Race Results | Xfinity Series Points
Race 22 of 33: Wawa 250 at Daytona International Speedway
Track Specs: 2.5-mile tri-oval / 100 laps
Weather: Mostly cloudy; 85 degrees
Race Winner: Justin Haley
Annett’s finish: 7th
Hemric’s finish: 24th
Allgaier’s finish: 27th
Grason’s finish: 31st
Michael Annett
With less than a quarter-mile left in Friday night’s Wawa 250 for NASCAR Xfinity Series cars at Daytona International Speedway, Michael Annett was looking at a top-three finish at worst and another Daytona victory at best. The Iowa driver was third with a head of steam coming to the checkered, but the leaders tangled in front of him in Turn 4 and forced Annett to take evasive action. He ran out of room, hitting both the outside wall and the leaders, but still managed to cross the finish line with his TMC Transportation Chevrolet in seventh place. Despite the events at the end, Annett posted his 10th top-10 finish in 11 races and remained solidly in the playoff field with just four races remaining until they begin. He is 223 points over the cutline.
Stage One Finish: 11th
Firing off from eighth position at the start of the 100-lap event, Annett found his JR Motorsports teammates and stayed with them as the field sorted out their cars. Just seven laps in, the first of nine caution flags would wave, and Annett told crew chief Travis Mack that his Camaro was on the splitter all the way around the 2.5-mile track. The early caution took the place of the planned lap-10 competition caution, and Annett did not come to pit road along with the rest of the JRM cars. Another caution waved at lap 14, and Annett did come to the attention of the TMC Transportation crew for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment to cure the handling woes. Hooking back up with his teammates, Annett started to move up and cracked the top 10 on lap 21 and was eighth at lap 26, as the JRM cars were starting to rumble toward the leaders. Another yellow flag waved at that point, which resulted in a one-lap dash to the stage flag. Annett was in the top 10 for most of the lap, but ended up 11th at the finish after some creative blocking ahead of him. On the stage break, Annett pitted for two tires and fuel along with another chassis adjustment to cure a loose condition.
Stage Two Finish: 5th
Lining up 18th for the start of Stage Two, Annett again found his teammates and began moving up. Just seven laps into the run, Brandon Jones turned down into the nose of Chase Briscoe’s car and triggered a multi-car crash that damaged all three of his teammates and nearly caught Annett. As the accident happened, Annett stood on the brakes and managed to miss the carnage, lightly tapping one of the cars involved with the nose of his car and flat-spotting all four tires. After pitting for tires, fuel and another chassis tweak as well as some preventative repairs on the body, Annett returned to the track as the lone undamaged team car. One lap into the next green-flag run, teammate Justin Allgaier cut a tire down and triggered another multicar crash in Turn 3 which brought out the red flag for cleanup. Once the green flag waved again, Annett was 10th, and he moved steadily toward the front. He was seventh when a debris caution waved on lap 53 and pitted from there a lap later for fuel only. Over the final five laps of Stage Two, Annett climbed from 11th to fifth, gaining three positions on the final lap to earn six stage points. On pit road at the break, Annett got right-side tires and fuel for the 40-lap final segment.
Final Stage:
Taking the green flag in 10th place at lap 65, Annett gained three spots in three laps to run seventh, and he would stay there as the lead cars were close on fuel to the end. With 10 laps remaining, Annett followed Briscoe around Justin Haley to run fifth, and he was third to the outside of Haley entering Turn 3 on the final lap. As leader AJ Allmendinger turned to the bottom, teammate Ross Chastain tried to move underneath for the lead, clipping the left rear of Allmendinger’s car and sending both spinning to the outside wall. Annett moved up to miss them, but ran out of room and slammed the outside barrier. Keeping his foot on the gas, Annett crossed the finish line in seventh place.
Haley won the race, with Gray Gaulding, Briscoe, Riley Herbst and Harrison Burton the top five. Chastain was sixth ahead of Annett, Austin Cindric, Josh Williams and Jesse Little.
Michael Annett, driver No. TMC Transportation Chevrolet team
“I was hoping I could clear them (Chastain and Allmendinger). I just needed one more car length and I would have. After I hit the wall I put my foot in it and finished seventh. It was kind of lonely out there without the rest of the JRM team with me, but we gave it everything we had. Our TMC Transportation Chevrolet was the Lone Ranger there, but it was a good run, a good finish and we have a good idea what we can do at Talladega in the playoffs. “
Daniel Hemric
Daniel Hemric was working well with his trio of JR Motorsports teammates in the lead pack during Stage Two of Friday evening’s NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Daytona International Speedway before being collected in a multi-car incident on the exit of Turn 4 on lap 39. After having to pit numerous times for repairs to three of the four corners of the Poppy Bank Chevrolet, Hemric was able to utilize a never-give-up attitude to come home with a 24th-place finish. Despite the result, the No. 8 team remains in a playoff position in the owner standings, 46 points ahead of 13th with four races remaining in the regular season.
