NASCAR
Jeremy Clements Wins Wreck-Filled Wawa 250 From Daytona
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Wawa 250 saw a popular underdog win blow up the Xfinity Series Playoffs. After an attrition-heavy race went into a third overtime, Jeremy Clements was out front when the final caution flag fell on the last lap. Five years after his maiden triumph at Road America, the 51 is back in victory lane.
Ty Gibbs and Noah Gragson split both Stages, as the 54 and 9 looked as stout as ever out front. This was especially true for Gragson, who led a race-high 52 laps. After being a relatively clean race, four major wrecks happened in the closing laps, triggering three separate overtime finishes.
The first big one of the night saw three of four JR Motorsports cars taken out of contention. While running second and third, AJ Allmendinger and Justin Allgaier were turned in front of the pack. Also taken out here were Josh Berry, Sam Mayer, and Ryan Sieg.
Trouble at the front of the field … and THREE @JRMotorsports cars are involved! pic.twitter.com/KjbV2pHALV
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) August 27, 2022
Not long afterwards, Daniel Hemric was spun from the top five, collecting many others at the start/finish line. This wreck sent the race into its first overtime.
An incident coming to the tri-oval sends us to #NASCAROvertime at @DAYTONA. pic.twitter.com/K08GI3hHnN
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) August 27, 2022
Overtime #1 saw a field-clearing crash behind the top two, as Brandon Brown was sent sideways through the pack. This only meant everyone re-racked and restarted again.
A crash on the backstretch brings out the yellow during #NASCAROvertime at @DAYTONA. pic.twitter.com/3oqUm50wDe
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) August 27, 2022
After a big push from Allmendinger, Noah Gragson was turned on the backstretch. This took out arguably the fastest car of the night, relegating the 9 to a dismal 22nd-place finish.
Here's a look at what happened during the second attempt of #NASCAROvertime. @NoahGragson and @landoncassill were among those involved. pic.twitter.com/d47B8hngpj
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) August 27, 2022
With hardly anyone left in the field, Austin Hill ran out of gas as the green flag fell. This gave Jeremy Clements a big lead, which Brandon Brown tried to close. At the white flag, Allmendinger was there, but a spinning Riley Herbst ended the race just after they took the white flag.
164 starts after what could have been the biggest underdog win in modern NASCAR, Jeremy Clements is victorious again at The World Center of Racing.
“I’m speechless, man—I don’t even know what to say,” said Clements, who grabbed a Playoff spot with the victory and shoved Ryan Sieg into 13th place in the standings, 12 points below the cut line. “We survived that big wreck back there (in the first overtime). It was like a ‘Days of Thunder’ wreck.
“Then I was like, ‘If we can just keep up with these guys, it’ll be a good day—top five and bring this car home in one piece.’ But, wow! This is incredible.”
The top 10 behind Clements were Timmy Hill, Allmendinger, Brandon Brown, Sage Karam, Ryan Vargas, Ty Gibbs, Alex Labbe, JJ Yeley, and Kyle Sieg. Hear from some of these finishers below.
“For a team like @MBMMotorsports this is a huge deal, we’re usually competing for top-20s,” says @TimmyHillRacer after finishing a career best 2nd at Daytona. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/t7OraLuVhA
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) August 27, 2022
“This sport’s based on big teams, but it’s little teams like them that make the sport go as well,” – @AJDinger with high praise on @JClements51’ win after he finishes 3rd. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/6TIqG4UfNF
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) August 27, 2022
“Everything was on the line today, that sucked,” @brandonbrown_68 says after being in contention for the win but finishing 4th at Daytona. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/WWPS1anExm
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) August 27, 2022
“It was a lot of fun,” says @SageKaram after a career-best 5th place result from Daytona. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/3XffNzjKnU
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) August 27, 2022
With the win, Clements knocks Ryan Sieg out of the Playoffs with three regular season races left. The Xfinity Series will return to action next Saturday at Clements’ home track of Darlington Raceway. Coverage of the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 will be at 3:00 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Meg Oliphant/Getty Images for NASCAR
