Posted on by Zack Albert

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The ingredients were all present for a storybook finish for Justin Haley. The 19-year-old rookie was competing in only his second NASCAR Xfinity Series race, starting last and taking the checkered flag first with a slashing, three-wide move Friday night at Daytona International Speedway.

But for a few inches of asphalt, Haley’s first Xfinity win seemed secure, but the left-side tires of his GMS Racing No. 24 Chevrolet dipped slightly left of the double-yellow line marking the out-of-bounds area at the apron. Haley’s apparent victory was handed to Kyle Larson, and the teenager was penalized to an 18th-place finish, last on the lead lap in the Coca-Cola Firecracker 250.

“In the moment, you really don’t think about it,” Haley said after his move was disallowed. “I wasn’t on the apron, so that’s how I always took it. Oh, well.”

MORE: Larson wins thrilling Xfinity race | Race results

Xfinity Series managing director Wayne Auton said that he met with GMS Racing officials after the race to explain the decision, saying they were unhappy but accepted the ruling.

“The 24 made a bold move to win the race, which is what you’re supposed to do,” Auton said. “And looking at all the video that we can, we saw as the rule states: we define it as the left-side tires left of the inside line that separates the apron and the race track. The 24 car’s left sides were clearly inside the line so we had to make the call. That’s clearly defined on the video at the drivers’ meeting, plus all the drivers have been informed of that for a long time here at Daytona and Talladega. Unfortunately, the 24 got caught up in it tonight.”

Haley is a regular competitor in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, having scored his first victory in that tour just two weeks earlier. Friday night, he came within inches of another breakthrough.

As Larson battled hard-luck runner-up Elliott Sadler for the top spot, Haley dove below them both on the short chute heading to the start-finish line. “There was an opening for me to come and split the guys,” he said. “It just happened.”

But then came word of the ruling, shortly after he had started a celebratory burnout. The realization, Haley said, came when Larson began a burnout of his own.

“Definitely high to low,” Haley said of his emotions. “But like I said, this is just an opportunity to even come out here. Just extremely blessed.”

Posted on by Brad Norman

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.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Friday night’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race ended with a sweep, and overtime and two broken hearts.

Five laps later than the scheduled 100, Kyle Larson got the victory in the Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 by .005 seconds over Elliott Sadler, who finished second at Daytona for the third straight race. 

But Larson’s victory wasn’t official until NASCAR demoted Justin Haley, who made a dramatic pass for the lead coming to the finish line but dipped below the yellow line dividing the racing surface from the apron, a violation of NASCAR rules. 

RELATED: Full race results | Series standings

“I didn’t even think I’d won until I got to the lug nut check, and they had a big screen down there,” Larson said. “And I saw a little bit of the replay and saw that he went a clipped the yellow line, so I asked about it, and they said NASCAR was talking about it, and about 10 seconds later we were declared the winner…

“I saw him (Haley) go up the track, and I thought I was screwed at that point, because I wasn’t going to have anybody behind me to propel me or at least keep me side-by-side with Elliott. The we got to the straightaway, and I could see in my mirror that he was getting a huge run… 

“The I saw him hang a left, and I knew with the run he had, if he had a hole, he was going to come out the leader, and he shot right by us.”

Sadler, who has never won at Daytona, had run second to JR Motorsports teammate Tyler Reddick by .0004 seconds in February, the closest recorded margin in NASCAR history. 

“This one hurts,” said the 43-year-old Sadler, whose status with JRM for 2019 remains uncertain because of sponsorship issues. “I don’t know how many restrictor-plate races I have left in my career. To lose the one like we did in February, so close, I feel like we were in the right spot again.

“We were really paying attention to Kyle and trying to figure out what he was doing off of (Turn) 4, and he was really running into my door a lot and trying to slow me down. And I was trying to leave myself room to get away from him. And it was just a miscommunication that the 24 (Haley) was coming on the bottom. I could have definitely made a block there and got some momentum.”

WATCH: The wreck that brought the race to overtime

Haley, who earned his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory earlier this season was tantalizingly close to victory in just his second Xfinity start. 

“Not how we wanted it to end,” Haley said. “I’m running trucks full-season, and this is just an opportunity part-time, and I’m extremely blessed just to get the opportunity.”

A nine-car wreck on Lap 97 knocked out series leader Cole Custer and forced the overtime. Sadler’s lone consolation was retaking the points lead by 12 over Daniel Hemric, who moved into second place.

A violent multicar wreck on Lap 82 eliminated the contending cars of Austin Cindric, Matt Tifft and Reddick and damaged the vehicles of Custer and Hemric. 