Stage One Finish: 10th
Hemric lined up in the seventh position for the 100-lap event after the field was set via NASCAR’s new mathematical formula earlier this week. The new formula is based on the previous week’s finishing position, the team’s fastest lap run in the previous event and where the team is ranked in the owner standings. Once the race got underway, the Kannapolis, N.C. native quickly got in line with his JRM teammates as all four Camaros took to the outside line to try to draft toward the front. Their march forward had made it comfortably into the top 10 before the field was slowed on lap 13 for an incident down the back straightaway.
While under this caution period, crew chief Taylor Moyer made the call to bring Hemric to pit road for four fresh tires and fuel after the driver of the Poppy Bank Chevrolet had reported that he was a little free on the entry of the corner. Returning to the track in 23rd following the stop, Hemric wasted little time moving back through the field, needing just four laps to draft back into the top 10 with his JRM teammates. Hemric remained inside the top 10 throughout the remaining nine laps of the opening stage, ultimately surviving a one-lap shootout following a lap-24 caution period to end Stage One on lap 30 in the 10th position.
Stage Two Finish: 16th
The 2019 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year returned to pit road during the stage-ending caution for right-side tires and fuel. Although Hemric was the sixth car that exited pit road, a handful of cars opted to remain on the racetrack during the caution period, sliding the 29-year-old driver back to 13th for the beginning of Stage Two on lap 34. Despite restarting outside of the top 10, Hemric quickly began to move forward, reuniting with his JRM teammates to charge into the middle lane and draft back into the top 10 by the completion of lap 37. However, the quartet’s ascent up the leaderboard was brought to an abrupt end just two laps later as a multi-car incident broke out on the exit of Turn 4, leaving Hemric with nowhere to go and causing severe damage to both front fenders and the right rear of the Poppy Bank Chevrolet.
After pitting several times for repairs during the subsequent caution period, Hemric returned to the track for the lap 45 restart in 28th, one lap behind the leaders but in the free pass position should the caution come back out. That fortuitous caution flew before lap 45 could even be completed, moving Hemric back onto the lead lap. Once back on the same lap as the leaders Hemric pressed onward, drafting up to as high as the 11th position before being shuffled back in the final laps of Stage Two to take the green-and-white checkered flag in 16th on lap 60.
Final Stage:
Prior to the beginning of the final stage of the evening, Hemric returned to pit road for additional repairs. Exiting pit road for the lap 64 restart in 23rd, Hemric quickly drafted his way back into the top 15 before the damage-riddled back bumper of the Poppy Bank Chevrolet fell off, forcing Hemric to come back to pit road under green for a replacement bumper.
Returning to the track following the repairs in 25th, Hemric pressed forward, utilizing a never-give-up attitude to gain one position in the closing laps to take the checkered flag in 24th.
Despite the result, the No. 8 team still sits 46 points above the playoff cutline with four races remaining the regular season.
Daniel Hemric, driver No. 8 Poppy Bank Chevrolet team
“Man, we had a fast Poppy Bank Chevrolet tonight. We were rolling good there for a while working with our JRM teammates and I felt like we were in a really good position when that deal went down off of Turn 4. It’s really unfortunate that we got collected in that, we just had nowhere to go. I just want to thank all the guys on this JR Motorsports team for their effort. We were able to make repairs throughout the race to still be competitive even with our damage. We’ll rebound from this and be ready to go next week in Darlington.”
Justin Allgaier
It was a tough night for Justin Allgaier and the No. 7 Suave Men team in Friday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway. The veteran driver was caught up in a multi-car wreck in Stage Two and after the team repaired much of the damage sustained to the No. 7 Suave Men Camaro, a flat left-rear tire back under the green flag caused the Chevrolet to spin, triggering another multi-car incident. This time the damage sustained to the Suave Men Camaro was too severe to continue and Allgaier was ultimately scored with a 29th-place finish.
