Austin Hill Wins Opening Daytona Xfinity Race for the Second Year in a Row
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DAYTONA BEACH, FL - RIS - Austin Hill won Saturday night’s Xfinity Series opener at Daytona International Speedway as the race ended under caution in overtime. Officials needed a few minutes after the finish to analyze video before declaring Hill the winner. A vicious last-lap crash sent Sam Mayer‘s Chevrolet spinning and flipping onto its roof after contact with Hill. The car slid along the track upside down as sparks flew, then it hit the grass adjacent to the track and flipped onto its wheels. Mayer had moved to the outside to challenge Hill for the lead but lost control of his car as the rest of the field rolled past. The caution flew, meaning the driver in front when officials pushed the caution button would win the race. And that was Hill. He edged John Hunter Nemechek. Following were Allgaier, Parker Retzlaff and Myatt Snider.
“When I chose the outside line (before the last green flag), I didn’t feel like the inside line was that great,” Hill said. “When I saw the 1 (Mayer) and 7 (Allgaier) get together, I said, ‘You can’t lift. It’s the last lap.’ As soon as the caution light came on, I thought I had it, but it was so close.”
Mayer was not injured.
Hill, who also won this race last year, had the lead much of the race and led a long chain of single-file cars in a draft approaching the closing miles. With eight laps to go, Hill held the lead in front of four JR Motorsports cars in a row — Berry, Justin Allgaier, Mayer and Brandon Jones. Berry lost his chance at victory when his Chevy ran out of fuel. The drafting line held together until the lap counter dropped to two laps to go. Jones was bounced off the track by Berry while running third. His slide forced a caution flag, setting up the overtime finish.
Allgaier fought back from involvement in a lap-40 crash and won the race’s second stage. Sammy Smith slid off the track as the stage ended.
Hill has become a Daytona star. He won at DIS for the second straight year, he has beaten the Junior Motorsports JR Motorsports had four cars in the late-race competition for the win. … Rookie Parker Retzlaff ran a solid race and finished fourth.
It wasn't a good race for everyone. One of the three Kaulig Racing cars parked on lap 21 after driver Daniel Hemric was involved in a crash An accident in the trioval on lap 41 damaged the cars of Sheldon Creed, Stefan Parsons and Justin Allgaier. Parker Kligerman appeared to start the incident in a tight draft by bumping Creed. Jeffrey Earnhardt ran in the top 10 late in the race but fell back with 12 laps to go after contact with Kligerman.
With Speedweeks ending with the NASCAR Cup race on Sunday, the Xfinity series heads to California Speedway next week.
Unofficial Results: Beef. It's What's For Dinner. 300, February 18, 2023 - Daytona International Speedway
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps , St1, St2, Pts, Status, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts
1) 1, Austin Hill, No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet, 125, 1, 3, 58, Running, 4, 39, 6
2) 7, John Hunter Nemechek, No. 20 Mobil 1 Toyota, 125, 9, 8, 40, Running, 4, 8,
3) 5, Justin Allgaier, No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet, 125, 3, 1, 52, Running, 7, 36, 1
4) 16, Parker Retzlaff #, No. 31 FUNKAWAY Chevrolet, 125, , , 33, Running, , ,
5) 13, Myatt Snider, No. 19 Tree Top Toyota, 125, 10, , 33, Running, , ,
6) 9, Riley Herbst, No. 98 Monster Energy Ford, 125, , 7, 35, Running, , ,
7) 29, Joe Graf Jr, No. 39 Getcoverseal.com Ford, 125, , , 30, Running, , ,
8) 22, Ryan Sieg, No. 38 CMRroofing.com Ford, 125, , , 29, Running, , ,
