# 2023 Wawa 250

The 2023 Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola was the 24th stock car race of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the 22nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Friday, August 25, 2023, in Daytona Beach, Florida at Daytona International Speedway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) permanent quad-oval shaped superspeedway. The race was originally scheduled to be contested over 100 laps, but was extended to 110 laps due to several NASCAR overtime attempts. In a wild race that saw numerous wrecks with under 10 laps to go, Justin Allgaier, driving for JR Motorsports, would hold off Sheldon Creed in a photo finish to earn his 21st career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, and his second of the season. Allgaier would beat Creed by 0.005 of a second, tying the fourth closest finish in Xfinity Series history. To fill out the podium, Creed, driving for Richard Childress Racing, and Daniel Hemric, driving for Kaulig Racing, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

## Background

The race was held at Daytona International Speedway, a race track located in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since its opening in 1959, the track has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts ARCA, AMA Superbike, USCC, SCCA, and Motocross races. It features multiple layouts including the primary 2.5 miles (4.0 km) high speed tri-oval, a 3.56 miles (5.73 km) sports car course, a 2.95 miles (4.75 km) motorcycle course, and a .25 miles (0.40 km) karting and motorcycle flat-track. The track's 180-acre (73 ha) infield includes the 29-acre (12 ha) Lake Lloyd, which has hosted powerboat racing. The speedway is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.
The track was built in 1959 by NASCAR founder William "Bill" France, Sr. to host racing held at the former Daytona Beach Road Course. His banked design permitted higher speeds and gave fans a better view of the cars. Lights were installed around the track in 1998 and today, it is the third-largest single lit outdoor sports facility. The speedway has been renovated three times, with the infield renovated in 2004 and the track repaved twice — in 1978 and in 2010. On January 22, 2013, the track unveiled artist depictions of a renovated speedway. On July 5 of that year, ground was broken for a project that would remove the backstretch seating and completely redevelop the frontstretch seating. The renovation to the speedway was done by Rossetti Architects. The project, named "Daytona Rising", was completed in January 2016, at a cost of US $400 million, placing emphasis on improving fan experience with five expanded and redesigned fan entrances (called "injectors") as well as wider and more comfortable seating with more restrooms and concession stands. After the renovations, the track's grandstands included 101,000 permanent seats with the ability to increase permanent seating to 125,000. The project was completed before the start of Speedweeks.

### Entry list

* (R) denotes rookie driver.
* (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
| # | Driver | Team | Make | Sponsor |
| 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | Haas Automation |
| 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | Tim McGraw: Standing Room Only |
| 02 | Blaine Perkins (R) | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | AUTOParkIt |
| 2 | Sheldon Creed | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | Whelen |
| 4 | Kyle Weatherman | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | Duelly.com |
| 6 | Garrett Smithley | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | Hoffmann Group |
| 07 | J. J. Yeley | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | Wawa Rechargers |
| 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | Hellmann's |
| 08 | Gray Gaulding | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | Panini NFT |
| 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops, Tracker Boats |
| 9 | Brandon Jones | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | Fisher Nuts, Menards |
| 10 | Justin Haley (i) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | Campers Inn RV |
| 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | Cirkul |
| 16 | Chandler Smith (R) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | Quick Tie Products |
| 18 | Sammy Smith (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | Pilot Flying J |
| 19 | Trevor Bayne | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | He Gets Us |
| 20 | John Hunter Nemechek | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | Yahoo! |
| 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | Bennett Transportation, Realtree |
| 22 | Jeb Burton | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | State Water Heaters, Puryear |
| 24 | Connor Mosack (R) | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | Toyota Racing Development |
| 25 | Brett Moffitt | AM Racing | Ford | Wawa Rechargers |
| 26 | Kaz Grala | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | Island Coastal Lager |
| 27 | Jordan Anderson | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | Capital City Towing |
| 28 | Kyle Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | NightOwl Contractors |
| 31 | Parker Retzlaff (R) | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | FUNKAWAY |
| 35 | Joey Gase | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Chevrolet | National Crime Prevention Council |
| 38 | Joe Graf Jr. | RSS Racing | Ford | Wawa Rechargers |
| 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | Sci Aps |
| 43 | Ryan Ellis | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | AAGI |
| 44 | Caesar Bacarella | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | Advanced Drainage Systems |
| 45 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | Ark Encounter |
| 48 | Parker Kligerman | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | Big Machine Spiked Light Coolers |
| 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | One Stop, All South Electric |
| 53 | Natalie Decker | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Ford | Wawa Rechargers |
| 78 | Anthony Alfredo | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | Dude Wipes |
| 91 | Alex Guenette | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | EVIRUM, BKFC |
| 92 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | parkingguidancesystems.com |
| 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | Monster Energy |
| Official entry list |||||