Heading through Turn 1, Tifft, with a strong push from Reddick, made a move toward a hole to the inside of Cindric, but the hole closed, and contact between Tifft’s and Cindric’s cars ignited the chain-reaction wreck.

Cindric’s No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing Ford turned sideways and barrel-rolled back down the track after contact with Reddick’s No. 9 Chevrolet on the steep banking in the corner. Cindric was unhurt in the accident, but his race was over.

RELATED: See the incident unfold | In-car wreck footage | All the action in photos

“I’m fine,” Cindric said after exiting the care center. “It’s just unfortunate. We have such a strong run like that, and it comes to an end early. There are plenty of things I can complain about, but I have to be thankful that Roush and NASCAR and everybody else who puts safety first really comes to fruition in situations like that.  

“It’s definitely the biggest wreck I’ve ever had. It’s unfortunate I keep having those at Daytona. I’ve got to quit going to this infield care center here. I know all the people and all the faces. They’re very nice, but it’s just a shame.”

WATCH: Cindric barrel-rolls

Racing in the series for the fourth this season, Ryan Preece started from the pole in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing as the owner points leader, after qualifying was rained out on Friday afternoon. But JGR’s quest for the owners’ championship took a serious hit when Preece retired from the race in 39th place after 51 laps because of a mechanical failure.

“We must have got a piece of debris go through the radiator, and we lost all of the water,” Preece explained after climbing from the car. “It cooked the motor down. Unfortunate. I felt like we were starting to make our way forward and start to work the draft.

“Just started to figure out what we needed to move forward and ended our night early. I hate it for these guys because of the owner points. They will drop some points in there today but hopefully we can make it up in New Hampshire.”

The Nos. 15 and 52 of BJ McLeod and David Starr, respectively, were disqualified for failing to obey the red flag.

Cars take the track again Saturday at 7 p.m. for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7 p.m. ET, NBC). The Xfinity Series is back on track on July 14 at Kentucky Speedway (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN).

Posted on by Staff Report

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A sense of relative early calm in Friday night’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race evaporated with a multicar wreck that sent Austin Cindric’s car barrel-rolling at Daytona International Speedway.

Contact between Cindric’s No. 60 Ford and Matt Tifft’s No. 2 Chevrolet triggered a 17-car pile-up at Lap 81 of the Coca-Cola Firecracker 250. Tifft pressured Cindrick entering Turn 1 at the 2.5-mile track, snaring a host of cars behind their initial collision.

Cindric’s No. 60 Ford flipped several moments after initial contact, tumbling over twice before landing on its wheels in the middle of the track. He emerged under his own power, unhurt after what he said was his first airborne crash in a stock car.

RELATED: Cindric barrel rolls | In-car view of wreck

“Any time you wreck at one of these tracks you’re usually wrecking in front of somebody and it’s collecting a lot of good cars,” said Cindric, who took 33rd place in the 40-car field. “It’s a shame we had to do that with 20-some-odd laps to go, just trying to figure out which lane was gonna move forward. It’s unfortunate you have that kind of impatience, but that’s what you expect. Everyone is racing for spots on track and you can’t blame someone for being aggressive, I guess, in that scenario.”

Tifft said that he was taking advantage of an opening to the low side, that his car had handled best in the bottom lane for the bulk of the race.

“Unfortunately during the final stage, the 60 car kept going high to the middle and leaving a gap,” Tifft said, “so I started to move around him when he came down on me and spun us around.”

The crumpled vehicles of Ryan Truex, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Reed, Daniel Hemric and Brandon Jones were among the 17 cars in the smoky thicket. The melee red-flagged the race for just over 12 minutes for clean-up, setting the stage for a frantic dash to the finish.

Reddick, who prevailed in the Xfinity season opener at Daytona in the closest finish in national-series history, said he had already impacted the outside retaining wall when he looked over his left shoulder to see Cindric’s car on its roof.

“With that many laps left, there’s not a lot of give left to be had out there. Everyone’s trying to take,” said Reddick, who was credited with 31st place. “It’s just wrong place, wrong time. Almost squeaked through it.”

Said Cindric: “That was a first for me, and I didn’t know what to expect. When I knew I was going over, you just accept it, and I pulled my legs and pulled my arms in and just kind of held tight and closed my eyes. You open your eyes and everything is happy, happy days. It’s unfortunate I had to go through that experience, but just gotta move on.”

Posted on by Brad Norman

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Surprises minutes before the start of a race typically aren’t welcome for NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell. Friday night at Daytona International Speedway was a welcome exception.

O’Donnell got to embrace the role of “dad” as the NASCAR Xfinity Series race neared the green flag, thanks to the addition of a surprise national anthem singer — his daughter Shannon Rose O’Donnell, a talented musician.

