Truex wins the Xfinity Series race at Daytona for his 2nd victory in 8 starts this season

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Ryan Truex won the Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway on Friday night, taking the checkered flag under caution following an overtime finish.

Truex would have secured a playoff spot with the victory, but he’s ineligible because he’s a part-time driver for Joe Gibbs Racing. Still, this will be a memorable milestone because it’s his third Xfinity Series win in 98 starts and his first at Daytona.

Truex now has two wins in eight starts this season in the second-tier series. Those might come in handy since he's looking for a full-time ride for 2025.

He took the lead during a green-white-checkered restart and held off AJ Allmendinger over the penultimate lap. The race ended when Allmendinger tried to block Parker Kligerman low, got turned sideways and ended up hitting the wall.

Truex’s JGR teammate Chandler Smith finished second, with Kligerman, Riley Herbst and Ryan Sieg rounding out the top five. Allmendinger was 24th.

Kligerman climbed out of his Chevrolet and slammed his fist on his roof in disappointment.

“I just had a run, and I had to go,” Kligerman said. “I thought it was a run I had to take to put myself on the bottom to win this race. … I don’t know what to do there. I love him like a brother. I don’t want to turn someone like that.”

Eight drivers entered the night with solid holds on playoff spots: Justin Allgaier, Cole Custer, Smith, Austin Hill, Shane Van Gisbergen, Herbst, Jesse Love and Sam Mayer.

Allmendinger, Sheldon Creed, Sammy Smith and Kligerman were in position to get the final four berths. But all of them wanted to win to eliminate any questions about their postseason fates.

The race featured two multicar crashes in the final 25 laps, including one that collected Love, Smith and Brandon Jones. The other one brought out a red flag and set up an overtime shootout.

No one had much for Truex off the restart.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing