The NASCAR Xfinity Series’s season opener ended in chaos on Saturday after a last-lap crash in overtime led to a dramatic victory by Austin Hill at Daytona International Speedway.
A spin from JR Motorsports driver Brandon Jones with two laps to go sent the wild race into a two-lap overtime to determine the outcome. With JRM’s Justin Allgaier clinging to first place, teammate Sam Mayer attempted to move to the outside and surge ahead of Allgaier on the backstretch.
Allgaier swiftly blocked Mayer’s attempt, causing his No. 1 car to make contact with Hill’s trailing No. 21 Chevrolet, flip upside down and skid across the track with sparks flying in every direction. The devastating crash forced a caution flag as Allgaier (No. 7), Hill and John Hunter Nemechek (No. 20) emerged out of the fracas in a toe-to-toe battle to decide the winner.
After a review, officials declared Hill as the victor after determining he was the leader when the caution was called. Nemechek and Allgaier finished in second and third place, respectively.
With the win, Hill, 28, notched his second consecutive season-opening win at Daytona, and the third Xfinity Series victory in his career.
NASCAR later announced Mayer was not injured in the crash and received clearance to be released from the infield care center following an evaluation. Mayer checked in with his team and fans with a message on Twitter soon thereafter.
“Welp @DAYTONA ya got me… super proud of my team tonight, had a helluva car,” he tweeted.
NASCAR also released an image of the shot officials used to determine the outcome, giving fans a clear look at how close all three drivers were to victory. Needless to say, Saturday’s season opener gave NASCAR fans an unforgettable precursor to Sunday’s Daytona 500.
