Reaume Brothers Racing (RBR) will be fielding three full-time entries for the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season.
The news comes as RBR took to social media on Thursday, January 9, to reveal its acquisition of the No. 2 from Rev Racing. As a result, RBR’s newly formed No. 2 Ford F-150 entry will be fielded alongside the Nos. 22 and 33 entries for the entire Truck schedule this upcoming season. While the drivers of the Nos. 2 and 22 entries remain to be determined, the team confirmed in mid-October that Frankie Muniz, a former actor and ARCA Menards Series competitor from Wood-Ridge, New Jersey, will pilot the No. 33 Ford entry for his first full-time Truck campaign in 2025.
The 2025 season will mark RBR’s eighth consecutive year participating in the Truck Series. This past season, Lawless Alan piloted the team’s No. 33 Ford entry on a full-time basis, where he recorded a fifth-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway in October before he finished 24th in the final driver’s standings. RBR also fielded the No. 22 Ford on a full-time basis, where the entry was piloted between nine competitors, and the No. 27 Ford on a part-time basis, the latter of which was driven between Muniz, Stephen Mallozzi and Keith McGee.
Through a combined 250 starts, RBR entries have achieved a total of two top-five results, four top-10 results, three laps led and an average-finishing result of 26.5 as they strive to gain a competitive edge for the upcoming Truck season.
We have acquired the #2 and will be running 3 full time trucks đ see you at Daytona here soon! đ #2025 pic.twitter.com/hWoBg59a4p
Over the previous two Truck seasons, Rev Racing fielded the No. 2 as a full-time Chevrolet Silverado RST entry for Nick Sanchez, the 2022 ARCA Menards Series champion. After Sanchez captured the 2023 Rookie-of-the-Year title, he claimed his first two series victories at Daytona International Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway this past season. Sanchez would also make the Playoffs during both seasons and notched a career-best fifth place in the final standings in 2024.
Entering the 2025 season, Sanchez has graduated to the Xfinity Series and is set to drive the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro entry for Big Machine Racing. Meanwhile, Rev Racing’s status of competing in the Truck Series for the 2025 season remains to be determined. The status of veteran crew chief Kevin “Bono” Manion, who was atop the No. 2 Rev Racing pit box in 2024, is also unknown.
The 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season for Reaume Brothers Racing is scheduled to commence at Daytona International Speedway on February 14, with the event’s broadcast time to commence at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
Ty Majeski stormed to his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship by securing a dominant victory in the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on Friday, November 8.
After starting on the pole, the 30-year-old Majeski from Seymour, Wisconsin, led a race-high 132 of 150-scheduled laps in the season-finale event. He led the first 38 laps before he was overtaken by Championship 4 contender Corey Heim. Majeski finished the first stage in second place at the conclusion of the first stage. He regained the lead during the first stage’s pit stop period and before the start of the second stage, Majeski prevailed after a mid-stage battle with Heim on the track to claim the second stage victory.
Majeski would then lead the field to the start of the final stage period with 52 laps remaining. During three caution periods due to on-track carnages and three restart periods throughout the final stage, Majeski retained the lead through every restart period. He executed the final one with 27 laps remaining to his advantage as he motored away from Heim along with Championship 4 finalists Christian Eckes and Grant Enfinger. Majeski capped off the 2024 season with his third Craftsman Truck Series victory this year and his first championship in his third full-time series campaign.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Championship 4 finalist Ty Majeski claimed the final pole position of the 2024 season and the sixth of the season with a pole-winning lap at 138.180 mph in 26.053 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Championship 4 finalist Corey Heim, who clocked in his best qualifying lap at 138.021 mph in 26.083 seconds. Christian Eckes and Grant Enfinger, the remaining two Championship 4 finalists, lined up in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Before the event, Lawless Alan dropped to the rear of the field in a backup after he wrecked his primary truck during the finaleâs qualifying session.
When the green flag waved and the finale commenced, the field fanned out through the frontstretchâs dogleg as Ty Majeski led the way through the first two turns. Majeski pulled away through the backstretch and led the first lap. His Championship 4 rivals Corey Heim and Christian Eckes followed suit in second and third, respectively.
Over the next four laps, Majeski stretched his early advantage to more than a second over Heim and Eckes while Nick Sanchez and Stewart Friesen followed suit in the top five. Behind, Dean Thompson retained sixth place ahead of Connor Mosack, Championship 4 finalist Grant Enfinger, Kaden Honeycutt and rookie Layne Riggs. Conner Jones, Chase Purdy, Rajah Caruth, Tyler Ankrum and the Gray brothers of Tanner and Taylor were racing in the top 16.