You can see O’Donnell’s demeanor in the press box change immediately as the track public announcer calls out her name.

Shannon O’Donnell then delivered a stirring anthem rendition on Independence Day weekend, drawing praise on the grid and on social media. 

Steve O’Donnell’s Twitter followers are familiar with her talents, given that her dad can’t help but brag on her.

Shannon O’Donnell, who recently graduated high school, will attend Belmont University this fall. 

https://twitter.com/odsteve/status/1015380771090128909

https://twitter.com/odsteve/status/1015381573825425408

The moment no doubt was made all the more special with Steve O’Donnell’s “son-in-law” Noah Gragson chiming in as well.

 

 

 

 

Posted on by Reid Spencer

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A sprained ankle didn’t prevent Chase Elliott from putting his foot to the floorboard Friday at Daytona International Speedway. 

Elliott powered around the 2.5-mile track in 46.381 seconds (194.045 mph) to win the pole position for Sunday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7 p.m. on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) by a whopping .24 seconds over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman (193.046 mph).

The Busch Pole Award was Elliott’s first of the season and the fourth of his career, all of which have come at restrictor-plate superspeedways — three of them at Daytona. 

RELATED: Full qualifying results| Starting lineup in photos

With Jimmie Johnson qualifying fourth at 192.361 mph, Hendrick Chevrolets took three of the top four starting positions for the 18th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the season. Third-place qualifier Brad Keselowski broke up the monopoly with a lap at 192.802 mph in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford.

Earlier in the week, Elliott sprained his right ankle — the one that mashes the accelerator — while “horsing around at the pool.” He had the ankle X-rayed at the infield care center at the track.

“I didn’t really want to do that, so I’ve been trying to draw as least amount of attention as possible to that,” Elliott said. “But it’s all good. Yeah, had a little ankle sprain, but we are good and ready to go.”

Saturday’s race will mark Elliott’s 95th start in NASCAR’s top series. Those 94 events have produced 26 top five’s — including eight runner-up results — but no wins.

“I think it gives everybody confidence,” Elliott said of the pole-winning effort. “Having a good pit stall is certainly nice. That can matter at the end of these races. Sharing the front row with your teammate is also nice, too. 

“So we’ll just have to see. The race is a whole different ballgame, but to have speed in our Chevrolet is nice, and to have (sponsor) Hooters for their first race of the season on the pole is cool, too. Looking forward to (Saturday) night.”

Kevin Harvick qualified fifth, followed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Newman, Michael McDowell and Daytona 500 winner Austin Dillon. Seven Fords and five Chevrolets made the final round. Reigning series champion Martin Truex Jr. will start 13th in the top-qualifying Toyota.

With rain wiping out Thursday’s second Cup practice, Friday’s time trials were more of a question mark than they otherwise would have been.

“It was OK, I think — you never know what you’re going to get here,” Truex said of his starting position. “Not much practice yesterday, and we didn’t do any qualifying runs, so we just kind of winged it. I think 13th will be an OK starting spot.”

Series leader Kyle Busch earned the 15th spot on the grid.

 

Posted on by Kathy Sheldon

Joey Logano and fellow Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers are helping to honor military spouses as part of the NASCAR Salutes Refreshed by Coca-Cola program, and he recently interviewed Krista Anderson, the overall Armed Forces Insurance 2018 Military Spouse of the Year.

Anderson’s current husband is a Special Forces Green Beret, Gus. She is also a Gold Star Spouse after losing her first husband, Special Forces Green Beret, SSG Michael H. Simpson, after he sustained injuries from an IED explosion while serving in Afghanistan, ultimately passing in May of 2013.

Now her mission is helping Gold Star families, “in order to give back to the very community that showed their unwavering support in our darkest days.”

On behalf of Krista, NASCAR & Coca-Cola will donate to USO programming that supports and strengthens military spouses, like Support for Families of the Fallen.

Part of that support is Survivor Resource Kits for newly bereaved family members. Filled with comfort items, books of support, personal notes and information. These kits provide a personalized, warm embrace in the form of a carefully crafted package.

Anderson says everyday life can be hard for both service members and military spouses. During deployments they essentially live separate lives. But communication is key, and a life of service has great rewards, as well.

“Really knowing who we are as a family, that we are serving our nation and that we’re part of something bigger than ourselves is the most rewarding part of being a military spouse,” Anderson told Logano. “The greatest gift is that our children see that, so they grow up with this appreciation of serving others.”

Logano said he’s new to fatherhood with a 5-month-old son, but he has an entirely new perspective on parenthood after his interview with Krista and sees how a good support system is vital, especially in a military family.

