Saturday, February 18th, 2023
Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, FL
After Sam Mayer spun on the roof of his Chevrolet on the backstretch at Daytona International Speedway, trailing a shower of sparks, Austin Hill, Justin Allgaier and John Hunter Nemechek sat in their cars and waited.
And after what must have seemed an eternity to the drivers, NASCAR reviewed video of the final lap of overtime and declared Hill the winner of his second straight season opener at the World Center of Racing in front of the largest crowd to witness an Xfinity Series race at Daytona since the $400-million renovation of the facility in 2016.
A consummate superspeedway racer, Hill led a race-high 38 laps in Saturday's Beef. It's What's for Dinner. 300 and was narrowly ahead of surging John Hunter Nemechek when the sanctioning body called the caution for Mayer's spectacular accident on Lap 125-five circuits beyond the scheduled distance.
"As soon as the caution lights came on, I thought I had it, but it was so close," Hill said. "To get back-to-back here at Daytona, it's really special. That's three wins for me now, two in the Xfinity, one in the truck here. We came from the back two different times.
"I hope everyone enjoyed it. It was such a blast. I had so much fun. We won at Daytona! Let's go!"
Hill's first thought, however, was for Mayer. Contact between Hill's No. 21 Camaro and Mayer's No. 1 Chevrolet sent Mayer spinning and then flipping upside down until his car hit the infield grass and landed upright.
Mayer was treated and released from the infield care center.
"When I saw the 1 (Mayer) and the 7 (Allgaier) get together, I just went to go squeeze them, and the 1 came down, he started getting loose, and then you can't lift-it's last lap," Hill said. "I hope Sam is OK, man. That was a heck of a flip there."
Allgaier, who was credited with a third-place finish, had another close call in the race that has eluded him.
"I've been short my whole life, so I guess it's just fitting," quipped the 5-foot-6-inch driver. "But really proud of everybody at JR Motorsports. Our Chevy Camaros tonight were absolutely blazing fast.
"Obviously, I'm glad Sam is OK. He had a heck of a run there at the end."
Rookie Parker Retzlaff finished a career-best fourth, followed by Myatt Snider. Riley Herbst, Joe Graf Jr., Ryan Sieg, Cole Custer and Justin Haley completed the top 10.
Hill won the first stage, but only through Allgaier's benevolence. On the final lap of the stage, Hill steered down the track to block Allgaier's Chevrolet. Allgaier backed out of the throttle to give Hill room, as the rear bumper of Hill's Camaro slid uncomfortably close to the nose of Allgaier's car.
"If I don't lift, I wreck the whole field," Allgaier said on his radio. "It's stupid racing."
"Justin really cut me a break," Hill acknowledged. "I really appreciate that from him."
Allgaier must have gotten some karmic benefit from his magnanimity. When Parker Kligerman turned Sheldon Creed's Chevrolet while bump-drafting near the entrance to Turn 1 on Lap 40, Allgaier's Chevrolet spun sideways onto the apron behind the initial wreck.
After a tape job to the left rear of his car, Allgaier returned to the track, started at the rear of the field and quickly charged back into the lead on Lap 54. Allgaier went on to win the second stage, with Mayer close behind him.
"To go to the back and have that spin and just battle our way through, it's crazy how fast our car was tonight and how good we were in traffic," Allgaier said.
Unfortunately for the veteran driver, speed, maneuverability and good karma could carry him only so far.
ENTRY | # | DRIVER | HOMETOWN | DOB | AGE | MAKE | SPONSOR | TEAM | CREW CHIEF |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 02 | David Starr | Houston, TX | Nov 11, 1967 | 56 | Chevrolet | Specia Report with Bret Baier | Our Motorsports | Teddy Brown |
2 | 13 | Timmy Hill | Port Tobacco, MD | Feb 25, 1993 | 31 | Ford | Klutch Vodka | Motorsports Business Management | Tony Liberati |
3 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | Riverton, IL | Jun 6, 1986 | 38 | Chevrolet | BRANDT | JR Motorsports | Jim Pohlman |
4 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Westport, CT | Aug 8, 1990 | 34 | Chevrolet | Big Machine Racing Spiked | Big Machine Racing | Patrick Donahue |
5 | 25 | Brett Moffitt | Grimes, IA | Aug 7, 1992 | 32 | Ford | AM Technical Solutions | AM Racing | Joe Williams |
6 | 53 | Joey Gase | Cedar Rapids, IA | Feb 8, 1993 | 31 | Ford | National Crime Prevention | Emerling Gase Motorsports | Rick Bourgeois |
7 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Halifax, VA | Aug 6, 1992 | 32 | Chevrolet | State Water Heaters | Jordan Anderson Racing | Shane Whitbeck |
8 | 44 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Mooresville, NC | Jun 22, 1989 | 35 | Chevrolet | ForeverLawn | Alpha Prime Racing | Michael Groves |
