NOAPS Race Recap: United Rentals 300

Austin Hill and Jesse Love were fastest in qualifying, putting them on the front row for the start of the United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway. Sam Mayer and William Sawalich made up the second row. The lengths were 30 laps for the first and second stage, with the final stage being 60 laps.

Chaos Early

Before the race could get going, a huge stack-up forced NASCAR to throw the first caution of the race. Mason Maggio got the heaviest of the damage as he ran into the back of Patrick Emerling. Anthony Alfredo, Luke Fenhaus, Natalie Decker, Lavar Scott, and Josh Williams were all involved.

Sawalich joined Hill on the front row for the restart on lap five. Sawalich was able to pull ahead to take the lead. Love pushed Hill back out front. The top line pulled away as the middle lane faded away, and the bottom lane could not keep up.

On lap 12, Ryan Sieg had to pit for a flat tire.

The middle lane formed up and made a charge for the lead. They caught but did not get around the leader. Hill did a great job of holding off both lanes.

Coming to two left in the stage, Corey Day got turned around out of four. He clipped the inside wall with his left rear quarter panel. However, the race stayed green.

Coming to the end of the stage, Sammy Smith was turned around and collected several cars behind him. Sam Mayer, Gio Ruggiero, Sheldon Creed, and Nick Sanchez were among those with damage. Austin Hill drove to the stage end to get his first stage win of the season.

Hill at the Top

Hill and Love got the race restarted from the front row. Love quickly dove in front of his teammate to take the lead. Rajah Caruth pulled to the outside to make a run but was quickly blocked by Love.

Sawalich, with Justin Allgaier pushing, took a run at the top spot. Love tried to hold him off, but Sawalich took to the outside line to get in front of Hill. Allgaier and Hill made slight contact but carried on.

Hill received a huge push from Caruth, which allowed him to get by Sawalich and to retake the lead. Sawalich fell back a few rows.

Caruth and Carson Kvapil split up the RCR teammates. With Hill out front, the outside line was too fast for any charge the inside could muster up. Caruth tried to snatch the lead away from Hill, but was too loose to hold onto it. Hill would lead the final circuit to take his second stage win of the day.

Long Way to Go

Sawalich joined Hill out front to get stage three started. Hill got the initial jump and took the lead. He jumped to the outside line to block Sawalich. Allgaier made a run for the lead, but didn’t have enough push from behind. Hill maintained his command on the field.

Caruth saved his car after getting loose.

Austin Green got turned around and onto the apron. The race stayed green.

Hill and Love remained out front with Mayer and Allgaier behind them. Hill and Love surrendered their lead to pit on lap 80. Blaine Perkins, Parker Retzlaff, Jordan Anderson, and Jeb Burton pitted with them. Hill and Love only took fuel and were quickly out and back on track. Mayer remained on the track to assume the lead.

The rest of the field pitted on lap 85. They were all able to get onto pit road without issue. The cars that pitted earlier were able to storm by the later group.

Cautions at the end

The fourth caution came out when Ryan Sieg was turned by Jeb Burton in turn one. Brandon Jones, Allgaier, Decker, Mayer, Jeremy Clements, and Taylor Gray were also involved and received damage. NASCAR red-flagged the race to allow track workers to clean up from the incident.

The race restarted with 24 to go. Love and Smith took the field back to green. Kvapil and Blaine Perkins pushed the leaders out ahead. They held serve alongside each other four rows deep. Jeb Burton tried to make a run on the inside line. He moved into the top five.

Smith and Love shared the lead, but Hill, who pitted at the last caution, used fresh tires to navigate through the field. With 21 to go, Hill pulled behind his teammate in the lead.

A huge crash brought out the fifth caution of the evening. Sawalich got loose in turn three, which triggered a multi-car wreck. Corey Day was behind Sawalich and tapped the rear bumper. That sent Sawalich around. Allgaier, Carson Hocevar, both Jeb and Harrison Burton, Kyle Sieg, Patrick Emerling, Lavar Scott, Patrick Staropoli, Daniel Dye, Taylor Gray, Rajah Caruth, and Corey Day all got damage in the incident.

More Cautions

With 13 to go, Love and Hill got the race restarted from the front row. They held onto the front row with the jockeying behind them. The sixth caution came out for a blown tire. J. Burton, with damage from the previous caution, got a blown right front tire. That sent debris onto the track.

Love and Hill restarted the race with eight to go. Hill took the lead from the inside, as the outside line tried to get gathered up. Hill was able to block off both lines and maintain his spot out front. Love dove to the inside and took the lead from his teammate. Hill quickly got back out front.

Caruth, Kvapil, and Hocevar brought out the seventh caution. Hocevar tried to push Caruth on the back stretch, but it only turned Caruth into Kvapil. Caruth and Hocevar were then turned sideways.

Smith and Hill brought the green back out on the front row. Brennan Poole stuck to the rear bumper of Hill and pushed him out front. The outside line faded away, and Hill took the white flag in the lead. Allgaier shoved Poole out of the way, which allowed R. Sieg to get to the leader. Ultimately, they did not have enough to catch the clutch Austin Hill, who got the win in the United Rentals 300!

Marvin’s Minute

No one should be surprised when Jesse Love and Austin Hill dominate a drafting race. They have perfected the style and stayed up front for most, if not all, of the United Rentals 300. Their dominance from qualifying to the finish shows how much time they spend on the craft. They both will be in the playoffs, and they hope their speed can translate to another championship.

Tune in next week as the series is at Echopark Speedway!