XFINITY: Ryan Truex Wins as Allmendinger Crashes in Wild One at Daytona
Ryan Truex is a three-time race winner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series as he took the checkered flag under caution in an overtime finish to Friday night's Wawa 250 at Daytona International Speedway. The driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota GR Supra led six times on the night for 28 laps and took the lead for the final time on Lap 95 of the 102-lap event.
For the brother of 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Truex, his first superspeedway track triumph was a long time coming as the driver felt like he had put himself in a position to win multiple times at Daytona and Talladega in the past, only to come up empty.
"I feel like I've always been good at restrictor plate, or tapered spacer, or whatever you want to call it -- superspeedway racing. From when I first did it way back when I was 18, I felt like I understood it, and could do it well," Truex explained in his post-race press conference. "I didn't make a lot of mistakes, but when I did, it was with two [laps] to go, and then you're pretty much out of luck at that point."
The 32-year-old part-time racer, who still doesn't know where he'll be racing next season, hopes recording his second win in eight starts this year will raise his stock in the free agent driver market.
"No. As of right now, I don't have anything done or signed or I don't really know, at all. So, this helps for sure," Truex said when asked where he stood as far as his 2025 plans.
Truex continued, "To win, you know, it wasn't like we lucked into it or there was a huge wreck. We controlled the whole race, and I was able to lead lanes and make blocks, and do all of the things you have to do to win these races. Yeah, I feel like to do this, and then to win Dover, at two completely different tracks, completely different styles, yeah, I feel like it should raise my stock for sure."
Truex's victory was sealed when Parker Kligerman made contact with AJ Allmendinger in Turn 1 while fighting for the second position behind Truex on the final lap of the race. The contact from Kligerman sent Allmendinger spinning to the inside of the track, and then the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet skidded back across the track in front of oncoming traffic and finally slammed hard into the outside wall.
A look at the contact between AJ Allmendinger and Parker Kligerman that brought out the yellow to end the race. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/FckZTqRYtQ
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 24, 2024
Kligerman said that while he hated that contact from him took Allmendinger out of the race, he felt that Allmendinger moved down into him as he was making a move to get around Allmendinger.
""I hate it. AJ and I, we were the best two that weren't Toyotas all day. And I just had a run, and I had to go, and I felt it was a run I had to take to put myself on the bottom to win this race. I felt the bottom was going to win it into [Turn] 4. I don't know what to do there," Kligerman explained. "I hate it. I love him like a brother. He and I have been in this for a long time together, and I don't want to turn someone like that."
Allmendinger didn't have much to say after the last-lap crash, which wiped out his potential shot at the win, and caused him to finish 24th.
"Had a shot to win, and didn't," Allmendinger said.
In the chaos, Chandler Smith, Truex's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, was able to squeak by Kligerman for the runner-up position as the field was frozen for the caution.
Kligerman came home in third, while Riley Herbst, and Ryan Sieg finished fourth and fifth.
For Sieg, the solid run continued to bolster his NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff hopes. The driver of the No. 39 RSS Racing Ford Mustang has climbed into the final Playoff berth spot on the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff Grid by 15 points over Sammy Smith, who suffered a disappointing 23rd-place finish after being involved in a Lap 77 multicar accident.
Four races remain until the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff field is set.
Jordan Anderson continues to show his proficiency on superspeedway tracks in a part-time role for his own Jordan Anderson Racing team. The 33-year-old, who finished fourth in the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway, came home sixth this time around in the No. 32 Chevrolet Camaro.
Justin Allgaier, who won last weekend's NASCAR Xfinity Series Cabo Wabo 250 at Michigan International Speedway, came home in the seventh position ahead of Sheldon Creed, rookie Leland Honeyman, and Kyle Weatherman who rounded out the top-10 finishers in the race.
Friday night's race was marred by five multicar crashes, the first of which set the tone for the night on Lap 1. Heading into Turn 3, Jeremy Clements got a bump draft from Jeffrey Earnhardt, which sent him spinning out of control. As Clements spun across the track, several drivers, including Austin Hill, a two-time race winner this season. As Hill got swept up in the crash, he was then t-boned by Alpha Prime Racing's Ryan Ellis, who had nowhere to go.
BIG CRASH ON LAP ONE IN THE XFINITY RACE!#NASCAR | USA Network pic.twitter.com/5u2SAmpziV
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 23, 2024
Two really big wrecks, one on Lap 77 and the other on Lap 95, sent the race into Overtime, where the race would ultimately end under caution with the incident between Kligerman and Allmendinger.
After Friday night's race at Daytona, which left many with twisted body panels, and anger, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will head to Darlington Raceway next weekend for the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200. That race is set for Saturday, August 31 at 3:30 PM ET. USA Network will carry the television broadcast of that event, while the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry the radio call.
Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.