Through the first 10-scheduled laps, Majeski continued to lead by two seconds over Heim while third-place Eckes trailed by three-and-a-half seconds. Behind, Sanchez and Friesen remained in the top five. Enfinger, who lost three spots despite starting in fifth place, was up to seventh place behind Thompson. Majeski stabilized his lead to more than two seconds over Heim and by nearly six seconds over Eckes 10 laps later as Enfinger drove his way back to fifth place behind Sanchez.
At the Lap 30 mark, Majeskiâs lead decreased to six-tenths of a second over Heim as the latter started to close in on the former for the top spot. Majeski slightly increased his lead to nine-tenths of a second over Heim at the Lap 35 mark before Heim assumed the lead from Majeski entering the backstretch on Lap 39. By then, Eckes retained third place and trailed the lead by more than four seconds. Enfinger retained fifth place behind Sanchez but trailed the lead by more than 10 seconds.
On Lap 41, the finaleâs first caution period flew when Frankie Muniz got bumped by William Sawalich as he slid sideways in Turn 3 as Heim barely avoided McGeeâs sideways truck. Munizâs incident was enough for the first stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 45, to officially conclude under caution as Heim claimed his 10th Truck stage victory of the 2024 season. Majeski, Eckes, Sanchez and Enfinger followed suit in the top five while Thompson, Mosack, Riggs, Conner Jones and Friesen were scored in the top 10.
Under the stage break, they pitted for the first round of pit service. Following the pit stops, Majeski reassumed the lead as he exited pit road first. He was followed by Eckes, Heim, Sanchez and Enfinger. Amid the pit stops, Heim endured slow pit service after he was forced to reverse his No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro into his pit stall to ensure his pit crew could change the left-side tires. Enfinger barely clipped his rear tire changer while entering his pit stall.
The second stage period started on Lap 54 as Majeski and Eckes occupied the front row. The field fanned out through the frontstretchâs dogleg as Majeski and Eckes dueled for the lead. Majeski would then use the outside lane to muscle his No. 98 Road Ranger Ford F-150 ahead and gain the lead through the first two turns as Heim muscled through into second place ahead of Eckes and Sanchez. As the field continued to fan out through the backstretch, Majeski led the next lap over Heim while Eckes, Sanchez, Thompson and Enfinger followed suit in the top six.
On Lap 58, the caution returned when Jack Wood, who was racing outside the top 25, got sideways after making contact with Bayley Currey who was racing in a three-wide battle with Matt Crafton. It resulted in Wood spinning and backing his No. 91 Mongoose Chevrolet Silverado RST into the outside wall in Turn 2. The incident and damage to the rear end of Woodâs truck were enough to make Wood the first retiree of the finale. During the caution period, Crafton and Daniel Dye pitted while the rest of the field, led by Majeski, remained on the track.
As the event restarted under green on Lap 64, a four-wide battle for the lead ensued between Majeski, Heim, Sanchez and Thompson through the frontstretchâs dogleg. Heim muscled ahead from the inside lane entering the first two turns and Majeski closed to Heimâs rear bumper entering the backstretch. Majeski tried to make a move beneath him, but Heim transitioned to the outside lane and fended off Majeski to retain the lead. With Heim leading the race, Majeski retained second ahead of Sanchez and Eckes while Riggs moved up into the top five. Riggs then challenged Eckes for fourth place while Mosack, Enfinger and Thompson closed in from sixth to eighth, respectively. By then, Thompson was penalized for a restart violation.
At the halfway mark on Lap 75, Majeski, who overtook Heim for the lead five laps earlier despite making contact with the latter, extended his advantage to more than a second over Heim. Sanchez, in third place, trailed by more than two seconds. Behind, Riggs and Eckes trailed in the top five ahead of Mosack, Friesen, Enfinger, Taylor Gray and Purdy. Ben Rhodes, Rajah Caruth, Tanner Gray, Conner Jones, Kaden Honeycutt, Daniel Dye, William Sawalich, Tyler Ankrum, Matt Crafton and Stefan Parsons followed suit in the top 20.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 90, Majeski had stretched his advantage to more than three seconds and captured his seventh Truck stage victory of the 2024 season. Heim followed suit in second while Riggs, Sanchez, Eckes, Mosack, Enfinger, Taylor Gray, Friesen and Rhodes were scored in the top 10.
