Aggressive Driving Dominates Record Setting Xfinity Race at Daytona

It’s the first race of the season for the Xfinity Series with the PowerShares QQQ 300 at Daytona International Speedway.

After 46 cars qualified in round one, all five of the cars JR Motorsports brought to the track were in the top 12 and will move on to round two for a shot at the pole.

Daniel Hemric will lead the field from the pole position.

While going through pre-qualifying inspection, NASCAR inspectors discovered a rear suspension infraction on the number three car driven by Austin Dillon. As a result of the infraction, Dillon will not be allowed to qualify his car but will be allowed to race – he will start at the back of the field – and the car and crew chiefs have been ejected from the track.

Elliott Sadler has an issue with his car and will not make a second round qualifying run. He will star the race in 12^th place.

The starting lineup for the PowerShares QQQ 300:
Daniel Hemric
Kyle Larson
Matt Tifft
Joey Logano
Spencer Gallagher
Justin Allgaier
Ryan Truex
Michael Annett
Chase Elliott
Tyler Reddick
Austin Cindric
Elliott Sadler
Aric Almirola
Christopher Bell
Cole Custer
Ryan Reed
Joe Nemechek
Daniel Suarez
Brandon Jones
Joey Gase
Dylan Lupton
Ryan Sieg
Alex Labbe
Ross Chastain
Jeremy Clements
Garrett Smithley
Josh Williams
Vinnie Miller
Kaz Grala
Brandon Brown
Ryan Ellis
Caesar Bacarella
Jeff Green
David Starr
Spencer Boyd
Timmy Hill
Stephen Leight
Cjad Fomcji,
J.J. Yeley
Austin Dillon

Gray Gaulding, Ray Black Jr, Chris Codkrum, Morgan Shepherd, Josh Bilicki, and Mike Harmon failed to qualify for the race.

Monster Energy Cup driver Brad Keselowski joins Adam Alexander and Michael Waltrip in the FOX broadcast booth for this race.

After qualifying, Joey Logano’s team discovered an issue in the fuel line and had to replace the parts; as a result, Logano will have to start the race from the back of the field.

Stages one and two of the race are 30 laps each with stage three lasting 60 laps.

After winning the pole position, Daniel Hemric brings the field down for the green flag start of the race and pulls out in front of the field for the lead of the race.

Daniel Hemric leads lap one.

Kyle Larson challenges Daniel Hemric for the lead and the two swap the lead back and forth.

On lap three Joey Logano has already move into the top 10.

Lap five Hemric and Larson are still swapping the lead back and forth. Joey Logano is in fifth place.

Lap six Daniel Hemric has finally taken over the lead of the race with Justin Allgaier in second. Austin Dillon also had to start the race from the back of the field and has moved up to 15^th place.

Lap eight Daniel Hemric is in the lead with Justin Allgaier in second, Kyle Larson, Michael Annett, and Joey Logano round out the top five.

Lap nine Kyle Larson takes over the lead of the race with Joey Logano in fourth and Austin Dillon in eleventh.

The first caution flag of the race comes out on lap eleven when Austin Cindric gets loose and spins out hitting the wall. Brandon Jones, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Reed and Christopher Bell were also involved in the crash. Austin Cindric is out of the race.

This season drivers involved in a wreck have six minutes on the caution clock, up from five minutes last season. And if a team is caught with too many crew members over the wall, the team is penalized two laps instead of having to park the car.

Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 15 but gets a challenge from Daniel Hemric wit the two drivers swapping the lead back and forth.

Lap 18 Kyle Larson finally holds on to the lead of the race over Daniel Hemric. Joey Logano has moved up to second place.

Lap 20 Kyle Larson is in the lead with Justin Allgaier in second. Joey Logano, Daniel Hemric and Daniel Suarez round out the top five.

Christopher Bell is out of the race after crash damage.

Lap 25 Kyle Larson is in the lead with Joey Logano in second; Elliott Sadler, Daniel Hemric, and Daniel Suarez round out the top five.