9 | 43 | Ryan Ellis | Torrence, CA | Nov 29, 1989 | 34 | Chevrolet | Heartbeat Hot Sauce | Alpha Prime Racing | Michael Brandt |
10 | 08 | Gray Gaulding | Colonial Heights, VA | Feb 10, 1998 | 26 | Chevrolet | Panini | SS-Green Light Racing | Jason Miller |
11 | 38 | Ryan Sieg | Tucker, GA | Jun 20, 1987 | 37 | Ford | CMRoofing.com | RSS Racing | Mike Scearce |
12 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kannapolis, NC | Jan 27, 1991 | 33 | Chevrolet | Cirkul | Kaulig Racing | Jason Trinchere |
13 | 6 | Brennan Poole | Sacramento, CA | Apr 11, 1991 | 33 | Chevrolet | Macc Door Systems | JD Motorsports | Kase Kallenbach |
14 | 00 | Cole Custer | Ladera Ranch, CA | Jan 23, 1998 | 26 | Ford | Haas Automation | Stewart-Haas Racing | Jonathan Toney |
15 | 99 | Garrett Smithley | Ligonier, PA | Apr 27, 1992 | 32 | Chevrolet | TROPHY TRACTOR | BJ McLeod Motorsports | Lee Leslie |
16 | 91 | Josh Bilicki | Menomonee Falls, WI | Jun 3, 1995 | 29 | Chevrolet | Zeigler / Insurance King | DGM Racing | Mario Gosselin |
17 | 4 | Bayley Currey | Driftwood, TX | Oct 29, 1996 | 27 | Chevrolet | Mikes Weather Page / Firman | JD Motorsports | Wayne G Carroll |
18 | 1 | Justin Haley | Winamac, IN | Apr 28, 1999 | 25 | Chevrolet | DaaBin Store | Kaulig Racing | Alex Yontz |
19 | 2 | John Hunter Nemechek | Mooresville, NC | Jun 11, 1997 | 27 | Toyota | Mobil 1 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Ben Beshore |
20 | 26 | Kaz Grala | Boston, MA | Dec 29, 1998 | 25 | Toyota | Island Coastal Lager | Sam Hunt Racing | Allen Hart |
21 | 36 | Alex Labbe | Saint-Albert, Canada | Apr 29, 1993 | 31 | Chevrolet | Larue / DuroKing | DGM Racing | Nathan Kennedy |
22 | 21 | Austin Hill | Winston, GA | Apr 21, 1994 | 30 | Chevrolet | Bennett Transportation | Richard Childress Racing | Andy Street |
23 | 9 | Brandon Jones | Atlanta, GA | Feb 18, 1997 | 27 | Chevrolet | Menards/Swiffer | JR Motorsports | Jason Burdett |
24 | 35 | CJ McLaughlin | Framingham, MA | Jul 1, 1992 | 32 | Chevrolet | Sci-Aps | Emerling Gase Motorsports | Paul Clapprood |
25 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Spartanburg, SC | Jan 16, 1985 | 39 | Chevrolet | One Stop / All South Electric | Jeremy Clements Racing | Mark Setzer |
26 | 39 | Joe Graf Jr | Mahwah, NJ | Jul 12, 1998 | 26 | Ford | Getcoverseal.com | RSS Racing | Steve Addington |
27 | 92 | Josh Williams | Port Charlotte, FL | Aug 3, 1993 | 31 | Chevrolet | Alloy Employer / Call 811 | DGM Racing | Bryan Berry |
28 | 19 | Myatt Snider | Charlotte, NC | Dec 30, 1994 | 29 | Toyota | Tree Top | Joe Gibbs Racing | Jason Ratcliff |
29 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Las Vegas, NV | Feb 24, 1999 | 25 | Ford | Monster Energy | Stewart-Haas Racing | Richard Boswell |
30 | 78 | Anthony Alfredo | Ridgefield, CT | Mar 1, 1999 | 25 | Chevrolet | Ticket Smarter | BJ McLeod Motorsports | Pat Tryson |
31 | 5 | Jade Buford | Brentwood, TN | Feb 15, 1988 | 36 | Chevrolet | Double Spiked Coolers | Big Machine Racing | Chris Carrier |
32 | 34 | Jesse Iwuji | Carrollton, TX | Aug 12, 1987 | 37 | Chevrolet | Jesse Iwuji Motorsports | Jesse Iwuji Motorsports | Dan Stillman |
33 | 74 | Ryan Vargas | La Miranda, CA | Sep 23, 2000 | 24 | Chevrolet | Leargas Security | CHK Racing | TBA |
34 | 45 | Stefan Parsons | Cornelius, NC | Jun 15, 1998 | 26 | Chevrolet | Clear Cryptos | Alpha Prime Racing | Frank Kerr |
35 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | Alpine, CA | Sep 30, 1997 | 27 | Chevrolet | Whelen | Richard Childress Racing | Jeff Stankiewicz |
36 | 8 | Josh Berry | Hendersonville, TN | Oct 22, 1990 | 33 | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats | JR Motorsports | Taylor Moyer |
37 | 07 | Blaine Perkins | Bakersfield, CA | Feb 28, 2000 | 24 | Chevrolet | AUTOPARKit.com | SS-Green Light Racing | Mark Hillman |
38 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | Tucker, GA | Apr 16, 2001 | 23 | Ford | Night Owl | RSS Racing | TBA |
39 | 1 | Sam Mayer | Franklin, WI | Jun 26, 2003 | 21 | Chevrolet | Accelerate Pros Talent | JR Motorsports | Mardy Lindley |
40 | 66 | Dexter Stacey | Kahnawake, Canada | Nov 9, 1992 | 31 | Ford | ReCap Recovery Drink | Motorsports Business Management | Jason Houghtaling |
41 | 16 | Chandler Smith | Talking Rock, GA | Jun 26, 2002 | 22 | Chevrolet | Quick Tie Inc. | Kaulig Racing | Bruce Schlicker |
42 | 24 | Parker Chase | New Braunfels, TX | Feb 22, 2001 | 23 | Toyota | Ontivity | Sam Hunt Racing | Kris Bowen |
43 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff | Rhinelander, WI | May 21, 2003 | 21 | Chevrolet | FUNKAWAY | Jordan Anderson Racing | Joshua Graham |
44 | 18 | Sammy Smith | Johnston, IA | Jun 4, 2004 | 20 | Toyota | TMC | Joe Gibbs Racing | Jeff Meendering |