switched to V-8 engines with a compression ratio of 9:1 (compared to 14:1 for Cup), and the minimum vehicle weight with driver was set at 3,300 pounds. Previously, Busch Series cars used leaded fuel; Sunoco GT 260 Unleaded became mandatory beginning with the second weekend of the 2007 season. A rain tire developed by Goodyear for road course racing was used in the series at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez and Circuit Gilles Villeneuve; at the 2008 NAPA Auto Parts 200 they were deployed in actual rain conditions for the first time.
In 2012, NASCAR changed Cup car fuel delivery from carburetion to fuel injection; NOAPS cars continue to use carburetors. With the Cup Series' switch to the Next Gen car in 2022, O'Reilly Auto Parts Series cars retained traditional five-lug steel wheels and centered door numbers, as opposed to the aluminum center-lock wheels and wheel-adjacent number placement on the Next Gen.
The Xfinity "Car of Tomorrow" debuted at the July 2010 race at Daytona and was fully integrated for the 2011 season. Its body and aerodynamic package differs from the NASCAR Cup Series version, evoking American pony cars of the 1960s such as the Ford Mustang, Dodge Challenger, and Chevrolet Camaro. The wheelbase was lengthened from 105 to 110 inches to match the Cup CoT chassis. Current manufacturer body designations include the Ford Mustang Dark Horse, Chevrolet Camaro SS (without Camaro branding after 2024), and Toyota GR Supra (replacing the Camry from 2019).
The Generation 4 NOAPS car specification includes a steel tube frame with integral safety roll cage, a 5,860 cc (358 cu in) pushrod V8, a 4-speed manual transmission, a minimum weight of 3,400 lb (1,542 kg) with driver, and 650–700 hp unrestricted, reducing to approximately 450 hp in restricted form. Fuel capacity is 18 US gallons. Tires are provided by Goodyear Eagle.
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