During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Majeski returned to pit road for service. After the pit stops, Majeski retained the lead after he exited pit road first while Sanchez, Eckes, Riggs, Heim, Mosack, Taylor Gray, Enfinger, Caruth and Tanner Gray followed suit in the top 10. Amid the pit stops, Crafton was penalized for improper fueling to his No. 88 Menards Ford F-150.
With 52 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Majeski and Sanchez occupied the front row. At the start, the field fanned out through the frontstretchâs dogleg as both Sanchez and Majeski dueled in front of the field entering the first two turns. Majeski and Sanchez would continue to duel for the lead entering the backstretch in front of Heim and Riggs before Mosack, who was racing in the top six behind Eckes, ran up the track and hit the outside wall.
As the field scattered to avoid hitting Mosack, Tyler Ankrum then got bumped by Sawalich as he spun his No. 18 LiUNA! Chevrolet Silverado RST back across the middle of the backstretch, which triggered a multi-truck wreck that involved Sawalich, Andres Perez de Lara, Stefan Parsons, Friesen, Frankie Muniz, Spencer Boyd and rookie Thad Moffitt. The carnage was enough to place the finale in a red flag period for more than six minutes. By then, Heim, who restarted in fifth place and had moved up to third place before the caution, was penalized for a restart violation, after he steered his No. 11 Safelite Toyota to the left and below the frontstretch’s apron before reaching the start/finish line.
Once the red flag lifted and the field proceeded under a cautious pace, some of the drivers, including Mosack, Friesen and Currey, pitted while the rest of the field, led by Majeski, remained on the track.
The next restart period began with 43 laps remaining and featured Majeski as he fended off Sanchez, Eckes and Riggs through the frontstretchâs dogleg and the first two turns. Majeski proceeded to lead Riggs through the backstretch while Sanchez, Taylor Gray, Enfinger, Caruth and Eckes all followed suit. Meanwhile, Heim, who restarted 19th after serving his penalty, was up to 16th place. As Heim proceeded to climb his way into the top 14, Majeski held a narrow lead over Riggs with 40 laps remaining as Sanchez, Taylor Gray, Enfinger and Eckes followed suit in the top six.
Shortly after, the caution returned when Conner Jones, who was racing in 11th place, spun in Turn 2 after he made contact with teammate Jake Garcia amid close-quarters racing and was nearly hit by teammate Ben Rhodes while sliding towards the outside wall. The incident occurred in front of Heim, who made his way into 11th place. During the caution period, some of the drivers, including Enfinger and Eckes, pitted while the rest, led by Majeski, remained on the track.
During the next restart period with 33 laps remaining, Majeski and Riggs led the field to the start as Majeski muscled ahead from the outside lane through the frontstretchâs dogleg. Heim went to the apron to gain spots towards the top-five mark entering the first two turns, as Majeski muscled away from the field entering the backstretch. But the caution quickly returned as Riggs made contact with Sanchez in a battle for the runner-up spot and spun his No. 38 Loveâs Travel Stops Ford F-150 in Turn 2. Nathan Byrd also spun as he jammed on the brakes to avoid Riggs.
The following restart period with 27 laps remaining featured Majeski muscling ahead of a three-wide battle for the runner-up spot. Heim, Sanchez and Daniel Dye battled through the frontstretchâs dogleg and the first two turns before Heim muscled his way into the runner-up spot entering the backstretch. As the field fanned out, Majeski led the following lap ahead of a hard-charging Heim while Sanchez, Eckes and Dye were in the top five.
Meanwhile, Enfinger was mired in ninth place as Majeski stretched his advantage to a second over Heim. Eckes would then charge his No. 19 NAPA Chevrolet Silverado RST into third place on the track. With his fresh tires and only 24 laps remaining, it placed three Championship 4 finalists in the top three on the track while Dye was assessed a restart violation penalty.
Down to the final 20 laps of the finale, Majeski was leading both the race and the championship battle by more than a second over Heim while third-place Eckes trailed by more than two seconds. Meanwhile, Enfinger was in sixth place behind Sanchez and Taylor Gray while Honeycutt, Mosack, Tanner Gray and Rhodes were in the top 10.
Five laps later, Majeski added another second to his advantage as he led by more than two seconds over Heim while Eckes trailed in third place by three-and-a-half seconds. By then, Enfinger moved his No. 9 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RST up to fifth place despite trailing the lead by more than seven seconds. Majeski, who was posting the fastest lap times on the track, continued to extend his advantage to more than three seconds over Heim with 10 laps remaining.