Three laps remaining in stage one and Kyle Larson holds on to the lead with Elliott Sadler in second a tenth of a second behind.

Kyle Larson wins stage one.

The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Kyle Larson
Joey Logano
Justin Allgaier
Tyler Reddick
Elliott Sadler
Daniel Hemric
Michael Annett
Daniel Suarez
Spencer Gallagher
Cole Custer

After taking fuel only, Elliott Sadler wins the race off of pit road.

Elliott Sadler brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two on lap 36 but gets passed by Kyle Larson for the lead.

Lap 39 Kyle Larson holds on to the lead with Aric Almirola in second; Elliott Sadler, Justin Allgaier, and Joey Logano rounding out the top five.

Lap 41, Chase Elliott has moved into the top five. Kyle Larson continues to lead the race.

Lap 46 Kyle Larson continues to lead the race with Chase Elliott in second and Joey Logano in third.

Matt Tifft is reporting some issues with his car and is now one lap down.

Lap 48 Chase Elliott passes Kyle Larson for the lead.

Lap 51 Chase Elliott has a tenth of a second lead on Spencer Gallagher. Kyle Larson, Daniel Suarez, and Elliott Sadler round out the top five.

Lap 47 Chase Elliott is in the lead with Joey Logano in second; followed by Kyle Larson, Aric Almirola, and Elliott Sadler.

Chase Elliott wins stage two.

The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Chase Elliott
Aric Almirola
Kyle Larson
Daniel Suarez
Spencer Gallagher
Ryan Truex
Austin Dillon
Tyler Reddick
Daniel Hemric
Justin Allgaier

Taking only two tires, Aric Almirola wins the race off of pit road.

On the last lap of stage two, Joey Logano’s car just shut off and then restarted; the team does not know what caused the problem.

Aric Almirola brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 67 and edges out for the lead of the race.

Lap 69 Aric Almirola holds on to the lead of the race but gets passed by Kyle Larson for the lead. Joey Logano passes Larson for the lead of the race.

During pit stops Brandon Brown was penalized for pitting outside of his pit box. Ryan Truex was caught speeding on pit road.

Lap 71 Joey Logano is in the lead with Kyle Larson in second; Elliot Sadler, Aric Almirola, and Daniel Suarez fill out the top five.

With 47 laps remaining in the race, is in the lead but gets challenged by Kyle Larson. While the tow are swapping the lead back and forth, Elliott Sadler come in and takes over the lead.

With 44 laps to go Joey Logano has regained the lead from Elliott Sadler with Kyle Larson in third.

FOX broadcaster Michael Waltrip reports that this race has the youngest group of drivers in NASCAR Xfinity Series history.

The caution flag comes out with 39 laps remaining in the race after Gray Gaulding takes his smoking car to the garage.

Hoping to make their last pit stop, many drivers take fuel only. Joey Logano leads the race off of pit road.

Joey Logano brings the field down for the green flag restart with 34 laps remaining in the race.

Daniel Hemric was caught speeding on pit road.

With 31 laps to go, most of the field is three wide with 36 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 90 Chase Elliott challenges Joey Logano for the lead but Logano holds on to the lead. Logano’s motor shut off again but came back on. He holds on to the lead with Chase Elliott in second and Elliott Sadler in third.

Lap 93 Joey Logano is in the lead with Elliott Sadler in second and Chase Elliott in third.

With 26 laps to go, Kyle Larson has roared through the field and takes over second place.

Elliott Sadler and Chase Elliott teamed up for locking bumpers and have been posted by NASCAR and will have to serve a pass through penalty.

Kyle Larson has passed Joey Logano to take over the lead of the race.

The caution flag comes out on lap 98 for a big crash when Ryan Truex is blocked below the yellow line blocked and gets loose. Joey Gase, Cole Custer, and Daniel Hemric were also involved in the crash.