## Qualifying

Qualifying was held on Friday, August 25, at 3:00 PM EST. Since Daytona International Speedway is a superspeedway, the qualifying system used is a single-car, single-lap system with two rounds. In the first round, drivers have one lap to set a time. The fastest ten drivers from the first round move on to the second round. Whoever sets the fastest time in Round 2 wins the pole. Austin Hill, driving for Richard Childress Racing, would score the pole for the race after advancing from the preliminary round and setting the fastest time in Round 2, with a lap of 49.256, and an average speed of 182.719 mph (294.058 km/h).
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time (R1) | Speed (R1) | Time (R2) | Speed (R2) |
| 1 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 49.371 | 182.293 | 49.256 | 182.719 |
| 2 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 49.589 | 181.492 | 49.554 | 181.620 |
| 3 | 18 | Sammy Smith (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 49.626 | 181.357 | 49.584 | 181.510 |
| 4 | 16 | Chandler Smith (R) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 49.568 | 181.569 | 49.630 | 181.342 |
| 5 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 49.687 | 181.134 | 49.663 | 181.221 |
| 6 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 49.721 | 181.010 | 49.683 | 181.148 |
| 7 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 49.793 | 180.748 | 49.712 | 181.043 |
| 8 | 19 | Trevor Bayne | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 49.753 | 180.894 | 49.734 | 180.963 |
| 9 | 10 | Justin Haley (i) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 49.767 | 180.843 | 49.735 | 180.959 |
| 10 | 22 | Jeb Burton | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 49.782 | 180.788 | 49.850 | 180.542 |
| Eliminated in Round 1 |||||||||
| 11 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 49.797 | 180.734 | — | — |
| 12 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 49.851 | 180.538 | — | — |
| 13 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 49.915 | 180.307 | — | — |
| 14 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 49.928 | 180.260 | — | — |
| 15 | 35 | Joey Gase | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Chevrolet | 49.951 | 180.177 | — | — |
| 16 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 49.977 | 180.083 | — | — |
| 17 | 9 | Brandon Jones | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 49.985 | 180.054 | — | — |
| 18 | 26 | Kaz Grala | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 50.016 | 179.942 | — | — |
| 19 | 4 | Kyle Weatherman | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 50.114 | 179.591 | — | — |
| 20 | 78 | Anthony Alfredo | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 50.149 | 179.465 | — | — |
| 21 | 92 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 50.194 | 179.304 | — | — |
| 22 | 25 | Brett Moffitt | AM Racing | Ford | 50.235 | 179.158 | — | — |
| 23 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff (R) | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 50.262 | 179.062 | — | — |
| 24 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 50.269 | 179.037 | — | — |
| 25 | 02 | Blaine Perkins (R) | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 50.277 | 179.008 | — | — |
| 26 | 38 | Joe Graf Jr. | RSS Racing | Ford | 50.311 | 178.887 | — | — |
| 27 | 45 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 50.338 | 178.791 | — | — |
| 28 | 43 | Ryan Ellis | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 50.389 | 178.610 | — | — |
| 29 | 24 | Connor Mosack (R) | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 50.412 | 178.529 | — | — |
| 30 | 44 | Caesar Bacarella | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 50.511 | 178.179 | — | — |
| 31 | 91 | Alex Guenette | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 50.569 | 177.975 | — | — |
| 32 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 50.596 | 177.880 | — | — |
| 33 | 08 | Gray Gaulding | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 50.598 | 177.873 | — | — |
| Qualified by owner's points |||||||||
| 34 | 07 | J. J. Yeley | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 50.690 | 177.550 | — | — |
| 35 | 53 | Natalie Decker | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Ford | 50.692 | 177.543 | — | — |
| 36 | 6 | Garrett Smithley | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 51.059 | 176.267 | — | — |
| 37 | 27 | Jordan Anderson | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | — | — | — | — |
| 38 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | — | — | — | — |
| Official qualifying results |||||||||
| Official starting lineup |||||||||