With five laps remaining, Majeski stabilized his advantage to more than four seconds over Heim while Eckes continued to trail in third place by five seconds. Meanwhile, Enfinger trailed in fifth place on the track by nine seconds while Sanchez was mired in fourth place.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Majeski remained in the lead both in the race and the championship battle by more than four seconds over Heim. Heim was unable to narrow the gap between himself and Majeski for a final lap charge. Majeski smoothly navigated his No. 98 Road Ranger Ford F-150 around the Phoenix circuit for a final time before he returned to the frontstretch to claim the checkered flag and win both the race and his first Truck Series championship.
With his first title, Majeski also claimed his sixth career race victory and became the 21st competitor overall to win a championship in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series division. He was also the third consecutive Ford competitor to win a Truck championship in recent seasons and the seventh to achieve a first title under the seriesâ current inception of the Playoff-elimination format.
Majeski also delivered both the sixth Truck driverâs championship and the third ownerâs championship for ThorSport Racing while veteran crew chief Joe Shear Jr. notched his second title in the series.
The 2024 season marks the fourth time over the previous seven seasons that the championship-winning competitor won the season-finale event on a schedule and the third time over the last five seasons that it occurred at Phoenix Raceway. Majeski’s 2024 championship comes in his third full-time Truck season driving for ThorSport Racing, a team whom Majeski drove for in select events in 2021 before he was elevated to a full-time ride in 2022.
Photo by Ron Olds for SpeedwayMedia.com.
âGod, I canât believe it,â Majeski said on the frontstretch on FS1. âJust huge thank you to [team owners] Duke and Rhonda Thorson. Joe Shear Jr., heâs one bad dude. This is so much fun racing with this group. So proud to have the opportunity to drive these great race trucks. Thereâs a lot of time in my career where this [championship] looks like a far dream and Duke and Ronda really gave me my third opportunity after I had two opportunities that failed. Man, I canât thank them enough. We have had a lot of ups and downs and just so proud of these guys.â
During his championship interview, Majeski, a five-time ARCA Midwest Tour champion who grew up competing in late models and short-track events, evoked an inspiring message to short-track racers striving to emerge as a future NASCAR champion.
â[Winning]âs possible,â Majeski said. âYou just need to find a way to set yourself apart from everybody else. I did that by working in the shop. [I] Started as an engineer at ThorSport [Racing] in 2021 with three or four races, didnât know what it was going to turn into and now, weâre champions. Man, this is special. Weâre going to celebrate this one.â
As Majeski celebrated both the race victory and his first championship on the stage with his team, the remaining three Championship 4 finalists including Corey Heim, Christian Eckes and Grant Enfinger were left disappointed on pit road as the trio fell short of winning their first title in the series.
Heim, the driver of the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota entry, ended up in the runner-up spot both on the track and in the final standings and was left surprised by the late restart violation penalty. He admitted though that he could not keep pace with Majeski to battle for the title amid his late-race rally. Heim, who capped off the season with a series-leading six victories, will return to the Truck Series with TRICON Garage for the 2025 season as he strives to make another run for his first championship.
âItâs hard to even be upset,â Heim said. âI did almost everything right except for that restart violation, but we were able to get our track position back pretty quick and make the most of it. I just had nothing for [Majeski] all day. He was so fast. Iâm just proud of myself for not driving through the fastest truck like I drove through last year by [Carson] Hocevar and weâre going to go with our heads up high. A six-win season, career highs for myself, my team, organization, everybody. Just one sport short of the championship.â
Meanwhile, the late pit stops for both Eckes and Enfinger did not pay dividends for either driver as Eckes settled in third place on the track and in the final standings while Enfinger came home in fifth place on the track and fourth place in the final standings.
â[I] Just didnât have enough today,â Eckes, who achieved four race victories, a season-high 11 stage victories and is set to graduate to the Xfinity Series with Kaulig Racing in 2025, said. â[Majeski] and [Heim] were just stronger than us. We threw a Hail Mary with the tires and I thought for a second I would be able to catch them and just didnât have enough. I wish we could have finished [the season] off with a championship, but just came up a little short. So proud of my guys and weâll move on to 2025.â
âHonestly, [I needed] just more speed,â said Enfinger, who notched back-to-back victories during the Round of 8 and will be remaining with CR7 Motorsports for the 2025 Truck Series season.
âReally proud of the CR7 Motorsports group. All weâve overcome all year. I feel like we came here with the right mindset, the right game plan and honestly, pretty much the right execution for the stuff in our control. We just flat out didnât have the speed tonightâŚIt is a special year. Definitely disappointing performance for us tonight, but overall, proud of everything we did. We just flat out didnât have the short-run speed. I think after 15 laps, we were respectable, but just couldnât go on the short run.â
Nick Sanchez finished in fourth place, which was enough to settle in fifth place in the final standings and his final campaign in the Truck Series with Rev Racing as he is set to move up to the Xfinity Series with Big Machine Racing in 2025. Taylor Gray, Kaden Honeycutt, Connor Mosack, Ben Rhodes and Layne Riggs, the latter of whom claimed the 2024 Truck Series Rookie-of-the-Year title, completed the top 10 in the final running order.