Stage One Finish: 8th
Allgaier rolled off the grid fifth for the 100-lap race and quickly connected with his JR Motorsports teammates inside the draft. The 34-year-old driver was scored in the 10th position when the second caution of the race came out on lap 14. Under the yellow, crew chief Jason Burdett called Allgaier in for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment to improve the Suave Men Camaro’s handling.
With some cars opting not to pit, the Illinois native restarted back in 21st. It didn’t take him long to get in line with his teammates once again and they continued to work together as best they could for the remainder of the stage. When the green-and-white checkered waved on lap 30, Allgaier was in the eighth position.
Stage Two Finish: 29th
During the stage break, Burdett radioed for Allgaier to bring the Suave Men Chevy to pit road for left-side tires and fuel to prepare for the second stage. The JRM driver lined up 12th for Stage Two on lap 34 and swiftly gravitated towards his teammates. They were working together when cars ahead of them began to wreck. The JRM drivers had nowhere to go and all four were caught up in the incident.
Allgaier’s Camaro sustained front-end damage, but he was able to make it to pit road for repairs. The team made multiple stops under the caution and got him back out in time for the restart. Allgaier continued to battle out on the track, but a flat left-rear tire sent Allgaier’s Suave Men Chevy spinning, triggering another multi-car wreck. The No. 7 Camaro suffered heavy damage that was too severe for repairs, causing an early end to Allgaier’s night on lap 46. He was ultimately scored with a 29th-place finish.
Last weekend’s victory at Dover International Speedway locked Allgaier into the NXS Playoffs. He is currently seventh in the series standings.
Justin Allgaier, driver No. 7 Suave Men Chevrolet
“Getting into Turn 3, the left rear, I felt it go down. It kind of swung the car to left and at that point you’re just a passenger. It’s really disappointing because obviously we got damage on the caution before that, but right there it just went around. What’s really odd is there was no damage to the left rear on that caution before. I’m just really disappointed for everyone with Suave Men and all the folks at JR Motorsports and I hate it for all the other cars that caught up in that. These restrictor-plate races are extremely difficult and we have another one coming up in the playoffs, so hopefully we can go there and get a better result.”
Noah Gragson
Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 9 Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/Black Rifle Coffee Chevrolet, was involved in a multi-car incident in the early laps of Stage Two in Friday evening’s Wawa 250 at Daytona International Speedway. After initially hoping that repairs could be made, it was determined that the damage was terminal, ending Gragson’s evening early and relegating him to a 31st-place finish. Gragson started the race from the fourth position after the field was set by a mathematical equation that is based on owner’s points, finishing position and fastest lap from the week prior and earned stage points in Stage One before being collected in the incident.
Stage One Finish: 7th
Gragson fired off from the fourth position after the starting lineup was set by a mathematical equation earlier in the week for the 250-mile event. The 22-year-old worked his way through traffic to move in front of his JR Motorsports teammates on the high side of the 2.5-mile facility. Running 11th when the first caution flag flew, Gragson lined up with his teammates in tow. Setting their sights forward, Gragson led the charge for the JRM crew as he moved up to seventh before a lap 13 yellow. Pitting for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment to remove the splitter from making contact with the track, Gragson lined up for the ensuing restart in 27th.
The JRM teammates once again worked their way nose-to-tail in the draft and began running the high side of the Daytona high banks, working their way up inside the top 10 as the lap 24 caution waved. Restarting fifth, Gragson stuck to his game plan and worked his way in front of his teammates yet again, ultimately crossing the green-and-white checkered flag in the seventh-place and earning four stage points to begin the night at the completion of Stage One on lap 30.
Stage Two Finish: 31st
The driver of the No. 9 Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/Black Rifle Coffee Camaro decided to pit for fuel only during the stage-ending yellow and restarted from the 12th position. With all JRM teammates being split up, Gragson once again stuck to the plan and began working with Justin Allgaier before picking up Daniel Hemric and Michael Annett on the high-side of the superspeedway. With the JRM Chevy’s once again locked in together, Gragson started to move forward before being involved in the lap 39 incident, ultimately ending his night short of the scheduled 100-lap length.
In the end, Gragson was scored with a 31st-place.
Noah Gragson, driver No. 9 Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/Black Rifle Coffee Camaro SS
“Man that was a frustrating way to end the day. I thought all four of our JRM cars were great working together and everyone knew it as they started trying to block our runs throughout that second stage. I wish we could have been there at the end and been battling with all of our teammates but that’s superspeedway racing. We just have to remember the things we accomplished today with our JRM Chevy’s and take that to Talladega and run well in the playoff race.”