Event Recap: 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series Statistics from Daytona (February 17, 2018)

Event statistics following the season-opening race of the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series race, the PowerShares QQQ 300 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Tyler Reddick earned his second career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory in a marathon, 143-lap race, which featured five overtime periods. He outlasted two-time defending series runner-up Elliott Sadler and two-time race winner Ryan Reed to win the race, adding to his 2015 win in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.

Race Statistics

PowerShares QQQ 300

Daytona International Speedway – Daytona Beach, Florida

- Winner (starting position): Tyler Reddick (9th)

- Top Five: Tyler Reddick, Elliott Sadler, Ryan Reed, Kaz Grala, Ryan Truex

- Full Results: Tyler Reddick, Elliott Sadler, Ryan Reed, Kaz Grala, Ryan Truex, Garrett Smithley, Ross Chastain, Alex Labbe, Caesar Bacarella, Daniel Suarez, Cole Custer, Spencer Gallagher, Jeff Green, Jeremy Clements, J.J. Yeley, David Starr, Stephen Leicht, Brandon Jones, Matt Tifft, Vinnie Miller, Josh Williams, Chase Elliott, Ryan Sieg, Joe Nemechek, Dylan Lupton, Spencer Boyd, Daniel Hemric, Kyle Larson, Ryan Ellis, Chad Finchum, Justin Allgaier, Austin Dillon, Joey Gase, Joey Logano, Aric Almirola, Brandon Brown, Michael Annett, Gray Gaulding, Christopher Bell, Austin Cindric

- Laps Completed: 143

- Race Leaders: 11

- Laps Led: Kyle Larson (61), Joey Logano (28), Chase Elliott (17), Tyler Reddick (11), Daniel Hemric (7), Daniel Suarez (5), Aric Almirola (4), Ryan Reed (3), Ryan Truex (3), Elliott Sadler (2), Garrett Smithley (2)

- Pole Position: Daniel Hemric (189.310; 47.541 seconds)

- Hard Charger: Kaz Grala (+23; 27th to 4th)

- Margin of Victory: 0.314 seconds

- Car Count: 40

- Cars Entered: 46

- Cars Running at Finish: 27 (of 40; or 68 percent of the field)

- Drivers to Finish on Lead Lap: 23

- Cautions: 12 for 49 laps

- Average Speed: 119.100 mph

- Lead Changes: 19

- Stage Winners: Kyle Larson (1), Chase Elliott (2)

- Weather at Start of Race: 78 degrees Fahrenheit, mostly sunny, winds SW 11 mph

- Weather at End of Race: 78 degrees Fahrenheit, fair, winds SSW 6 mph

- Manufacturer Breakdown: Chevrolet (25); Toyota (8); Ford (7)

Notes of Interest – Race/Weekend Recap

- This was Tyler Reddick’s second career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory and first of the 2018 season. It marked his first at Daytona International Speedway.

- Reddick has now won races in two consecutive seasons. He won his first series race last year at Kentucky Speedway.

- Reddick now has Daytona victories in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series. He joins Mike Wallace and Kyle Busch as the only three drivers to win races in both series. Busch is the only driver to win races in those two series as well as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona.

- Reddick was one of 12 drivers to lead the race – he led a total of 11. He has now led four races and 98 laps in his Xfinity Series career.

- This marks Chevrolet’s second consecutive series victory at Daytona and first in the 300-mile race since 2016. This is Chevrolet’s 26th win in the season-opening Daytona race. Chevrolet has won 36 of the 53 Xfinity Series races at Daytona.

- The PowerShares QQQ 300 at Daytona dates back to 1959. Reddick is the 31st driver to win the race. Dale Earnhardt and Tony Stewart hold the record for most wins in the event with seven.

- Elliott Sadler finished second, marking his career-best finish in the race and tying his best series result at Daytona. He now has three runner-up finishes at the track – two in the summer race and one in the spring race.

- Sadler’s finish gave JR Motorsports a 1-2 finish in the race.

- Ryan Reed finished third, his third finish in the top three in this race. He won the event in 2015 and 2017. He was the highest-running Ford.

- Kaz Grala finished fourth in his series debut. He was the only driver in the top five not to lead a lap.

- Garrett Smithley completed the top-five, the first of his career. He led two laps, the most in a single race of his career, and third career race in which he’s led at least one lap.

- Other drivers earning their career-best finish in this race were Spencer Gallagher (6th); Ryan Truex (7th); Daniel Suarez (tied best finish of 8th); Ross Chastain (tied best finish of 9th); Caesar Bacarella (13th; first race at Daytona); Cole Custer (14th); Stephen Leicht (15th); Vinnie Miller (20th; first race at Daytona); Josh Williams (22nd; first race at Daytona); Alex Labbe (24th; first race at Daytona); Spencer Boyd (25th; first race at Daytona); Daniel Hemric (26th); Dylan Lupton (27th); Chad Finchum (28th; first race at Daytona); Ryan Ellis (30th); Brandon Brown (36th); Gray Gaulding (38th; first race at Daytona); Christopher Bell (39th; first race at Daytona); and Austin Cindric (40th; first race at Daytona).

- Joe Nemechek competed in his 35th Xfinity Series race at Daytona, the most of any driver in the field. He has only missed four of the Xfinity season-opening races at Daytona since 1990 – 2003, 2008, 2015 and 2017.

- Daniel Hemric won his second career pole position and first at Daytona.

- A total of 20 drivers improved on their starting position in the race, including each of the top-five finishers.

- The next race will be Saturday, February 24, with the Rinnai 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia.