Jeremy Clements wins rain delayed 2022 Xfinity Series "Wawa" 250 at Daytona

Nigel Kinrade/Nigel Kinrade Photography

     Early on Saturday morning, August 27th, 2022, driver of the No. 51 Chevrolet Camaro, Jeremy Clements won his way into the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs, when he scored a victory in the "Wawa" 250 on the high banks of Daytona International Speedway.

After rain plagued most of Friday's racing plans at the speedway, the "Wawa" 250, originally scheduled to start at 7:30 PM, went green a little after 10:00 PM. Then in the overnight hours, the pent up drivers hit the track with wild aggression, all desperately trying to win. while some single car incidents occurred, like Sammy Smith losing control of his car and pounding the inside barrier, large multi-car wrecks took the big screen as championship favorites were torn to pieces. Competitors like Sledon Creed and John Hunter Nemechek and Joe Graf Junior would collide early. After, Justin Allgaier and AJ Allmendinger would get heated, and cause drivers like Berry, Mayer, and Snider.  Later, botched blocks from drivers like Hemric and Gragson (completely separate incidents) would send the field spinning. Before fans knew it, the time was 1:00 AM, and the NASCAR Xfinity Series was heading into its third overtime attempt.

The field was heavily reduced, and only teams who had been hanging around the back were ready to roll unscathed. This included drivers like Timmy Hill, Ryan Vargas, Brandon Brown, and one Jeremy Clements. 

On the start the inside line fell back after the lead car, Austin Hill's car failed to get up to speed. Clements leading the outside line began to pull away with the help of Sage Karam who dealt the No. 51 a large push to the rear bumper. When the best looked in store for Clements and Karam, the momentum slowed, and a two car tandom of Brandon Brown, and AJ Allmendinger came roaring to the front. Allmendinger stepped out and around Brandon Brown to make an attempt at the led. Just as Allmending was nearlyu clear of Clements' No. 51,  Timmy Hill caught the Clements car and pushed him to the lead as the white flag flew. With one lap to go the field came through the trioval, but one competitor--, Riley Herbst, spun out. This brought out the caution with Jeremy Clements leading, and the race would end prematurely. 

The No. 51 machine of Jeremy Clements Racing would score only it’s second win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, locking the team into the incoming playoff contention.

Meanwhile, teams like the No. 13 of MBM Motorsports (Timmy Hill), the No. 68 of Brandonbilt Motorsports (Brandon Brown), the No. 44 of Alpha Prime Racing (Sage Karam) the No. 6 of JD Motorsports (Ryan Vargas), the No. 36 of DGM Racing (Alex Labbé), and the No. 66 of MBM Motorsports (J.J. Yeley) all scored top-10 finishes. While others like the Allmendinger No. 16 crew, and the Gibbs No. 54 crew finished in the top-10, the surrounding finishers up front were in dire need of a good race day, and successfully achieved one.