Ryan Reed Gets First Xfinity Win at Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, FL – RIS – Ryan Reed came from back in the pack on the final lap, to win the Alert Today 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Daytona International speedway on Saturday.  The race marked the first-ever event with new series sponsor Xfinity. To get his first Xfinity victory, Reed was running third behind leader Brad Keselowski on the final lap when he got a big push from teammate Chris Buescher and the duo shot to the front and taking the checkered flag in that order.

Reed led two times for 14 laps, including the all-important final circuit.  The 21-year old driver for Roush Fenway Racing passed a stalled Keselowski (Keselowski had moved out to a big lead, making him a sitting duck) and drove his Ford Mustang to the win.

“Four years ago I was diagnosed with Type-1 diabetes and was told I would never drive a race car again,” Reed said.  “And now I am standing in victory lane at Daytona with Roush Fenway. Oh, my God, we won Daytona. This hasn’t sunk in yet. We got shuffled back with three to go, and I was just trying to salvage a good finish. When a wreck happened on last lap, we got a massive run.”

Buescher finished runner-up .089 seconds back.  Beuscher had not qualified for the Xfinity race last year, but stayed up front most of the day as did teammates Darrell Wallace, Jr., Elliott Sadler, and Reed.  Wallace, after leading several laps earlier faded to 12th and Sadler was involved in an accident and finished 19th.

“This was cool for Roush Fenway to get the win and finish one-two,” he said.

“It was just what we needed to do. We are in good shape and so much better off than we were a year ago when we missed the race. This race was insane and I had a blast.”

Despite Reeds first win and the first win for Roush Fenway in an Xfinity race at Daytona, all eyes were on the crash late in the race that involved Kyle Busch.  Busch was transported to an area hospital Saturday evening after being involved in a multi-car accident at Daytona International Speedway. Busch's No. 54 Toyota, fielded by Joe Gibbs Racing, slid across the track and struck the interior wall during the latter stages of NASCAR's season-opening XFINITY Series event. Busch appeared to climb from his car without assistance, but was placed on a stretcher by emergency personnel.
 
Busch's right leg appeared to be the area of concern for rescue workers on the scene before he was transported to nearby Halifax Medical Center. Busch’s wife Samantha and team owner Joe Gibbs, along with other team personnel arrived at the track's infield car center on foot, then boarded golf carts to depart for the hospital.
 
Busch, 29, was expected to scale back his racing activities in the XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series this season. He is the XFINITY series' all-time win leader with 70 career victories; he has 42 wins in the NCWTS.
 
Busch was scheduled to start fourth in Sunday's Daytona 500, the season-opening race for the Sprint Cup Series.

The accident took place on the 112th lap of the scheduled 120-lap event when there appeared to be contact between Busch and fellow JGR driver Eric Jones. Busch's entry slid across the grass apron just beyond the exit of pit road and slammed the inside wall nose first. There is no SAFER barrier in that location on the 2.5-mile track.
 
In addition to Busch and Jones, J.J. Yeley, Brendan Gaughan, Chase Elliott, Brian Scott, Elliott Sadler, Darrell Wallace,  Cale Conley and Jeffrey Earnhardt were caught up in the accident.
 
"We keep running into situations where people find spots that aren't thought of before," said runner-up Chris Buescher.

It was announced shortly after the race ended that Busch would not compete in the 2015 Daytona 500.  No substitute driver was announced. Providing brother Kurt Busch is unsuccessful in his appeal hearing tonight, it will be the first race that doesn’t have a Busch in the field in many years.

