Race recap from Daytona: Justin Allgaier wins wild Wawa 250 by inches over Sheldon Creed

DAYTONA BEACH — The buildup is nothing, really, at least compared to February’s start of a brand new season, when several days of racing concludes with the splashiest race of all: The Daytona 500.

But NASCAR’s August return to Daytona will certainly carry a familiar sound — that initial blast of deep-lunged stock cars, followed by the slightly higher pitch as those cars come up to speed and begin clicking off lap after lap, with that checkered flag the ultimate and also familiar goal.

But first, qualifying.

Today’s on-track competition begins at 3 p.m. with single-car qualifying for tonight’s Xfinity Series “warmup act,” the Wawa 250, which gets the green flag around 7:30.

LIVE UPDATES FROM SATURDAY AT DAYTONA: Michael McDowell gets family Daytona celebration two and a half years later

Following Wawa 250 qualifying, at 5, will be Cup Series qualifying — also single-lap — for the 39 teams and cars entered for Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400, the 26th and final race of the series’ 2023 regular season. 

Mostly good news on the forecast front: Yes, continued heat and humidity, but no rain anywhere on the radar, and a little northeast breeze to help take the edge off a bit.

Drivers to watch: This 6-pack of playoff hopefuls looks to make a splash at Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona

Come back here for updates throughout the afternoon and evening.

Justin Allgaier finally wins at Daytona, beats Sheldon Creed in Wawa 250 by inches

Justin Allgaier, a longtime Xfinity Series fixture and championship threat, yet never a winner at Daytona, broke that 25-race winless streak Friday night by outrunning Sheldon Creed in a dramatic side-by-side dash through the East banking, off Turn 4, and through the frontstretch.

Allgaier won the Wawa 250 by just a few inches over Creed on the 10th overtime lap.

"I've wanted to win here so bad and we've been so close," said Allgaier, who drives the No. 7 Chevrolet JR Motorsports.

A restart with just two laps left didn't even make it to Turn 1 before trouble at the front of the field ignited a prototypical Daytona "Big One" and took out multiple cars, including Trevor Bayne's No. 19 Toyota.

After several caution laps, a two-lap overtime restart made it beyond Turn 1, and even Turn 2, but didn't reach Turn 3 before another multi-car crash littered the backstretch and East banking with sheet metal and crippled autos. This one took place in the middle of the pack, however.

Caution flies with Trevor Bayne leading and eight laps to go

After laps and laps of slicing and dicing, trouble finally found the field of the Wawa 250.

Jeb Burton got lose and spun, causing a chain reaction with cars far behind the lead pack getting together while trying to evade the spinning No. 22 car.

The caution flew with just eight laps remaining and Trevor Bayne, making his first NASCAR start of 2023, leading Justin Allgaier, Austin Hill, Parker Kligerman and Chandler Smith.

Creed wins wild Stage 2 ... by inches

Sheldon Creed took the Stage 2 win by about a hood length over teammate and Stage 1 winner Austin Hill, concluding a wild dash to the checkers after a crash thinned the field.

The Richard Childress teammates swept both stages with Creed finishing second in Stage 1. The opening stage was rather tame but the last 10 laps of Stage 2 was full of jostling for position with Trevor Bayne leading a couple of laps as well. He faded to seventh after being shuffled out of line.

Stage 2 results

Crash takes out several cars at lap 41

After a relatively stress free 30-plus laps, the racing intensified and the result was a multi-car incident that started with contact between Anthony Alfredo and Brandon Jones.

Jones was turned down into Brett Moffitt with both cars heading up the track, collecting others in the outside lane. At least 12 cars were involved also including Joey Gase, Alex Guenette, Kyle Weatherman, Connor Mosack and Natalie Decker with the caution waving.

Sheldon Creed is the leader just ahead of teammate Austin Hill, who won the first stage. Parker Kligerman, John Hunter Nemechek and Sam Mayer round out the top five.

Austin Hill wins Stage 1, Riley Herbst blows tire

Austin Hill, the pole sitter and two-time winner at Daytona in the Xfinity Series, dominated Stage 1 of Friday's Wawa 250, coming home first to earn 10 points and a playoff point.

Hill held of Richard Childress Racing teammate Sheldon Creed, Chandler Smith, Brett Moffitt and Anthony Alfredy for the stage win.

On the last lap, Riley Herbst, who'd been struggling with steering issues, blue a left front tire, causing major damage to his No. 98 car.

Stage 1 results:

Austin Hill leads from the pole as Wawa 250 goes green

Austin Hill, the winner of the last two February events at Daytona, claimed the pole and led the field to green as the Xfinity Series Wawa 250 went green on Friday evening.

Hill, Sammy Smith, Chandler Smith, Sheldon Creed and Daniel Hemric completed the top five after 7 of 100 scheduled laps.

NASCAR lineup for tomorrow: Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400

Xfinity Series Wawa 250 set to start

The weekend's Xfinity race is set to start with the national anthem and introductions officially over.

Austin Hill, the winner of the last two February events in the Xfinity Series at Daytona, will start from the pole. Last year, Jeremy Clements pulled a massive upset after a rain delay and three attempts at an overtime restart.