9) 3, Cole Custer, No. 00 Haas Automation Ford, 125, , 9, 30, Running, 1, 1,
10) 19, Justin Haley(i), No. 10 DaaBIN Store Chevrolet, 125, 4, , 0, Running, 1, 1,
11) 20, Jeb Burton, No. 27 State Water Heaters Chevrolet, 125, 5, 10, 33, Running, , ,
12) 8, Chandler Smith #, No. 16 Quick Tie Products, Inc. Chevrolet, 125, 2, , 34, Running, , ,
13) 17, Stefan Parsons, No. 45 Clear Cryptos Chevrolet, 125, , , 24, Running, , ,
14) 11, Brandon Jones, No. 9 Menards/Swiffer Chevrolet, 125, , 4, 30, Running, , ,
15) 25, Josh Williams, No. 92 Alloy Employer/Call 811 Chevrolet, 125, , , 22, Running, , ,
16) 34, Parker Chase, No. 24 Ontivity Toyota, 125, , , 21, Running, , ,
17) 38, Jeremy Clements, No. 51 One Stop/All South Electric Chevrolet, 125, , , 20, Running, , ,
18) 36, Joey Gase, No. 53 National Crime Prevention Ford, 125, , , 19, Running, , ,
19) 15, Sammy Smith #, No. 18 TMC Toyota, 125, , , 18, Running, , ,
20) 23, Gray Gaulding, No. 08 Panini Chevrolet, 125, , , 17, Running, 1, 1,
21) 26, Kyle Sieg, No. 28 Night Owl Ford, 125, , , 16, Running, , ,
22) 28, David Starr, No. 02 Special Report with Bret Baier Chevrolet, 125, , , 15, Running, 1, 2,
23) 2, Parker Kligerman, No. 48 Big Machine Racing Spiked Chevrolet, 125, 8, , 17, Running, 1, 1,
24) 10, Anthony Alfredo, No. 78 Ticket Smarter Chevrolet, 125, , , 13, Running, , ,
25) 12, Jade Buford, No. 5 Double Spiked Coolers Chevrolet, 125, , , 12, Running, , ,
26) 18, Josh Berry, No. 8 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats Chevrolet, 125, 7, 6, 20, Running, 1, 17,
27) 14, Sam Mayer, No. 1 Accelerate Pros Talent Chevrolet, 124, , 2, 19, Accident, 3, 14,
28) 24, Jeffrey Earnhardt, No. 44 ForeverLawn Chevrolet, 124, , , 9, Running, , ,
29) 32, Brett Moffitt, No. 25 AM Technical Solutions Ford, 124, , 5, 14, Running, , ,
30) 37, Jesse Iwuji, No. 34 Chevrolet, 110, , , 7, Electrical, , ,
31) 31, CJ McLaughlin, No. 35 Sci-Aps Ford, 87, , , 6, Accident, , ,
32) 33, Kaz Grala, No. 26 Island Coastal Lager Toyota, 82, , , 5, Engine, , ,
33) 21, Brennan Poole, No. 6 Macc Door Systems Chevrolet, 81, , , 4, Engine, , ,
34) 4, Sheldon Creed, No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet, 41, 6, , 8, Accident, 1, 5,
35) 35, Ryan Ellis, No. 43 Heartbeat Hot Sauce Chevrolet, 41, , , 2, Accident, , ,
36) 6, Daniel Hemric, No. 11 Cirkul Chevrolet, 20, , , 1, Accident, , ,
37) 27, Blaine Perkins #, No. 07 AUTOPARKit.com Chevrolet, 19, , , 1, Accident, , ,
38) 30, Bayley Currey, No. 4 Mikes Weather Page/Firman Chevrolet, 8, , , 1, Engine, , ,
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie
Length: 125 Laps, 312.5 Miles
Time: 2 Hrs, 21 Mins, 30 Secs.
Average Speed: 132.524 MPH
Margin of Victory: Under Caution
Stage 1 Top 10: 21, 16, 7, 10, 27, 2, 8, 48, 20, 19
Stage 2 Top 10: 7, 1, 21, 9, 25, 8, 98, 20, 00, 27
Comments: Austin Hill has won the Beef. It's What's For Dinner. 300 at Daytona International Speedway, his third career victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race.
Prior to the start, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reason indicated: Nos. 07, 08, 28, 53 (unapproved adjustments), No. 43 (engine change), No. 45 (driver change).
Failed to Qualify: (6) 66 Dexter Stacey, 91 Josh Bilicki(i), 99 Garrett Smithley, 13 Timmy Hill(i), 36 Alex Labbe, 74 Ryan Vargas.
Cautions: 8 for 32 laps;
Laps: 9-11 (Potential Fluid On Frontstretch [None]);
21-25 (No. 1, 07, 11 Incident Frontstretch [None]);
32-36 (Stage 1 Conclusion [None]);
42-45 (No. 7, 45, 48, 2, 21, 10 Incident Frontstretch [None]);
62-66 (No. 18 Spin Frontstretch / Stage 2 Conclusion [45]);
90-94 (No. 35 Incident Frontstretch [28]);
120-123 (No. 8, 9 Incident Backstretch [18]);
125-125 (No. 7, 1, 21 Incident Backstretch [None]).
