Haley crosses line first, Larson awarded victory at Daytona
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—Kyle Larson claimed victory in unusual fashion in the Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 Friday night at Daytona International Speedway.
Larson was declared the winner, but was not the first driver across the finish line.
While exiting Turn 4, Kyle Larson and Elliott Sadler were side-by-side for the win. Justin Haley made a bold move to the bottom of the racetrack and passed Larson and Sadler for the lead and crossed the line first.
The pass was deemed illegal moments after the race because Haley’s No. 24 machine advanced position below the yellow line.
It was Larson’s third win of 2018 and 11th of his XFINITY Series career.
Rounding out the top five were Elliott Sadler, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, and Kaz Grala.
Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney tied for leading the most laps in the Friday night event at 39. Along with the race victory, Larson also finished first in Stages 1 and 2.
William Byron, the defending race winner, did not compete in the event.
Sadler now leads the point standings by 12 points over Daniel Hemric.
The series heads North to the Bluegrass State of Kentucky for the Alsco 300 at Kentucky Speedway next Friday, July 13th.
SOURCES
Racing-Reference.info
Matt Courson View All
Matt Courson is the Managing Editor for The Racing Experts. Courson has covered NASCAR events at 19 of the 23 active racetracks. When not at the track, the 20-year-old Journalism major enjoys spending time with family and playing Ingress.