The Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola went down Friday evening at Daytona International Speedway, featuring the top racers of the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The second-highest division of NASCAR racing, the race represented an opportunity for prospective talents to prove their ability and earn a ride in the Cup Series. For race winner Ryan Truex, the victory may have been exactly what he needed.
“Thanks to these fans, it’s so amazing to race here,” Truex said after the win. “I don’t get to race that often and I don’t know what I’m going to do next year. It’s all a work in progress. Just a great car [tonight].”
The younger brother of Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr, Ryan Truex has so far been unable to land a permanent job racing in NASCAR. His 2024 campaign, running part-time for Toyota juggernaut Joe Gibbs Racing, has been a major breakthrough – Truex has won two of his eight starts so far. And with the wins coming at Daytona and at Dover Motor Speedway, he’s proven he can win on vastly different types of racetrack.
Truex secured the win simply by leading on the final lap when a multi-car crash kicked off, ending the race immediately. The field made one attempt to finish the race under green flag conditions, but the caution flag on the last lap froze the field where they were and clinched the win for Ryan. Just behind, contact between A.J. Allmendinger and Parker Kligerman caused the former to swerve down to the apron, and then up into the outside SAFER barrier. Truex, the leader, drove his #20 Toyota to victory under caution.
“I just had a run and I had to go, I felt it was the run I had to take to put myself on the bottom if I was going to win this race,’’ Kligerman said. “I love him like a brother, he and I have been in this a long time together.”
The wreck on the final lap was hardly the only chaos to strike during Friday’s race. On the first lap of the race multiple cars crashed, causing severe damage to surefire contenders like Austin Hill, who’s won three out of his last five Daytona starts. Multiple other dramatic wrecks thinned the field further, leaving nine cars retired by race’s end.
Truex’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Chandler Smith, finished second to complete a 1-2 sweep by JGR. Kligerman was scored third, followed by Riley Herbst in fourth and Ryan Sieg in fifth. A.J. Allmendinger went from the top three to 24th because of the last-lap crash.
Final Finishing Order
- Ryan Truex – #20 Certified Collision Center Toyota
- Chandler Smith – #81 QuickTie Toyota
- Parker Kligerman – #48 Big Machine Spiked Coolers Chevrolet
- Riley Herbst – #98 Monster Energy Ford
- Ryan Sieg – #39 Sci Aps Ford
- Jordan Anderson – #32 – Volpi Foods Chevrolet
- Justin Allgaier – #7 Hellmann’s / Sam’s Club Chevrolet
- Sheldon Creed – #18 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota
- Leland Honeyman – #42 Cornerstone Produce Chevrolet
- Kyle Weatherman – #91 Wawa Chevrolet
- Josh Williams – #11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet
- Joe Graf Jr. – #19 Reagan The Movie Toyota
- Sam Mayer – #1 Carolina Carports Chevrolet
- Blaine Perkins – #29 Crocodile Cloth Ford
- Kyle Sieg – #28 North Country Ford Ford
- Brennan Poole – #44 CW & Sons / Clark’s Chevrolet
- Jeb Burton – #27 State Water Heaters Chevrolet
- Patrick Emerling – #07 Flood Brothers Chevrolet
- C.J. McLaughlin – #14 Main Street Auto Chevrolet
- Joey Gase – #53 Ford
- Jesse Love – #2 Whelen / NFFF Chevrolet
- Brandon Jones – #9 Menards / Turtle Wax Chevrolet
- Sammy Smith – #8 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet
- A.J. Allmendinger – #16 Campers Inn RV Chevrolet
- Shane Van Gisbergen – #97 Safety Culture Chevrolet
- Anthony Alfredo – #5 Dude Wipes Chevrolet
- Jeremy Clements – #51 One Stop / All South Electric Chevrolet
- Jeffery Earnhardt – #26 ForeverLawn / Big Studios Toyota
- Caesar Bacarella – #45 Prime Bites Brownie Chevrolet
- Josh Bilicki – #92 Wawa Chevrolet
- Austin Hill – #21 Bennett / Global Industrial Chevrolet
- Cole Custer – #00 Fanttik Ford
- Matt DiBenedetto – #38 ReMA Ford
- Parker Retzlaff – #31 FUNKAWAY Chevrolet
- Tim Viens – #74 AWS Roofing / Brand X Marine Chevrolet
- Gus Dean – #15 Airbox Ford
- Ryan Ellis – #43 Classic Collision Chevrolet
- Akinori Ogata – #35 YKK Chevrolet