There were seven lead changes for three different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 43 laps. In addition, 22 of 35 starters finished on the lead lap.
Results.
1. Ty Majeski, 132 laps led, Stage 2 winner
2. Corey Heim, 16 laps led, Stage 1 winner
3. Christian Eckes
4. Nick Sanchez
5. Grant Enfinger, two laps led
6. Taylor Gray
7. Kaden Honeycutt
8. Connor Mosack
9. Ben Rhodes
10. Layne Riggs
11. Tanner Gray
12. Chase Purdy
13. Rajah Caruth
14. Jake Garcia
15. Dean Thompson
16. Brett Moffitt
17. Conner Jones
18. Stewart Friesen
19. Matt Crafton
20. Dawson Sutton
21. Bayley Currey
22. Timmy Hill
23. Stefan Parson, one lap down
24. Daniel Dye, one lap down
25. Matt Mills, two laps down
26. Nathan Byrd, three laps down
27. Thad Moffitt, three laps down
28. Spencer Boyd, four laps down
29. Keith McGee, four laps down
30. Lawless Alan, four laps down
31. Andres Perez de Lara â OUT, Accident
32. William Sawalich â OUT, Accident
33. Tyler Ankrum â OUT, Accident
34. Frankie Muniz â OUT, Accident
35. Jack Wood â OUT, Accident
*Bold indicates championship finalists
Final standings
1. Ty Majeski
2. Corey Heim
3. Christian Eckes
4. Grant Enfinger
5. Nick Sanchez
6. Taylor Gray
7. Rajah Caruth
8. Tyler Ankrum
9. Ben Rhodes
10. Daniel Dye
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series teams and competitors enter an off-season period before returning to action at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, on February 14, 2025, for a new season of competition.
Reaume Brothers Racing has announced that Frankie Muniz will join the team for three races this season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Muniz will take part in three NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events at Nashville Superspeedway, Bristol Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway.
He will also compete at Michigan International Speedway in August in the ARCA Menards Series for the team.
Video from Black Flags Matter
Muniz has raced part-time in the Xfinity Series this season for Emerling-Gase Motorsports where his best finish was 30th at Phoenix Raceway for the Call811.com Every Dig. Every Time. 200.
Last year he had a great season in the ARCA Menards Series for Rette Jones Racing and led the points standings for a long time, showing that he could race well with his opponents and demonstrating good car control.
It will be exciting to see how well Muniz does in the Truck Series as he continues to build his resume in NASCAR with Ford and Reaume Brothers Racing.
You can watch Muniz in his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut behind the wheel of the No. 22 Ford F-150 at Nashville Superspeedway, on Friday, June 28Â at 8 p.m. ET on FS2.
Austin Hill rallied from three different circumstances that sent him to the rear of the field to commence a new season of NASCAR Xfinity Series competition on a victorious note three years in a row by winning the rain-postponed United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway on Monday, February 19.
The 29-year-old Hill from Winston, Georgia, led nine of 120 scheduled laps in an event where he shared the front row with new teammate and series newcomer Jesse Love. After being edged by Love at the conclusion of the first stage period, Hill was involved in a multi-car wreck at the start of the second stage period that sent him to the rear of the field. He would rally with cosmetic damage to his No. 21 Richard Childress Racing entry by winning the second stage but would hit another obstacle by being nabbed with a speeding penalty on pit road during the stageâs break period that sent him to the rear of the field for a second time. After rallying from that, he would hit a third obstacle by pitting during a late caution period with approximately 20 laps remaining to address a flat tire to his entry.
Amid the three issues that sent him to the rear of the field, Hill capitalized on two late-race caution periods and late-race carnages to draft Jordan Anderson to the lead during the final restart with three laps remaining before he assumed the lead. He would then fend off late challenges from Sheldon Creed, Chandler Smith and Brandon Jones to muscle away from the field and notch his third consecutive victory in the Xfinity Seriesâ opener at Daytona.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, February 17, newcomer Jesse Love secured his first Xfinity career pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 181.079 mph in 49.702 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate Austin Hill, who clocked in the second-best qualifying lap at 181.068 mph in 49.705 seconds.
