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Ryan Truex Wins Hectic Wawa 250 at Daytona International Speedway

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The Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola went down Friday evening at Daytona International Speedway, featuring the top racers of the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The second-highest division of NASCAR racing, the race represented an opportunity for prospective talents to prove their ability and earn a ride in the Cup Series. For race winner Ryan Truex, the victory may have been exactly what he needed.

"Thanks to these fans, it’s so amazing to race here," Truex said after the win. “I don’t get to race that often and I don’t know what I’m going to do next year. It’s all a work in progress. Just a great car [tonight].” 

Ryan Truex (#20) leads a tight three-wide field cars across the start-finish line. Getty Images | NASCAR Media
Ryan Truex (#20) leads a tight three-wide field cars across the start-finish line. Getty Images | NASCAR Media

The younger brother of Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr, Ryan Truex has so far been unable to land a permanent job racing in NASCAR. His 2024 campaign, running part-time for Toyota juggernaut Joe Gibbs Racing, has been a major breakthrough - Truex has won two of his eight starts so far. And with the wins coming at Daytona and at Dover Motor Speedway, he's proven he can win on vastly different types of racetrack.

Truex secured the win simply by leading on the final lap when a multi-car crash kicked off, ending the race immediately. The field made one attempt to finish the race under green flag conditions, but the caution flag on the last lap froze the field where they were and clinched the win for Ryan. Just behind, contact between A.J. Allmendinger and Parker Kligerman caused the former to swerve down to the apron, and then up into the outside SAFER barrier. Truex, the leader, drove his #20 Toyota to victory under caution.

“I just had a run and I had to go, I felt it was the run I had to take to put myself on the bottom if I was going to win this race,’’ Kligerman said. “I love him like a brother, he and I have been in this a long time together."

The wreck on the final lap was hardly the only chaos to strike during Friday's race. On the first lap of the race multiple cars crashed, causing severe damage to surefire contenders like Austin Hill, who's won three out of his last five Daytona starts. Multiple other dramatic wrecks thinned the field further, leaving nine cars retired by race's end.

Truex's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Chandler Smith, finished second to complete a 1-2 sweep by JGR. Kligerman was scored third, followed by Riley Herbst in fourth and Ryan Sieg in fifth. A.J. Allmendinger went from the top three to 24th because of the last-lap crash.

Final Finishing Order

  1. Ryan Truex - #20 Certified Collision Center Toyota
  2. Chandler Smith - #81 QuickTie Toyota
  3. Parker Kligerman - #48 Big Machine Spiked Coolers Chevrolet
  4. Riley Herbst - #98 Monster Energy Ford
  5. Ryan Sieg - #39 Sci Aps Ford
  6. Jordan Anderson - #32 - Volpi Foods Chevrolet
  7. Justin Allgaier - #7 Hellmann's / Sam's Club Chevrolet
  8. Sheldon Creed - #18 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota
  9. Leland Honeyman - #42 Cornerstone Produce Chevrolet
  10. Kyle Weatherman - #91 Wawa Chevrolet
  11. Josh Williams - #11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet
  12. Joe Graf Jr. - #19 Reagan The Movie Toyota
  13. Sam Mayer - #1 Carolina Carports Chevrolet
  14. Blaine Perkins - #29 Crocodile Cloth Ford
  15. Kyle Sieg - #28 North Country Ford Ford
  16. Brennan Poole - #44 CW & Sons / Clark's Chevrolet
  17. Jeb Burton - #27 State Water Heaters Chevrolet
  18. Patrick Emerling - #07 Flood Brothers Chevrolet
  19. C.J. McLaughlin - #14 Main Street Auto Chevrolet
  20. Joey Gase - #53 Ford
  21. Jesse Love - #2 Whelen / NFFF Chevrolet
  22. Brandon Jones - #9 Menards / Turtle Wax Chevrolet
  23. Sammy Smith - #8 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet
  24. A.J. Allmendinger - #16 Campers Inn RV Chevrolet
  25. Shane Van Gisbergen - #97 Safety Culture Chevrolet
  26. Anthony Alfredo - #5 Dude Wipes Chevrolet
  27. Jeremy Clements - #51 One Stop / All South Electric Chevrolet
  28. Jeffery Earnhardt - #26 ForeverLawn / Big Studios Toyota
  29. Caesar Bacarella - #45 Prime Bites Brownie Chevrolet
  30. Josh Bilicki - #92 Wawa Chevrolet
  31. Austin Hill - #21 Bennett / Global Industrial Chevrolet
  32. Cole Custer - #00 Fanttik Ford
  33. Matt DiBenedetto - #38 ReMA Ford
  34. Parker Retzlaff - #31 FUNKAWAY Chevrolet
  35. Tim Viens - #74 AWS Roofing / Brand X Marine Chevrolet
  36. Gus Dean - #15 Airbox Ford
  37. Ryan Ellis - #43 Classic Collision Chevrolet
  38. Akinori Ogata - #35 YKK Chevrolet