The NASCAR Xfinity Series season opener ended with sparks flying, an upside down car and a video review.
In the final round of the Beef 300, 19-year-old Sam Mayer seemed in line for his first career Xfinity win after Justin Allgaier closed a huge gap at the white flag. Allgaier’s team-mate Mayer passed him on the outside and briefly took the lead, but didn’t have enough space to get back in the middle.
Contact with the nose of Austin Hill’s car caused Mayer to skid and roll over (video above). After a NASCAR review, Hill was deemed to be in the lead at the time of the warning flag and took home the win, his second straight win at the event. John Hunter Nemechek was second while Allgaier was third.
Further replays showed how wild the crash was:
It was a chaotic end to a chaotic race that went into overtime because of Brandon Jones Spin on lap 119. Hill led at race level for 38 laps according to NASCAR, but it was a narrow gap between him and Nemechek that allowed him to go back-to-back at Daytona:
“As soon as the warning lights came on, I thought I had it, but it was so close,” Hill said. “To be back-to-back here in Daytona is really something special. That’s three wins for me now, two in the Xfinity, one here in the truck. We came from behind twice.”
For Mayer, it was a missed opportunity, not to mention the biggest crash he’d ever experienced, he said Bob Pockrass from Fox:
“It’s been a few years since I’ve been upside down… That was probably the hardest lick I’ve done and I thought I took the hardest I could.” It was harder, so I think there’s always a higher ceiling somewhere.”
Fortunately, Mayer was not injured in the crash.
JR Motorsports has had better races. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)