Prior to the event, Dawson Cram and BJ McLeod were sent to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries. In addition, Sage Karam would start at the rear of the field due to an engine change to his No. 26 Sam Hunt Racing entry.
When the green flag waved and the 2024 Xfinity Series commenced, Love muscled his No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro ahead with the lead from the outside lane and ahead of teammate Hill entering the first two turns. With the field stacked amid two tight-packed lanes through the backstretch, Love, who transitioned from the inside to the outside lane to keep Hill behind him, proceeded to lead the first lap. He would proceed to lead the ensuing laps while keeping teammate Hill behind him amid the draft. By then, a majority of the field migrated to a long single-file line towards the outside wall while some led by AJ Allmendinger raced on the inside lane.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Love was leading a bevy of competitors running in a long single-file line towards the outside wall while teammate Hill, Parker Kligerman, Justin Allgaier, Anthony Alfredo, Sammy Smith, John Hunter Nemechek, Sheldon Creed, Jeb Burton and Daniel Suarez were scored in the top 10. Behind, Ryan Truex was in 11th followed by Riley Herbst, Cole Custer, Brandon Jones and AJ Allmendinger while Sam Mayer, Daniel Dye, Parker Retzlaff, Shane van Gisbergen and Hailie Deegan rounded out the top 20.
Just past the Lap 20 mark and with the majority of the field still running in a long single-file line on the outside lane, Love also continued to lead ahead of teammate Hill, Kligerman, Allgaier and Alfredo. By then, Sammy Smith, Nemechek, Creed, Burton and Truex were running in the top 10 ahead of Custer, Brandon Jones, Allmendinger, Dye and Retzlaff while van Gisbergen moved up to 16th as Herbst fell back to 17th.
Then on Lap 22, the eventâs first caution flew when Suarez, who stepped off the gas to avoid running into the rear of van Gisbergen, got bumped and turned into the outside wall entering Turn 1, where he then spun back across the track and clipped Sam Mayer as Mayer hit the outside wall head-on. Hailie Deegan and Kyle Weatherman would also be involved, with all four competitors being eliminated early from contention.
During the eventâs first caution period, some led by Love remained on the track while others led by Allgaier pitted for service.
With the event restarting for a one-lap dash to the conclusion of the first stage period on Lap 29, teammates Love and Hill dueled for the lead in front of the field that was fanning out to three tight-packed lanes through the first two turns and the backstretch. When the field returned to the frontstretch to complete the first stage period on Lap 30, Love was able to edge Hill by a hair to claim the first stage victory. Hill ended up second followed by Kligerman, Alfredo and Burton while Creed, Nemechek, Allmendinger, Allgaier and Ryan Truex were scored in the top 10.
Under the stage break, some led by Love pitted while the rest led by Allmendinger remained on the track. During the pit stops, Alfredo was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation.
The second stage period started on Lap 35 as Allmendinger and Allgaier occupied the front row. At the start, Allmendinger received an early push from Herbst to muscle his No. 16 Celsius Chevrolet Camaro ahead with the lead through the backstretch until Allgaier muscled ahead from the inside lane entering Turns 3 and 4. He would be followed by Cole Custer and Blaine Perkins as the field behind fanned out to three lanes.
Then during the following lap, where Allgaier was pinned in a tight three-wide battle for the lead against Custer and Perkins, the caution returned after Love, who was running in the top 10 but mired in the middle lane amid a stacked field, got loose in front of Nemechek, where he spun, clipped Allmendinger and triggered a multi-car wreck that collected van Gisbergen, Kligerman, Daniel Dye, Alfredo, Josh Williams, Frankie Muniz, Jeremy Clements and Hill, who spun towards the backstretchâs infield, but managed to keep his No. 21 Bennett Chevrolet Camaro away from the inside wall as he proceeded with cosmetic damage.
Following the second carnage of the night, the event proceeded under green on Lap 42, where Allgaier muscled ahead on the outside lane from Stewart-Haas Racingâs Custer and Riley Herbst. Not long after, Custer and Herbst pinned Allgaier in a three-wide battle for the lead as Custer muscled ahead in his No. 00 Haas Ford Mustang from the inside lane. Custer would proceed to lead the next lap, Lap 44, as the field fanned out to three tight-packed lanes while Allgaier was trying to regain ground from the inside lane.
On Lap 44, however, Allgaier, who attempted to draw even with Custer for the lead entering the backstretch, went up the track and bumped against Custer sending Allgaierâs No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro spinning towards the backstretchâs infield as Garrett Smithley also spun.
