Justin Haley, who won earlier in the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series season at Talladega Superspeedway, was able to execute a block on Austin Cindric coming off of turn four on the final lap of Stage 1 in Friday night’s WaWa 250 at Daytona International Speedway.
Ross Chastain, Haley’s Kaulig Racing teammate was able to edge out Cindric for second in the Stage.
Brandon Brown, who is in a fight for the final Playoff Berth spot, captured some huge Stage Points by finishing fourth.
Chase Briscoe was fifth in Stage 1.
Riley Herbst, who started from the rear and served a pass thru penalty on lap 2 after failing pre-race inspection three times, rallied to finish sixth in Stage 1.
Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier, Brandon Jones and Daniel Hemric rounded out the top-10 finishers.
It was a hectic Stage 1 as three crashes, two of them of the multi-car variety, slowed the race.
On lap six, Jeffrey Earnhardt made contact with Joe Graf Jr., which sent Graf into the wall. Following the accident, Graf’s tire shredded the body off of his No. 08 car. Caesar Bacarella was involved in the crash as well.
When the race went back green, Bacarella would crash again on lap 13.
With seven laps left in Stage 1, a three-car crash erupted involving Jeffrey Earnhardt, Kody Vaderwal and BJ McLeod. McLeod was the only driver from this crash who was able to continue in the race.
Stage and Playoff Points Awarded in Stage 1:
| Finish | Driver | Stage Points | Playoff Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justin Haley | 10 | 1 |
| 2 | Ross Chastain | 9 | 0 |
| 3 | Austin Cindric | 8 | 0 |
| 4 | Brandon Jones | 7 | 0 |
| 5 | Chase Briscoe | 6 | 0 |
| 6 | Riley Herbst | 5 | 0 |
| 7 | Noah Gragson | 4 | 0 |
| 8 | Justin Allgaier | 3 | 0 |
| 9 | Brandon Jones | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | Daniel Hemric | 1 | 0 |
