Practice #1 : Daytona International Speedway

• Daytona International Speedway
• United Rentals 300
• Pole Winner: Jesse Love
• Age: 19
• Team : No. 2 - Whelen Chevrolet
• Owner: Richard Childress Racing
• Crew Chief: Danny Stockman, Jr
• Jesse Love won the Pole Award for the United Rentals 300 with a lap of 49.702 seconds, 181.079 mph.
• This is his first pole in his first start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series becoming the 14th different driver to accomplish the feat.
• This is his first pole and first top-10 start in 2024.
• This is his first pole in his track debut at Daytona International Speedway.
• Austin Hill (second) posted his first top-10 start of 2024 and his fourth in six races at Daytona International Speedway.
• AJ Allmendinger (third) posted his fourth top-10 start at Daytona International Speedway. It is his first this season.
• Jesse Love (first) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
• Jesse Love is the third youngest driver in the NASCAR Xfinity Series to win a pole at Daytona International Speedway at 19 years, 1 month, 3 days; behind Dylan Kwasniewski (18) and Bryan Clauson (19).

• Monday, February 19th, 2024
• NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer

Austin Hill wins third straight NASCAR Xfinity opener at Daytona

While other NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers were competing, and crashing, in Monday night’s United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway, Austin Hill was playing a different game — Monopoly.

At the 2.5-mile superspeedway roughly two miles away from Atlantic Avenue, Hill beat former teammate Sheldon Creed to the finish line by 0.591 seconds to earn his third straight victory in the Xfinity season opener at the World Center of Racing.

The third win came on Monday because of weekend-long rain that forced NASCAR to reschedule the race from Saturday afternoon. The event served as the second leg of a doubleheader with the DAYTONA 500, which was postponed from Sunday and won by William Byron.

Hill has now owned Victory Lane at Daytona long enough to build a house there.

“It tops it off—three-peat,” Hill exclaimed. “You know how hard it is to win at Daytona? God almighty!”

Not that the driver of the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet didn’t have his share of adversity. Hill overcame an early wreck on Lap 37 of 120, a flat tire and a self-destructive bent on pit road.

He crossed the finish line in a car that was heavily taped on the right front, but none of the obstacles could stop him from displaying his superiority on superspeedways once again.

“I don’t know what was going on with me on pit road today,” Hill said. “But my guys just kept telling me, ‘Look, man, dig deep; you’re really good at these superspeedways.’ I tried to screw it up on pit road—sped on pit road, slid through the box…

“I don’t even know what time it is. I know it’s past my bedtime, but we’re about to party tonight, I can tell you that.”

After pitting with a flat tire on Lap 97, Hill restarted 22nd but quickly worked his way forward. Two more cautions helped, and after lining up third for the final restart on Lap 118, he made quick work of Jordan Anderson and Chandler Smith ahead of him.

Hill was out front by more than a car-length when Ryan Sieg spun behind him off Turn 2 on the final lap. From that point, Hill simply had to steer his car to the finish line and won by a comfortable margin.

Parker Retzlaff ran third, one spot in front of his owner/driver Anderson.

“The little team that could is getting bigger,” Anderson said proudly.

Chandler Smith came home fifth, followed by Riley Herbst, John Hunter Nemechek, Justin Allgaier, Brandon Jones and AJ Allmendinger.

The race featured nine cautions for 44 of the 120 laps. There were 19 lead changes among 14 different drivers., with Sunoco rookie Jesse Love, the pole winner, leading a race-high 32 laps from the opening green flag.

Love, however, suffered more damage in the Lap 37 wreck than did his RCR teammate Hill. He finished 20th in an aerodynamically-challenged Chevrolet.

New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen, winner of last year’s NASCAR Cup Series Chicago Street Race, drove his battered Kaulig Racing Chevrolet to a 12th-place finish in his Xfinity debut.

• Drivers Entered: 44 (6 drivers will not make the race)
• Laps Scheduled: 120
• Margin of Victory: 0.591 Seconds
• Time of Race: 2 Hours 46 Minutes 29 Seconds
• Average Speed: 108.119
• Cautions: 9 for 44 laps
• Lead Changes: 19
• Green Flag Passes: 3,994 (52.6 passes per green flag lap)

• Daytona International Speedway
• United Rentals 300
• Race Winner: Austin Hill
• Age: 29
• Team : No. 21 - Bennett Transportation Chevrolet
• Owner: Richard Childress Racing
• Crew Chief: Andy Street
• Austin Hill won the United Rentals 300, his seventh victory in 82 NASCAR Xfinity Series races.
• This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in 2024.
• This is his third victory and third top-10 finish in six races at Daytona International Speedway.
• Sheldon Creed (second) posted his third top-10 finish in six races at Daytona International Speedway. It is his first top-10 finish in 2024.
• Parker Retzlaff (third) posted his third top-10 finish in three races at Daytona International Speedway.
• Shane Van Gisbergen (12th) was the highest finishing rookie.
• Austin Hill is the third driver to win three or more consecutive Daytona International Speedway season-openers (2022, 2023, 2024); joining NASCAR Hall of Famers Dale Earnhardt ? (1990, 1991, 1992, 1993) and Tony Stewart (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011).