Kahne Nips Smith for Nationwide Series Victory at Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - RIS - Regan Smith seemed to have the NASCAR Nationwide race at Daytona well in hand until a late caution.  He was still in the lead on the final lap, but Kasey Kahne, with a little help from Ryan Sieg, moved past him at the line to win.  It was a night of surprises, not only in the finishing order, but also in the racing and saw only the inside line leading unlike past races here.

Kahne stormed from 12th on the final restart to nip Smith in a green-white-checkered finish to win Friday night’s Subway Fire 250 and foil Smith’s attempt to complete a sweep of the 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series events at Daytona International Speedway.

The victory was Kahne’s first in the Nationwide Series since August 2007.

Smith appeared primed to win and continue his excellence on restrictor plate tracks. He nearly survived a pair of late-race restarts but couldn’t fend off Kahne, who benefitted from a push by Ryan Sieg.

What had been a nearly-clean race turned chaotic with two crashes in the final seven laps, the second of which involved series points leader Elliott Sadler as he tried to rally from 11th place.

Like Sadler, contenders Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott also required pit stops before the final restart.

Sieg, Ryan Reed and Kyle Larson followed Kahne and Smith across the line to make up the top five finishers.  Kahne and Smith both drove Chevrolet Camaros from the stable of Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Smith, who received a final lap push from Joey Logano, did leave with the series points lead. Reed was pushing Larson on the restart, but it was Kahne, who came flying on the outside, who gained the win by a fraction of a second.

Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Driver Rating Winnings Status Tms Laps
1 13 5 Kasey Kahne(i) Hellmann's Chevrolet 103 0 99.9 $81,500 Running 1 1
2 8 7 Regan Smith Goody's Chevrolet 103 44 2 124.5 $67,525 Running 3 47
3 21 39 Ryan Sieg # Pull-A-Part Used Auto Parts Chevrolet 103 41 76.6 $48,600 Running
4 4 16 Ryan Reed # ADADrivetoStopDiabetespresentedbyLillyDiabetes Ford 103 40 103.2 $37,050 Running
5 10 42 Kyle Larson(i) Target Ticket Chevrolet 103 0 102.3 $26,600 Running 1 5
6 11 22 Joey Logano(i) Discount Tire Ford 103 0 76.9 $24,350 Running
7 9 20 Darrell Wallace Jr.(i) Share a Coke Toyota 103 0 95.8 $28,810 Running
8 36 51 Jeremy Clements Allsouthelectric.com/BRT Extrusions Chevrolet 103 36 68.6 $27,770 Running
9 2 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford 103 36 1 102.7 $29,350 Running 1 7
10 17 93 Mike Wallace Smith Transport Dodge 103 34 73.0 $27,275 Running
11 16 3 Ty Dillon # Yuengling America's Oldest Brewery Chevrolet 103 33 99.2 $25,425 Running
12 3 60 Chris Buescher # Roush Performance Ford 103 32 109.3 $24,875 Running
13 23 70 Derrike Cope Youtheory Chevrolet 103 31 61.6 $24,350 Running
14 18 99 James Buescher ToyotaCare Toyota 103 30 81.6 $23,825 Running
15 20 80 Johnny Sauter(i) JMS/TACTI Toyota 103 0 84.1 $24,450 Running
16 15 2 Brian Scott Shore Lodge Chevrolet 103 29 1 78.3 $23,350 Running 1 1
17 5 54 Kyle Busch(i) Monster Energy Toyota 103 0 107.9 $17,225 Running 2 7
18 27 25 John Wes Townley(i) Zaxby's Toyota 103 0 66.7 $17,100 Running
19 1 43 Dakoda Armstrong # Fresh from Florida Ford 103 26 1 83.5 $23,475 Running 1 1
20 7 9 Chase Elliott # Napa Auto Parts Chevrolet 103 25 1 103.7 $23,550 Running 1 1
21 6 11 Elliott Sadler SportClips Toyota 103 24 1 94.5 $22,700 Running 1 28
22 32 14 Eric McClure Hefty Ultimate/Reynolds Wrap Toyota 103 22 52.0 $22,570 Running
23 31 98 David Ragan(i) Carroll Shelby Engine Ford 103 0 68.6 $16,420 Running
24 26 31 Dylan Kwasniewski # Rockstar Chevrolet 103 20 73.4 $22,270 Running
25 30 44 David Starr Chasco Constructors Toyota 103 19 65.3 $22,645 Running
26 12 84 Chad Boat # Billy Boat Performance Exhaust Chevrolet 103 19 1 54.2 $16,020 Running 1 2
27 40 97 Joe Nemechek(i) DAB Constructors Inc./smokeandsear.com Toyota 102 0 58.2 $15,870 Running
28 14 62 Brendan Gaughan South Point Chevrolet 102 17 1 72.2 $21,695 Running 1 3
29 33 55 Ross Chastain(i) Watermelon.org Chevrolet 101 0 36.6 $21,570 Running
30 25 01 Landon Cassill Flex Seal Chevrolet 101 14 45.0 $21,745 Running
31 28 29 Scott Lagasse Jr. Florida Department of Transportation Toyota 101 13 40.8 $15,315 Running
32 35 40 Josh Wise(i) Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet 100 0 39.8 $21,180 Running
33 39 4 Jeffrey Earnhardt teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet 100 11 33.4 $21,065 Running
34 34 87 Carlos Contreras RaceTrac Chevrolet 99 10 33.6 $20,955 Running
35 19 28 JJ Yeley Texas 28 Spirits Stage Dodge 98 9 58.0 $20,834 Accident
36 24 17 Tanner Berryhill # NationalCashLenders.com Dodge 97 8 32.6 $19,700 Running
37 38 52 Joey Gase Vukelja Law Attorneys/Space Shuttle Inn Chevrolet 92 7 24.9 $19,665 Running
38 29 19 Mike Bliss Upstar TV Toyota 62 6 50.3 $19,611 Rear End
39 22 74 Mike Harmon Dodge 58 5 30.3 $19,495 Overheating
40 37 23 Robert Richardson Jr. Cornboard Chevrolet 13 4 26.9 $13,430 Rear End 

Ron Fleshman

RIS NASCAR Editor.  Has been with RIS since the midle 90's. Writes on each of the three main series of NASCAR.

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Volume 2014, Issue 7, Posted 12:08 AM, 07.05.2014