NASCAR XFINITY SERIES RACE RECAP
United Rentals 300 | Daytona International Speedway
McQUEEN SURVIVES DAYTONA CHAOS IN XFINITY DEBUT AS AUSTIN HILL CLAIMS OPENER
LOGAN McQUEEN III BATTLED BACK FOR A TOP FIVE FINISH AFTER GETTING CAUGHT UP IN THE BIG ONE
Daytona International Speedway never grants easy introductions, and for Logan McQueen III, Saturday night’s United Rentals 300 served as a harsh, thrilling, and invaluable welcome to the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Under the lights, amid packed grandstands and a field stacked with veterans and hungry young guns, McQueen rolled off for his first Xfinity Series start carrying championship expectations from his Truck title, and the weight of proving he belonged.
After struggling with speed in qualifying and rolling off 33rd McQueen and his Peak Motorsports team made it clear that they weren't happy with just finishing the race.
From the drop of the green flag, the race unfolded in familiar Daytona fashion. Tight packs. Aggressive drafting. Constant tension.
McQueen’s No. 55 Chevrolet stayed clean through early turbulence, navigating multiple lanes with patience rather than desperation. While several contenders found trouble in the opening stage, McQueen survived, learning the rhythm of superspeedway racing at a new level.
Then, late in the first stage McQueen got tangled up in a big wreck and faded toward the back of the grid before fighting back for a 24th place finish in the first stage.
The rest of the night was all about picking spots, bold pit stop strategy and fighting back into the top ten.
McQueen finished 17th in stage two.
As the laps wound down, the intensity escalated.
A late multi-car incident thinned the field and set up a chaotic green, white, checkered sprint to the finish. McQueen and crew chief Alex Ward rolled the dice and elected to stay out, claiming the poll on the restart. While the Peak Motorsports team knew they didn't have the pace to hold onto the lead they were hopeful to be able to stay in the draft enough for a top five and that's exactly what they got, settling in behind Eric Almirola and Jesse Love for a fourth place finish.
For McQueen it's his career best finish at a track that he has historically struggled at.
“When you come here as a rookie in whatever series and you maybe don't have the best equipment and the pace in qualifying you're starting out in the back and it's a fight here so we're real happy with this finish, the crew dominated, Alex made all the right calls and we managed to stay out of trouble after that big one. Great weekend here.” McQueen said after the race, all smiles.
Official Results | United Rentals 300 | Daytona International Speedway | Race 1 of 31
| Pos | Driver | Mfr | Team | Interval |
|---|
| 1 | Austin Hill | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing | — |
| 2 | Aric Almirola | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | +0.097 |
| 3 | Jesse Love | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing | +0.178 |
| 4 | Logan McQueen III | Chevrolet | Peak Motorsports | +0.242 |
| 5 | Harrison Burton | Ford | AM Racing | +0.246 |
| 6 | Dean Thompson | Toyota | Sam Hunt Racing | +0.264 |
| 7 | Ryan Truex | Toyota | Sam Hunt Racing | +0.307 |
| 8 | Daniel Dye | Chevrolet | Kaulig Racing | +0.362 |
| 9 | Christian Eckes | Chevrolet | Kaulig Racing | +0.434 |
| 10 | Connor Zilisch | Chevrolet | JR Motorsports | +0.522 |
| 11 | Sheldon Creed | Ford | Haas Factory Team | +0.531 |
| 12 | Brandon Jones | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | +0.534 |
| 13 | Parker Retzlaff | Chevrolet | Alpha Prime Racing | +0.614 |
| 14 | Sam Mayer | Ford | Haas Factory Team | +0.621 |
| 15 | Jeb Burton | Chevrolet | Jordan Anderson Racing | +0.703 |
| 16 | Matt DiBenedetto | Chevrolet | Viking Motorsports | +0.705 |
| 17 | William Sawalich | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | +0.769 |
| 18 | Nick Sanchez | Chevrolet | Big Machine Racing | +0.773 |
| 19 | Jeremy Clements | Chevrolet | JCR | +0.791 |
| 20 | Brennan Poole | Chevrolet | Alpha Prime Racing | +0.839 |
| 21 | Justin Allgaier | Chevrolet | JR Motorsports | +0.907 |
| 22 | Taylor Gray | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | +0.925 |
| 23 | Josh Bilicki | Chevrolet | DGM Racing | +0.992 |
| 24 | Joey Gase | Chevrolet | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | +1.310 |
| 25 | Sammy Smith | Chevrolet | JR Motorsports | +1.403 |
| 26 | Ryan Ellis | Chevrolet | DGM Racing | +1.500 |
| 27 | Ryan Sieg | Ford | RSS Racing | +1.561 |
| 28 | Corey Day | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | +1.633 |
| 29 | Josh Williams | Chevrolet | Kaulig Racing | +1.716 |
| 30 | Chad Finchum | Ford | MBM Motorsports | +1.799 |
| 31 | Anthony Alfredo | Chevrolet | Young’s Motorsports | +1.868 |
| 32 | Preston Pardus | Chevrolet | PRS | +1.898 |
| 33 | Blaine Perkins | Chevrolet | SS-Green Light Racing | +1.985 |
| 34 | Mason Massey | Chevrolet | Alpha Prime Racing | +2.184 |
| 35 | Carson Kvapil | Chevrolet | JR Motorsports | +2.275 |
| 36 | Garrett Smithley | Chevrolet | SS-Green Light Racing | +2.283 |
| 37 | Greg Van Alst | Chevrolet | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | +2.368 |
| 38 | Kyle Sieg | Ford | RSS Racing | +2.387 |
Logan McQueen III — Daytona Recap
| Driver | Qualified | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Finish | Pts |
|---|
| Logan McQueen (#55) | 33 | 24 | 18 | 4 | 33 |
They Said It
Logan McQueen III: “That was about surviving, learning, and respecting the moment. Daytona doesn’t give you anything, you earn it. I’m proud of this team.”
Austin Hill: “That’s how you start a season. We executed when it mattered and stayed clean.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: “For a guy making his Xfinity debut, McQueen raced with patience. That’ll take him a long way.”
Next Up: Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 | EchoPark Speedway | Atlanta, GA