## Race results

Stage 1 Laps: 30
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
| 1 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 16 | Chandler Smith (R) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 25 | Brett Moffitt | AM Racing | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 78 | Anthony Alfredo | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 9 | Brandon Jones | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 19 | Trevor Bayne | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 30
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
| 1 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 18 | Sammy Smith (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 19 | Trevor Bayne | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 16 | Chandler Smith (R) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 3 Laps: 50
| Pos. | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
| 1 | 12 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 110 | 14 | Running | 40 |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 110 | 21 | Running | 54 |
| 3 | 6 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 110 | 0 | Running | 44 |
| 4 | 5 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 110 | 1 | Running | 36 |
| 5 | 11 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 110 | 1 | Running | 42 |
| 6 | 38 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 110 | 0 | Running | 31 |
| 7 | 23 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff (R) | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 110 | 0 | Running | 30 |
| 8 | 20 | 78 | Anthony Alfredo | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 110 | 0 | Running | 35 |
| 9 | 33 | 08 | Gray Gaulding | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 110 | 0 | Running | 28 |
| 10 | 9 | 10 | Justin Haley (i) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 110 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 11 | 27 | 45 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 110 | 0 | Running | 26 |
| 12 | 10 | 22 | Jeb Burton | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 110 | 0 | Running | 25 |
| 13 | 24 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 110 | 0 | Running | 24 |
| 14 | 15 | 35 | Joey Gase | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Chevrolet | 110 | 0 | Running | 23 |
| 15 | 37 | 27 | Jordan Anderson | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 110 | 0 | Running | 22 |
| 16 | 36 | 6 | Garrett Smithley | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 110 | 0 | Running | 21 |
| 17 | 13 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 110 | 0 | Running | 20 |
| 18 | 22 | 25 | Brett Moffitt | AM Racing | Ford | 110 | 0 | Running | 26 |
| 19 | 14 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 110 | 6 | Running | 20 |
| 20 | 18 | 26 | Kaz Grala | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 109 | 0 | Running | 17 |
| 21 | 3 | 18 | Sammy Smith (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 109 | 4 | Running | 23 |
| 22 | 4 | 16 | Chandler Smith (R) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 109 | 1 | Running | 24 |
| 23 | 1 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 109 | 36 | Running | 33 |
| 24 | 16 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 108 | 0 | Running | 13 |
| 25 | 25 | 02 | Blaine Perkins (R) | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 108 | 0 | Running | 12 |
| 26 | 32 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 104 | 0 | Accident | 14 |
| 27 | 21 | 92 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 103 | 0 | Accident | 10 |
| 28 | 7 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 103 | 0 | Accident | 14 |
| 29 | 8 | 19 | Trevor Bayne | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 103 | 26 | Accident | 13 |
| 30 | 34 | 07 | J. J. Yeley | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 98 | 0 | Accident | 7 |
| 31 | 30 | 44 | Caesar Bacarella | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 92 | 0 | Accident | 6 |
| 32 | 28 | 43 | Ryan Ellis | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 91 | 0 | Accident | 5 |
| 33 | 19 | 4 | Kyle Weatherman | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 45 | 0 | DVP | 4 |
| 34 | 26 | 38 | Joe Graf Jr. | RSS Racing | Ford | 42 | 0 | DVP | 3 |
| 35 | 35 | 53 | Natalie Decker | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Ford | 42 | 0 | Accident | 2 |
| 36 | 17 | 9 | Brandon Jones | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 41 | 0 | Accident | 6 |
| 37 | 29 | 24 | Connor Mosack (R) | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 41 | 0 | Accident | 1 |
| 38 | 31 | 91 | Alex Guenette | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 41 | 0 | Accident | 1 |
| Official race results ||||||||||

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Austin Hill | 919 |
| 1 | 2 | Justin Allgaier | 892 (-27) |
| 1 | 3 | John Hunter Nemechek | 891 (–28) |
| | 4 | Cole Custer | 817 (–102) |
| | 5 | Sam Mayer | 755 (–164) |
| | 6 | Josh Berry | 733 (–186) |
| 2 | 7 | Sheldon Creed | 683 (–236) |
| | 8 | Daniel Hemric | 679 (–240) |
| 2 | 9 | Chandler Smith | 675 (–244) |
| 1 | 10 | Parker Kligerman | 643 (–276) |
| 1 | 11 | Riley Herbst | 623 (–296) |
| | 12 | Sammy Smith | 609 (–310) |
| Official driver's standings ||||