Race 1 of 33: United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway
Track Specs: 2.5-mile tri-oval / 120 laps
Race Winner: Austin Hill
Allgaier's finish: 8^th
Jones' finish: 9^th 
Smith's finish: 23^rd
Mayer's finish: 36^th

Justin Allgaier

Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet, rallied back from a late-race incident to score a hard-fought eighth-place finish in the 2024 season-opening event for the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Daytona International Speedway on Monday night. Allgaier, who began the rain-delayed event from the sixth position, paced the field for seven laps and overcame a long slide down the back straightaway during the opening stage to find himself in contention for the victory down the stretch. Then, as the field charged toward the third corner with just nine laps to go, carnage broke out, leaving the JR Motorsports driver with nowhere to go and damage to the nose of the BRANDT Chevrolet. Pitting multiple times for repairs, Allgaier returned to the track in 22^nd before charging back through the field over the final three laps to secure his third consecutive top-10 finish and sixth in the last eight NXS events dating back to his win at Bristol Motor Speedway last fall.

“We had an extremely fast BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet today and I can’t thank Jim (Pohlman, crew chief) and all the guys on the JR Motorsports team enough. It’s unfortunate that we got collected in that deal down the back, but to be able to recover like we did and still come home with a top-10 is just a testament to how this team never gives up. We’ll build off of this and be ready to go next week in Atlanta.”

Brandon Jones

Brandon Jones, driver of the No. 9 Menards/Swiffer Chevrolet, battled his way to a top-10 finish in the 120-lap NASCAR Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway. After being delayed two days by rain, Jones took the green flag in the 22^nd position. Crew chief Phillip Bell had an aggressve strategy in mind and Jones worked hard to make his way through the field. After the seventh caution of the night, in Stage 3, Jones restarted 11^th behind JR Motorsports teammates Justin Allgaier and Sammy Smith. Utilizing the draft from his teammates, Jones made a run for the lead in the closing laps but ended up taking the checkered flag in ninth position. It was his fifth career top-10 finish at the superspeedway and his first of the season.

“This No. 9 team worked extremely hard in the offseason and it showed today. I wish we could have brought our Menards/Swiffer Chevy home in the top three, but we will use what we learned today going into Atlanta and will hopefully continue to build off this momentum throughout the season. I can’t thank this No. 9 team enough for their hard work and I am looking forward to hopefully bringing this Menards Chevrolet to Victory Lane this season.”

Sammy Smith

Sammy Smith, driver of the No. 1 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet, qualified 12^th for the season-opening event of the NASCAR Xfinity Series season, his first race with JR Motorsports. Smith narrowly made it through a multi-car incident in Stage Two by driving through the Daytona International Speedway infield grass and escaped with minimal body damage. After his pit crew checked his car a few times, he was back to restart 25^th and rally back to an astounding second-place finish in Stage Two. Smith radioed to his crew chief, Adam Wall, to say, “wow, this thing is so good.” In the last three laps of the race, Smith was fighting for position in the top five before being collected in a multi-car incident as the field went down the backstretch. With the heavy rains that fell throughout the weekend, Smith found himself submerged in the Daytona grass, unable to get the Pilot Flying J Chevrolet back rolling. In the end, Smith finished 23^rd.

“This Pilot Flying J Chevrolet was flying the entire race. I felt stable and comfortable, knowing I could go anywhere I needed to. After making it through two wrecks with minimal damage, I guess our luck at Daytona ran out. But I’m proud of my guys and what we accomplished in our first race together. We’ll put it all together and be ready to go next week in Atlanta.”

Sam Mayer

Sam Mayer, driver of the No. 1 Carolina Carports Chevrolet, started the season opener at Daytona International Speedway for the NASCAR Xfinity Series mid-pace in the 15^th position and looked poised to make a charge toward the front. However, Mayer’s evening was brought to an abrupt halt just 24 laps into Stage 1 as the young driver was collected in a multi-car incident in Turn 1 that sent the Franklin, Wis. native hard into the outside wall. The subsequent damage prevented Mayer from continuing, relegating the JR Motorsports driver to a 36^th-place finish.

“Such an unfortunate ending to our night here in Daytona with our Carolina Carports Chevrolet. I was truly having such a blast out there and I hate that I could not continue but that’s just speedway racing. I look forward to coming back from this and starting the season off on a better foot in Atlanta next week.”