Lead Changes: 25 among 11 drivers;
C. Custer 1;
J. Allgaier 2-5;
J. Nemechek 6;
J. Allgaier 7;
J. Nemechek 8-12;
J. Allgaier 13-14;
J. Nemechek 15;
J. Allgaier 16-25;
J. Haley(i) 26;
A. Hill 27-32;
S. Creed 33-37;
S. Mayer 38-45;
P. Kligerman 46;
S. Mayer 47-49;
A. Hill 50-53;
J. Allgaier 54-55;
S. Mayer 56-58;
J. Allgaier 59-74;
J. Nemechek 75;
G. Gaulding 76;
D. Starr 77-78;
J. Berry 79-95;
A. Hill 96-123;
J. Allgaier 124;
A. Hill 125.
Unofficial Points Report: Beef. It's What's For Dinner. 300 - Daytona International Speedway
Rank Driver Car Starts GL Points Ldr Nxt Race Wins Stage Wins Playoff Pts
1) Austin Hill 21 1 -1 58 0 0 1 1 6
2) Justin Allgaier 7 1 -2 52 -6 6 0 1 1
3) John Hunter Nemechek 20 1 -3 40 -18 12 0 0 0
4) Riley Herbst 98 1 -4 35 -23 5 0 0 0
5) Chandler Smith # 16 1 -5 34 -24 1 0 0 0
6) Parker Retzlaff # 31 1 -6 33 -25 1 0 0 0
7) Myatt Snider 19 1 -7 33 -25 0 0 0 0
8) Jeb Burton 27 1 -8 33 -25 0 0 0 0
9) Joe Graf Jr 39 1 -9 30 -28 3 0 0 0
10) Cole Custer 00 1 -10 30 -28 0 0 0 0
11) Brandon Jones 9 1 -11 30 -28 0 0 0 0
12) Ryan Sieg 38 1 -12 29 -29 1 0 0 0
13) Stefan Parsons 45 1 -13 24 -34 5 0 0 0
14) Josh Williams 92 1 -14 22 -36 2 0 0 0
15) Parker Chase 24 1 -15 21 -37 1 0 0 0
16) Jeremy Clements 51 1 -16 20 -38 1 0 0 0
17) Josh Berry 8 1 -17 20 -38 0 0 0 0
18) Joey Gase 53 1 -18 19 -39 1 0 0 0
19) Sam Mayer 1 1 -19 19 -39 0 0 0 0
20) Sammy Smith # 18 1 -20 18 -40 1 0 0 0
21) Gray Gaulding 08 1 -21 17 -41 1 0 0 0
22) Parker Kligerman 48 1 -22 17 -41 0 0 0 0
23) Kyle Sieg 28 1 -23 16 -42 1 0 0 0
24) David Starr 02 1 -24 15 -43 1 0 0 0
25) Brett Moffitt 25 1 -25 14 -44 1 0 0 0
26) Anthony Alfredo 78 1 -26 13 -45 1 0 0 0
27) Jade Buford 5 1 -27 12 -46 1 0 0 0
28) Jeffrey Earnhardt 44 1 -28 9 -49 3 0 0 0
29) Sheldon Creed 2 1 -29 8 -50 1 0 0 0
30) Jesse Iwuji 34 1 -30 7 -51 1 0 0 0
31) CJ McLaughlin 35 1 -31 6 -52 1 0 0 0
32) Kaz Grala 26 1 -32 5 -53 1 0 0 0
33) Brennan Poole 6 1 -33 4 -54 1 0 0 0
34) Ryan Ellis 43 1 -34 2 -56 2 0 0 0
35) Daniel Hemric 11 1 -35 1 -57 1 0 0 0
36) Blaine Perkins # 07 1 -36 1 -57 0 0 0 0
37) Bayley Currey 4 1 -37 1 -57 0 0 0 0
38) Justin Haley(i) 10 1 0 0 -58 1 0 0 0
39) Dexter Stacey 0 -39 0 -58 0 0 0 0
40) Josh Bilicki 0 0 0 -58 0 0 0 0
41) Garrett Smithley 0 -41 0 -58 0 0 0 0
42) Timmy Hill 0 0 0 -58 0 0 0 0
43) Alex Labbe 0 -43 0 -58 0 0 0 0
44) Ryan Vargas 0 -44 0 -58 0 0 0 0
-Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
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