When the race restarted on Lap 48, teammates Parker Retzlaff and Jeb Burton zipped by Custer from the inside lane through the first two turns as Clements tried to follow suit. Burton would then move his No. 27 Golden Corral Chevrolet Camaro in front of Clements to be drafted into the lead from Retzlaff during the next lap, with Retzlaff and Clements getting shuffled out of the lead draft while Hill muscled his way back to the front with a bandaged race car.
Following another caution period on Lap 50, where Nemechek spun his No. 20 Pye Barker Toyota Supra across the frontstretch after losing a left-rear tire as Josh Bilicki also got bumped and spun, the event restarted under green on Lap 56, where Burton maintained a brief lead over Ryan Sieg and Hill before he would be pinned in a three-wide battle with Hill and Sheldon Creed for the lead. Following the battle, Hill was back atop the leaderboard during the following lap.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 60, Hill fended off Sammy Smith and Creed to capture the stage victory. Sammy Smith edged Creed for the runner-up spot while Custer, Sieg, Ryan Truex, Herbst, Allgaier, Allmendinger and Brandon Jones were scored in the top 10.
During the stage break, a bevy of names led by Hill pitted while the rest led by teammate Love remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Hill, who slid through his pit box, was penalized and sent to the rear of the field for speeding while entering pit road.
With 54 laps remaining, the final stage commenced under green as Love and Sammy Smith occupied the front row. At the start, Sammy Smith muscled his No. 8 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet Camaro into the lead from the inside lane while Love was left to battle Creed for the runner-up spot in front of two stacked lanes. Smith would proceed to lead the next four laps until Herbst moved his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang into the lead from the outside lane, where he would lead the next four laps.
With 45 laps remaining, select names led by Hill and including teammate Love, Leland Honeyman and Kligerman peeled off the racetrack to pit under green before more names led by Allmendinger and including Sammy Smith, Clements, Daniel Dye, van Gisbergen and Jordan Anderson pitted. Over the next several laps, more names pitted while three names led by Natalie Decker and including Ryan Ellis and Garrett Smithley remained on the track to inherit the top three spots with less than 40 laps remaining.
With 33 laps remaining, Ellis assumed the lead followed by Smithley as Decker dropped to third, though all have yet to pit. Meanwhile, Herbst, the first competitor who pitted, was in fourth and leading a bevy of competitors that fanned out to three lanes.
Then with 24 laps remaining, the caution flew after contact from van Gisbergen sent Jeb Burton spinning entering the frontstretch. By then, Ellis, Smithley and Decker remained on the track as the top-three leaders while Ryan Sieg was the lead competitor of those who pitted followed by Herbst, Custer, Chandler Smith, Hill and Truex. During the caution period, some led by Ellis, Smithley and Decker pitted while the rest, led by Sieg, remained on the track. Not long after, Hill would pit under caution due to a flat tire on his entry.
During the next restart with 18 laps remaining, Sieg received a draft from Herbst to muscle away from Chandler Smith and retain the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. The caution, however, quickly returned after Retzlaff made contact with Clements exiting the backstretch and ignited another multi-car wreck that included Honeyman, Smithley, van Gisbergen and Burton.
The start of the next restart with 11 laps remaining featured Herbst and Sieg dueling for the lead through the first two turns and through the backstretch as the field slowly started to fan out to three lanes by the time the front-runners returned to the frontstretch. Not long after, however, Herbst was penalized for a restart violation, where he was laying back prior to the restart zone.
Two laps later and a three-wide battle between Herbst, Anderson and Chandler Smith ignited, the caution returned after Karam, who was being drafted at full speed by Allmendinger, bumped and sent Custer into the backstretchâs outside wall, where he then veered back to the left and clipped Karam into the wall as another multi-car wreck ensued that collected Poole, Daniel Dye, Allgaier and Custer, where all four were sent sliding and slamming into one another towards the infieldâs grass before the former two slid back across the track. By then and with Herbst out of contention by falling back to the tail of the field, Anderson was scored the leader followed by Chandler Smith, Hill, Sieg and Retzlaff.