“…I’m proud of NASCAR and Coke – that they get it – and how they team up with the USO and they do things like this to get awareness out about what’s going on and what you guys go through.”

Anderson said she and her boys were extremely excited about coming to Daytona for the July 4 weekend events, the capstone three days for the NASCAR Salutes Refreshed by Coca-Cola program.

“I’m really touched to be honored and recognized,” Anderson said of being selected to participate in the NASCAR Salutes program. “I’m really excited for my husband to see that and feel that because he doesn’t get a lot of special attention.”

“Being involved with both NASCAR and Coca-Cola, I’m proud to be a part of something that supports such a huge initiative. And something I believe in as well,” Logano told Anderson.

From the Memorial Day weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 through the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona, Coca-Cola Racing Family drivers have honored a military spouse each week as part of the USO’s Salute to Military Spouses. Click here to see Denny Hamlin’s, Austin Dillon’s, Ryan Newman’s, Kyle Larson’s and Bubba Wallace’s interviews with servicemembers’ spouses.

Posted on by Zack Albert

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — One week into his next career with NBC Sports, Dale Earnhardt Jr. already has a hashtag-worthy broadcast moment. His exuberant call of the Chicagoland last-lap clash between Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson has already had a lasting effect.

Just don’t expect “slide job!” to become an every-week occurrence.

“I don’t know that that’s a catchphrase because I don’t know that you can just work it in any time,” Earnhardt said Friday at Daytona International Speedway. “That was just a natural reaction to what I was seeing. That’s what my bosses asked me to do was to say what I was thinking, especially in a moment like that when you’re excited and I’m enjoying it and reacting like a fan.”

RELATED: Daytona weekend schedule

That reaction seemed to resonate, showing up in online parodies and memes in the days after the Chicagoland event.

“I was really surprised that that took off like it did,” Earnhardt said. “I got done with the race, went to the car, drove to the airport. By the time I got to the airport, everybody was texting me and saying it over and over, and I’m hearing it all week. That’s cool. I’m glad that the broadcast was a success, and I’m glad everybody enjoyed that little tidbit at the end. Hopefully we see as much excitement out of every race.”

MORE: Dale Jr’s debut on NASCAR broadcast an instant classic

Earnhardt said he’s easing into the job as an analyst, learning the nuance of communication with his producers and on-air colleagues as he preps for his second race-day assignment, Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM). His brings an extra level of expertise this weekend as a four-time Daytona winner over the course of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career.

Earnhardt says he’s been encouraged to take a more casual approach, emulating the laid-back feel of his weekly podcast, the “Dale Jr. Download.” Last weekend’s final call, where he punctuated lead broadcaster Rick Allen’s play-by-play with his descriptions, was a step in that direction.

“His passion for racing, it showed last week, right?” said NBC Sports teammate and pit analyst Steve Letarte, “because you had an expert when you needed an expert and you had a fan when you wanted a fan, and I think that was a great balance.”

Said Earnhardt of his first go in the NBC booth: “I’ve got nothing negative to say about it. Even if I tried to think about anything on the negative side, everything’s been positive. I get to work with my friends, have fun and we get to talk about racing. Jeff Burton says this all the time and I agree: I’m watching the races anyway. I want to be at the track, I miss coming to the track, so if I can go to every race and watch them, I would. And so NBC’s going to do that and send me to all the tracks and then they’re going to pay me to talk about it, so it’s a dream come true to be honest with you.

“Hopefully, it just comes down to the fans’ opinion of the broadcast, the fans’ opinion of the job we do and I do whether I get to stick around. So I’m going to try hard to do a great job.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Rain has canceled Friday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying at Daytona International Speedway. The lineup will be set by owners points and that will place Ryan Preece on the pole position in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

Clouds rolled in mid-afternoon, bringing a summer shower that drenched the 2.5-mile track Friday and brought on-track activity to a halt. Xfinity Series qualifying had been scheduled to begin at 2:10 p.m. ET. Monster Energy Series Busch Pole Qualifying is now scheduled for 5:30 p.m. ET as track drying efforts are ongoing.

RELATED: Xfinity Series lineup | LIVE UPDATES: Weather at Daytona

The Xfinity Series’ Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 caps off Friday’s on-track schedule. (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.) Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 is set for 7 p.m. ET (NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) for the Monster Energy Series.

RELATED: Full schedule for Daytona | Summer winners at Daytona | Scenes from this weekend

NASCAR competition officials have a full-fledged contingent of track-drying equipment on hand at the superspeedway. Leading the charge are 18 Toyota NASCAR Air Titans, 10 conventional jet dryers, two track vacuums and two Elgin sweepers.