By David Morgan, Associate Editor
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Ryan Truex brought home the victory Friday night at Daytona International Speedway, surviving overtime to capture his second NASCAR Xfinity Series win of the season in the Wawa 250.
Midway through the second stage, the younger Truex brother, driving the No. 20 Toyota on a part-time basis for Joe Gibbs Racing asserted himself into the lead for the first time all night and would remain a fixture among the leaders for the duration of the race.
Truex and Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger would combine to lead the majority of the second half of the race, with Truex pacing the field for 28 of those laps in his red and white Toyota Supra.
With five laps remaining in regulation, Truex would take over the lead from Allmendinger with a push from the Ford of Riley Herbst, setting the stage for a battle brewing between Truex and Herbst and Allmendinger and his dancing partner Parker Kligerman.
When the caution flag flew for the sixth time on the night for a six car crash in Turn 4, the race was red flagged and forced to overtime with the showdown between the four drivers looming once the race resumed.
Truex would have Herbst pushing him from the low lane, with Allmendinger and Kligerman taking the high lane for the two-lap dash to the finish.
In all the chaos of the restart, Truex would be able to hold the lead steady despite being disconnected from his pusher, while Allmendinger and Kligerman had fallen in line behind him just biding time to make their move.
Coming into Turn 1 after taking the white flag, Kligerman ducked low to make his move from third, but Allmendinger reacted and tried to go with him, causing Allmendinger to get the worst of the deal, spinning through the infield grass.
Truex was able to escape still in the lead as the green was still displayed and challenges were mounting behind him.
However, the caution would fly by the time the field made it to the backstretch, freezing the field and delivering Truex his second win of 2024 in just his eighth start.
Climbing from his car in celebration, Truex explained that he didn’t really have a plan for the overtime restart, but things have a way of working themselves out in the end.
“I didn’t really have one to be honest. I couldn’t figure out if I wanted the top or the bottom. I restarted on both lanes and felt like neither of them were great, but I fell back in 2018 – I had the lead, and I…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at NASCAR – Motorsports Tribune…