| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 33 of the2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | February 17, 2018 | ||
| Official name | PowerShares QQQ 300 | ||
| Location | Daytona Beach, Florida,Daytona International Speedway | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 2.5 miles (4.0 km) | ||
| Distance | 143 laps, 357.5 mi (575.34 km) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 120 laps, 300 mi (482.803 km) | ||
| Average speed | 119.1 miles per hour (191.7 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Richard Childress Racing | ||
| Time | 47.541 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | |
| Laps | 61 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 9 | Tyler Reddick | JR Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox Sports 1 | ||
| Announcers | Adam Alexander,Michael Waltrip,Brad Keselowski | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
The2018 PowerShares QQQ 300 was the 1ststock car race of the2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, and the 37th iteration of theevent. The race was held on Saturday, February 17, 2018 inDaytona Beach, Florida atDaytona International Speedway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) permanent triangular-shaped superspeedway. The race was extended from the scheduled 120 laps to 143 laps due to fiveNASCAR overtime attempts. At race's end,Tyler Reddick ofJR Motorsports would best out teammateElliott Sadler in theclosest finish inNASCAR history, beating Sadler out by only 0.0004 seconds.[1] To fill out the podium,Ryan Reed ofRoush Fenway Racing would finish 3rd.
Daytona International Speedway is one of threesuperspeedways to holdNASCAR races, the other two beingIndianapolis Motor Speedway andTalladega Superspeedway.[2] The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. The track's turns are banked at 31degrees, while thefront stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.[3]
First practice was held on Friday, February 16, at 12:05 PMEST.Tyler Reddick ofJR Motorsports would set the fastest lap, with a 45.874 and an average speed of 196.190 miles per hour (315.737 km/h).[4]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Tyler Reddick | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 45.874 | 196.190 |
| 2 | 18 | Daniel Suárez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 45.927 | 195.963 |
| 3 | 23 | Spencer Gallagher | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 45.973 | 195.767 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
The second and final practice was held on Friday, February 16, at 2:05 PMEST.Daniel Hemric ofRichard Childress Racing would set the fastest lap, with a 47.041 and an average speed of 191.322 miles per hour (307.903 km/h).[4]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | Daniel Hemric | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 47.041 | 191.322 |
| 2 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 47.044 | 191.310 |
| 3 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 47.231 | 190.553 |
| Full final practice results | ||||||
Qualifying would take place on Saturday, February 17, at 9:35 AMEST. SinceDaytona International Speedway is at least 2 miles (3.2 km), the qualifying system was a single car, single lap, two round system where in the first round, everyone would set a time to determine positions 13-40. Then, the fastest 12 qualifiers would move on to the second round to determine positions 1-12.[5]
Daniel Hemric ofRichard Childress Racing would advance from Round 1 and set the fastest lap in Round 2, with a time of 47.541 and an average speed of 189.310 miles per hour (304.665 km/h), winning the pole for the race.[6]
The drivers that would fail to qualify would consist of:Ray Black Jr.,Chris Cockrum,Timmy Hill,Morgan Shepherd,Josh Bilicki, andMike Harmon. Originally, Timmy Hill was slated to qualify for the race after qualifying on owner's points, supposed to be starting in 36th. However, the times ofMatt Tifft andJosh Williams were both disallowed after they both failed post-qualifying inspection. This would allowGray Gaulding, previously a non-qualifier, to make the race and bump Hill out of the race.[7]
*Times disallowed after Tifft and Williams both failed post-qualifying inspection.[7]
Stage 1 Laps: 30
Stage 2 Laps: 30
Stage 3 Laps: 83
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