As the event restarted with three laps remaining, Chandler Smith muscled into the lead on the inside lane followed by Sieg and Truex. Not long after, Anderson was drafted by Hill into the lead through the backstretch. Hill, however, seized an opportunity to veer to the right and overtake Anderson entering Turns 3 and 4 while Chandler Smith, Retzlaff and Truex followed suit amid the draft. Hill would maintain the lead over Chandler Smith, Truex and a hard-charging Brandon Jones during the next lap followed by Creed as the field began to fan out and scramble to the front.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Hill remained as the leader ahead of ex-teammate Creed, who muscled his way into the runner-up spot followed by Sieg and Sammy Smith while Chandler Smith was losing momentum on the outside lane. Then as the field navigated through the first two turns, Sammy Smith and Sieg made contact that resulted with both along with Truex wrecking. The race, however, remained under green flag conditions as Hill remained ahead of Creed and a scattered field with the lead. With Creed unable to gain any draft or momentum for one final turn, Hill was able to smoothly navigate his way around Turns 3 and 4 with a comfortable advantage at full speed before he returned to the frontstretch and claimed his third consecutive checkered flag at Daytona to commence a new season of competition.
With the victory, Hill achieved his seventh NASCAR Xfinity Series career victory in his 82nd seriesâ start and his fifth on a superspeedway venue as he also became the first competitor to achieve three consecutive Xfinity Daytona opener victories since Tony Stewart made the last accomplishment from 2008-10, with Stewart proceeding to win a fourth consecutive opener in 2011. Compared to his two previous season-opening victories at Daytona that ended under caution, Hill earned this yearâs victory under green flag conditions. The Daytona victory was also the ninth overall in the Xfinity circuit for Richard Childress Racing.
â[Tonightâs victory] tops it all,â Hill said on FS1. âThree-peat. You know how hard it is to win at Daytona? God almighty! I donât know what was going on with me on pit road today, but my guys just kept telling me, âLook, man, dig deep; youâre really good at these superspeedways.â I tried to screw it up on pit roadâsped on pit road, slid through the box, about slid through the box on the first stop, but man, this Bennett Chevrolet was fast as Xfinity 10G, thatâs for damn sure. I donât even know what time it is. I know itâs past my bedtime, but weâre about to party tonight, I can tell you that. I am so stoked. This is incredibleâŚit canât get any better.â
Creed settled in the runner-up spot for the eighth time in his career and in his first event driving for Joe Gibbs Racing while Retzlaff, Jordan Anderson and Chandler Smith finished in the top five.
Herbst rallied his way to finish sixth while Nemechek, Allgaier, Brandon Jones and Allmendinger completed the top-10 finishing order on the track.
Notably, Ryan Ellis ended up 11th after leading 11 laps followed by newcomer Shane van Gisbergen, Cole Custer, Blaine Perkins and BJ McLeod. In addition, Natalie Decker settled in 18th and pole-sitter Jesse Love ended up 20th while Ryan Truex, Ryan Sieg and Sammy Smith ended up 21st through 23rd, respectively, following their last-lap accident.
There were lead changes for different leaders. The race featured cautions for laps. In addition, 22 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the first event of the 2024 Xfinity Series season, Austin Hill leads the regular-season standings by 11 points over Sheldon Creed, 24 over Riley Herbst, 25 over both Parker Retzlaff and Justin Allgaier, and 26 over Jordan Anderson.
Results.
1. Austin Hill, nine laps led, Stage 2 winner
2. Sheldon Creed, two laps led
3. Parker Retzlaff, six laps led
4. Jordan Anderson
5. Chandler Smith, one lap led
6. Riley Herbst, eight laps led
7. John Hunter Nemechek
8. Justin Allgaier, eight laps led
9. Brandon Jones
10. AJ Allmendinger, three laps led
11. Ryan Ellis, 11 laps led
12. Shane van Gisbergen
13. Cole Custer, six laps led
14. Blaine Perkins
15. BJ McLeod
16. Garrett Smithley
17. Patrick Emerling
18. Natalie Decker, seven laps led
19. Brennan Poole
20. Jesse Love, 34 laps led, Stage 1 winner
21. Ryan Truex
22. Ryan Sieg, 12 laps led
23. Sammy Smith, one lap down, six laps led
24. Anthony Alfredo, two laps down
25. Parker Kligerman, two laps down
26. Jeb Burton, two laps down, eight laps led
27. Daniel Dye, three laps down
28. Sage Karam â OUT, Accident
29. Jeremy Clements â OUT, DVP
30. Leland Honeyman â OUT, Accident
31. Dawson Cram â OUT, Accident
32. Josh Bilicki â OUT, Accident
33. Frankie Muniz â OUT, DVP
34. Josh Williams â OUT, Accident
35. Daniel Suarez â OUT, Accident
36. Sam Mayer â OUT, Accident
37. Hailie Deegan â OUT, Accident
38. Kyle Weatherman â OUT, Accident
With the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series season underway, the next event on the schedule is Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia, for the RAPTOR King of Tough 250. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, February 24, and air at 5 p.m. ET on FS1.
