DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- JR Motorsports driver Elliott Sadler finished runner-up in two NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Daytona International Speedway this season by .005 seconds. Combined.
Five months after finishing second to teammate Tyler Reddick by an official margin of .000 seconds in the season-opener, Sadler finished .005 seconds behind race winner Kyle Larson on Friday night in the Coca-Cola Firecracker 250.
MORE: Watch the wild final laps | 17 cars collected in 'Big One'Justin Haley hit the start/finish line first in the No. 24 Chevrolet, but NASCAR ruled that Haley’s bold, swooping move to the bottom of the track coming to the start/finish line was illegal as his car advanced its position by going below the double yellow line -- which is against the rules.
That decision meant Larson -- who was first to the line behind Haley -- was the race winner, with Sadler an agonizingly close second.
“This one hurts” a dejected Sadler said. “I don’t know how many more restrictor-plate races I’ll have left in my career. To lose the one like we did in February, then to feel like we were in the right spot again ... it just hurts.”
Sadler attributed Haley getting clear late to a breakdown in communication with his spotter. The two were locked in on monitoring Larson’s No. 42 Chevrolet, which was in a virtual dead heat with the JRM veteran heading into the trioval on the final lap.
The final lap punctuated a breathtaking final stretch run, with the 43-year-old Sadler and 25-year-old Larson dueling in a door-to-door battle in NASCAR Overtime.
“I tried to do all I could to stay on (Sadler’s) quarter panel and stall him out,” Larson said. “I didn’t think I won until I got to the lug nut check and saw the replay on the big screen.”
Both Sadler and Larson also lauded the gutsy move by Haley, who was making just his second career Xfinity Series start, even if it was one that ultimately was against the rules. And even if it was one that made Sadler’s heartache all the more pronounced.
“I just didn’t know the 24 was coming,” Sadler said. “My guys ... work way too hard for me to keep finishing second at Daytona. I should have capitalized on it. It felt like I was in a good spot there at the end, but just wasn’t meant to be.”