Ryan Reed has been black flagged for forcing Truex below the double yellow line and will have to restart the race at the back of the field.

Kyle Larson bring the field down for the green flag restart with 16 laps remaining in the race and gets out in front of the field.

Daniel Hemric has been penalized two laps for having too many crew members over the wall working on his wrecked car.

Garrett Smithley spins out and brings out the caution flag with 14 laps remaining in the race after he blocked Ryan Truex. Michael Annet was also involved in the wreck and made an off road excursion through the grass tearing up his splitter.

Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag restart with only 10 laps remaining in the race . Before the lap was complete, Vinnie Miller got sideways and brought out the caution flag.

With only five laps remaining in the race, Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag restart and pulls out in front for the lead.

Daniel Suarez and Kyle Larson battle it out for the lead, Joey Logano makes it three wide.

Four to go Kyle Larson is in the lead.

There to go and the drivers are three wide through the field.

Elliott Sadler brings out the eighth caution flag when he gets loose and spins out after getting bumped.

With this caution, the race will go into overtime.

Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag and edges out for the lead of the race. Aric Almirola, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Joe Nemechek, Austin Dillon, Justin Allgaier, and Joey Logano were all involvoved in a big crash to bring out the caution flag and a second attempt at an overtime finish.

After leader Daniel Suarez ran out of fuel, Ryan Red takes over the lead of the race and will bring the field to the green flag.

Ryan Red brings the field down to green but Tyler Reddick takes over the lead. The caution fag comes out when Spencer Gallagher spins out. NASCAR will make a third attempt at a green/white/checker finish.

Ryan Truex is in the lead and will bring the field to green.

Tyler Reddick passes Truex for the lead of the race with Ryan Reed in second and Elliott Sadler in third; Ryan Truex is in fourth with Chase Elliott in fifth.

The caution flag comes out but there is a question of whether the caution flag came out before or after the white flag.

NASCAR has ruled that the caution flag came out before the white flag was waved and there will be a fourth attempt at a finish to the race after Kyle Larson, Ryan Ellis, and others were involved in a wreck.

The top five are Tyler Reddick, Ryan Reed, Elliott Sadler, Ryan Truex, and Chase Elliott.

Chase Elliott has been black flagged for a missing right side window. Elliott cannot return to the track until the window is replaced. He makes it before the race goes green.e

Tyler Reddick brings the field down to the green and edges out for the lead.

The caution flag comes out again…Dylan Lupton hits the wall after something breaks on the car.

The Xfinity Series has set a new record for cautions with 12 and marks the longest race at Daytona for the Xfinity Series. So far they have run 139 laps.

NASCAR has red flagged the race.

After a seven minute red flag, NASCAR puts out the caution flag and the cars begin moving around the track.

Tyler Reddick is in the lead but there are questions of whether the cars have enough fuel to finish the race.

Tyler Reddick brings the field to green and holds on to the lead but is challenged by Ryan Reed.

Tyler Reddick takes the white flag.

Ellitt Sadler passes Tyler Reddick but Reddick comes back to win the race in a photo finish.

The unofficial results of the PowerShares QQQ 300:
Tyler Reddick
Elliott Sadler
Ryan Reed
Kaz Grala
Garrett Smithley
Spencer Gallagher
Ryan Truex
Daniel Suarez
Ross Chastain
Brandon Jones
Jeff Green
Chase Elliott
Caesar Bacarella
Cole Custer
Stephen Leicht
Jeremy Clements
David Starr
J.J. Yeley
Matt Tift
Vinnie Miller
Ryan Sieg
Josh Williams
Joe Nemechek
Alex Labbe
Spencer Boyd
Daniel Hemric
Dylan Lupton
Chad Finchum
Kyle Larson
Ryan Ellis
Justin Allgaier
Austin Dillon
Joey Gase
Joey Logano
Aric Almirola
Brandon Brown
Michael Annett

Gray Gaulding
Christopher Bell
Austin Cindric