The Wawa 250 at Daytona International Speedway saw chaos right from the start. Chandler Smith and Austin Hill were quickest in qualifying and were scheduled to start from the front row. However, Hill had radio issues before pulling off pit road and had to start in the rear due to unapproved adjustments.
With five races till the playoffs, the Wawa 250 was go-time for a handful of drivers still looking to lock into the playoffs. The stage lengths were 30 laps for the first and second stage and 40 laps for the final stage.
Impatience
With the temperature under the helmets rising, the first lap of the Wawa 250 saw the first caution as drivers were impatient from the start. Jeremy Clements was being pushed into the turn three by Jeffrey Earnhardt. Clements had to let off the gas as he was about to run over the car in front of him. He then slid back up the track and stacked up the field behind him.
Hill got swiped and ended up with damage. However, Ryan Ellis took the worst of it. With his car was totaled, he was done for the day. A lot of fluids were spilled onto the track which led to a lengthy caution. Under the yellow, Gus Dean, in his first Xfinity start, blew his engine after damage sustained during the wreck.
Settling in
The race restarted with 20 to go in the first stage. Joe Graf, Jr. and Chandler Smith restarted on the front row. Hill lost a lot of speed from damage but was able to maintain minimum speed. With that, he removed the damage vehicle policy restriction and could continue the race. He complained of severe vibration, so they brought the car to the garage.
AJ Allmendinger took charge of the top line and led, but the bottom line could not gather itself and move forward. Justin Allgaier was able to get speed on the bottom and get out front. The top line settled in while the bottom line withered away allowing Allgaier to win stage one!
While coming to the end of the stage, Jeb Burton cut his right front tire off with some help from Brandon Jones. Additionally, Ryan Truex completely missed his pit stall. Then, Cole Custer and Riley Herbst made contact coming out of the pits. They both went back down pit road for repairs from the incident.
Patience
Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer restarted the race on the front row. The field showed a little more patience with a safer restart. Mayer was able to get out in front and led the bottom line. Allmendinger was able to gather the top line and get back out front and Parker Kligerman tucked in behind him.
The field lined up on the outside to begin clicking off laps. Truex began leading the bottom line to challenge the top line. He quickly jumped into the top line to take the lead. Allgaier once again used the the bottom line to get back out in front. Suddenly, Mayer spun off of turn four which ended the stage. Allgaier won stage 2 and a sweep of the stages.
The Big One
The final stage of the Wawa 250 began with Truex and Riley Herbst on the front row. Truex was able get out front. C. Smith used a big run and push to take the lead. Brandon Jones got loose off of the nose of Jesse Love. He confirmed that he got loose because of a flat tire in the middle of the back stretch. This brought out another caution that allowed for pit stops.
With 27 to go, Truex and Allmendinger restarted the race on the front row. Kligerman worked well with Allmendinger. Truex led the bottom lane and was able to keep up with the top. Sammy Smith got into the wall across the nose of Jeb Burton. That contact began the fifth caution of the night. Love got turned by Matt DiBenedetto and was sent across the track and into traffic.
The Next Big One
Kligerman and Allmendinger restarted the race with 18 laps to go. Allmendinger quickly got in front of Kligerman. Truex was able to get back out in front and lead the inside line. He moved in front of Allmendinger on the top, however Anthony Alfredo led the inside line and looked fast.
Allmendinger resumed the lead while Truex fell and Alfredo got shuffled to the rear as what happens at Daytona. Truex got a run and caught up to the leaders but then, Alfredo got turned in front of the pack. Consequently, a bunch of good cars got wrecked and the sixth caution came out. Earnhardt got turned by Caesar Bacarella which caused the accident. The red flag was then displayed due to the need for cleanup.
Overtime in Daytona
Truex and Allmendinger led the field to the overtime green flag. A clean restart put Truex out front. He moved to the outside line to block Allmendinger. However, Allmendinger tried to move to the inside but spun off the nose of Kligerman.
Truex won the Wawa 250 at Daytona! C. Smith finished second with Kligerman in third.
Marvin’s Mind
With four races to go in the NASCAR Xfinity Series regular season, the races will only intensify. The push for a championship is now. Win and get in only amplifies the final handful of races and that is what NASCAR wants. It produces great races but also over aggression. A good race at Daytona produced a non-playoff win which still limits the spots remaining for a playoff spot. The remaining regular season schedule should be filled with great racing.