Stewart-Haas sweeps front row in Cup Series qualifying

Chase Briscoe won the first round of Cup Series qualifying and then took the pole on Friday for Saturday night's Coke Zero Sugar 400.

Briscoe turned in a time of 49.499 seconds to start from the point and was followed closely behind by Stewart-Haas teammate Aric Almriola, who will start second after a time of 49.534. Their laps were part of a strong performance for the organization with teammates Ryan Preece and Kevin Harvick qualifying ninth and 10th.

Ford accounted for seven of the top 10 cars, including a third-place effort from Harrison Burton. The Toyotas of Bubba Wallace and Ty Gibbs will start fourth and fifth.

Ford dominates opening round of Coke Zero Sugar 400 qualifying

Chase Briscoe led a strong qualifying effort from Stewart-Haas Racing, laying down the fastest lap as all four SHR cars made the final 10.

Joining Briscoe and teammates Kevin Harvick, Ryan Preece and Aric Almirola were three more Fords in Ryan Blaney, Riley Herbst and Harrison Burton. Rounding out the final 10 were the Toyotas of Bubba Wallace and Ty Gibbs and the lone Chevrolet of Kyle Larson, who has sat on the pole for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 in each of the last two events.

Coke Zero Sugar 400 Cup Series qualifying under way

Qualifying for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 got underway just after 5 p.m. on Friday afternoon with Chandler Smith hitting the track first in the No. 13 car.

It marks the first time qualifying was held for the event since 2018 with weather and COVID wiping out qualifying sessions ever since.

RACE TICKETS: Where can I find tickets to Wawa 250 and Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona? How much are they?

Austin Hill wins Daytona Xfinity Series qualifying pole, Wawa 250 starting lineup set

Austin Hill, winner of the last two spring Xfinity Series races at Daytona International Speedway, continued his dominance, winning the pole for the Wawa 250 on Friday afternoon. He will start from the point for the race later Friday night. It is Hill's third pole of the season.

The Richard Childress Racing driver, laid a lap of 49.256 in his No. 21 Chevrolet in the final round of qualifying, besting teammate Sheldon Creed by 0.298 seconds to claim the top spot. Sammy Smith, Chandler Smith and Parker Kligerman rounded out the top five.

Here is the starting lineup for Friday night's race:

Spring winner Austin Hill, Trevor Bayne make final round of Xfinity Series qualifying

The drivers that will contend for tonight's Wawa 250 pole are set after the first round of Xfinity Series qualifying.

Austin Hill, who won each of the last two races at Daytona in February, had the fastest first-round time with a lap of 49.371. Chandler Smith, Sheldon Creed, Sammy Smith and Parker Kligerman rounded out the top five.

Also advancing to the final round was Trevor Bayne, who is driving the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota. Bayne became the youngest NASCAR winner in history in 2011, pulling one of the biggest surprises in the sport's history by claiming victory in the Daytona 500. JGR announced Bayne as its driver earlier this week and it will mark his first race at Daytona since the 2018 Coke Zero Sugar 400 where finished 20th.

Completing the top 10 after the first round of Xfinity qualifying were Daniel Hemric, Justin Haley, Jeb Burton and points-leader John Hunter Nemechek.

Ricky Stenhouse gets his Daytona 500 victory slab

Ricky Stenhouse's Daytona 500 victory has officially been set in stone.

In February, the day after his win in the Great American Race, Stenhouse followed modern tradition and put his hand and foot prints in a slab of wet concrete. Friday, that slab was put in place in Daytona's "Walk of Fame" outside the Speedway's Ticket and Tours building, which also houses the Motor Sports Hall of Fame of America.

Stenhouse will take part in Coke Zero Sugar 400 qualifying tonight, and Saturday night will attempt to become the fifth racer to sweep both the Daytona 500 and summer race in the same year.

NASCAR odds: Who is favored to win Coke Zero Sugar 400?

Every week, away from the two superspeedways, you’ll get about three-to-six drivers paying under $1,000 for a $100 bet. This week at Daytona, for the Coke Zero Sugar 400, tell us how many you see.

Zippo. - Ken Willis

What is the weather in Daytona for Friday?

According to the latest weather reports just after 12 p.m., there's only a 3% chance of precipitation at the race track for the rest of the evening. For an event that has been historically hampered by rain, that's certainly good news.

But, make sure to bring your sunblock. The UV Index is at an 8, which is very high, and it should be sunny until sunset at 7:54 p.m. The high temperature should touch 90 degrees.

When is qualifying at Daytona?

Xfinity Series qualifying starts at 4 p.m., with NASCAR Cup Series qualifying set for 5 p.m.

What time is the Wawa 250?

7:30 p.m. Friday, August 25

USA Network (Channel 242 on DirecTV, Channel 105 on Dish)

What channel is Wawa 250 on TV and streaming?

TV: USA Network (Channel 242 on DirecTV, Channel 105 on Dish)

Live stream: Peacock ($5.99 per month), YouTube TV (2-week free trial), Hulu + Live TV (7-day free trial), fuboTV (7-day free trial)

How can I listen to Wawa 250 on radio?

Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM (Channel 90)

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR Xfinity race recap, Daytona: Wawa 250 goes to Justin Allgaier