UNOFFICIAL Race Results

Fin, St, Driver, Car, Lap, Pts, BPts, Status, TLd, LLd
1, 8, Ryan Reed, No. 16 Lilly/American Diabetes Association Ford, 120, 47, 4, Running, 2, 14
2, 10, Chris Buescher, No. 60 Kellogg/Cheez-It Ford, 120, 43, 1, Running, 2, 12
3, 34, Ty Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, 120, 42, 1, Running, 8, 16
4, 1, Austin Dillon(i), No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet, 120, 0, , Running, 1, 1
5, 14, Brad Keselowski(i), No. 22 Discount Tire Ford, 120, 0, , Running, 1, 13
6, 18, David Starr, No. 44 Zachry Toyota, 120, 38, , Running, ,
7, 5, Aric Almirola(i), No. 98 Fresh from Florida Ford, 120, 0, , Running, ,
8, 27, Kyle Larson(i), No. 42 ENEOS Chevrolet, 120, 0, , Running, 1, 4
9, 21, Ross Chastain, No. 4 Flex Shot Chevrolet, 120, 35, , Running, ,
10, 40, Dale Earnhardt Jr.(i), No. 88 TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet, 119, 0, , Running, ,
11, 7, Dakoda Armstrong, No. 43 WinField Ford, 119, 33, , Running, ,
12, 28, Darrell Wallace Jr.#, No. 6 Ford EcoBoost Ford, 119, 33, 1, Running, 7, 18
13, 31, Mike Wallace(i), No. 26 JGL Racing Toyota, 119, 0, , Running, ,
14, 23, Jeremy Clements, No. 51 BRT Extrusions/RepairableVehicles.com Chevrolet, 118, 30, , Running, ,
15, 37, Mario Gosselin, No. 90 ESPDirect.ca/CrashClaimsR.US Chevrolet, 118, 29, , Running, ,
16, 13, Jeffrey Earnhardt, No. 55 Fronius Chevrolet, 118, 28, , Running, ,
17, 25, Eric McClure, No. 24 Hefty/Reynolds Wrap Toyota, 116, 27, , Running, ,
18, 6, Erik Jones(i), No. 20 GameStop/Rock Candy Toyota, 116, 0, , Running, ,
19, 11, Elliott Sadler, No. 1 OneMain Financial Ford, 116, 25, , Running, ,
20, 38, Blake Koch, No. 8 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Toyota, 115, 24, , Running, ,
21, 20, Chris Cockrum, No. 13 Advanced Communications Group Chevrolet, 115, 23, , Running, ,
22, 33, Derek White, No. 40 Braille Battery & Grafoid Dodge, 115, 22, , Running, ,
23, 24, Josh Reaume#, No. 97 Obaika Racing Chevrolet, 115, 21, , Running, ,
24, 19, Mike Harmon, No. 74 Dodge, 114, 20, , Running, ,
25, 15, Brian Scott, No. 2 Shore Lodge Chevrolet, 112, 19, , Accident, ,
26, 32, Kyle Busch(i), No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota, 111, 0, , Accident, 1, 27
27, 9, JJ Yeley, No. 28 Texas 28 Spirits Stage Toyota, 111, 17, , Accident, ,
28, 35, Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 111, 16, , Accident, ,
29, 4, Brendan Gaughan, No. 62 South Point Chevrolet, 110, 15, , Accident, ,
30, 17, Cale Conley#, No. 14 IAVA Toyota, 110, 14, , Accident, ,
31, 39, Landon Cassill, No. 01 Flex Seal Chevrolet, 108, 13, , Running, ,
32, 26, Joey Gase, No. 52 Agri Supply/TransLife/Space Shuttle Inn Chevrolet, 107, 12, , Running, ,
33, 29, John Wes Townley(i), No. 25 Zaxby's Chevrolet, 106, 0, , Running, ,
34, 2, Justin Marks, No. 29 American Born Moonshine Toyota, 93, 10, , Accident, ,
35, 12, Regan Smith, No. 7 Hellmann's Chevrolet, 93, 10, 1, Accident, 2, 15
36, 3, Chad Boat(i), No. 84 CorvetteParts.net Chevrolet, 92, 0, , Accident, ,
37, 22, Scott Lagasse Jr., No. 10 TriStar Motorsports Toyota, 92, 7, , Accident, ,
38, 16, Ryan Sieg, No. 39 Uncle Bob's Self Storage Chevrolet, 92, 6, , Accident, ,
39, 36, Daniel Suarez#, No. 18 ARRIS Toyota, 91, 5, , Accident, ,
40, 30, Dexter Bean, No. 92 Chevrolet, 5, 4, , Fuel Pump, ,

# = Rookie
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Fin = Finish, Str = Start, Pts = Total Points, BPs = Lap Leader Bns Pts, TLd = Times Led, LLd = Laps Led
Average Speed: 148.781 MPH
Time of Race: 02 Hrs, 00 Mins, 59 Secs
Margin of Victory: 0.089 Seconds
Lead Changes: 24 among 9 drivers
Cautions: 4 for 17 laps

Ron Fleshman and John Davison

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 2015, Issue 2, Posted 8:21 PM, 02.21.2015