Chandler Smith wins Wawa 250 pole award after lightning cancels second round of qualifying
There will be no final round of NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying at Daytona. That means Chandler Smith wins the pole for the night race. Smith will lead the Wawa 250 to the green flag tonight.
Since every driver had made at least one qualifying lap, this counts as an official pole award. This is not the metric setting the field. The top-10 drivers were going to go to another round to determine the pole winner, but lightning in the area canceled that second round.
Chandler Smith will have a great view when the green flag drops tonight. Will he hold on to win the whole thing?
The Xfinity Series at Daytona. It should be a great race tonight. Austin Hill is the favorite because this is his stomping grounds. He has made superspeedway racing an art in the Xfinity car and always finds a way to put himself near the front at the end of these races.
The Joe Gibbs Racing drivers all did well. It was a strong showing for Toyota overall. There are five races in the regular season for the Xfinity Series and that means the intensity is ramping up.
A driver could steal a spot by winning tonight. Then there is Atlanta in two more weeks. The Xfinity Series season can get a lot more chaotic before we get to the playoffs.
Right now, it’s about Chandler Smith on the pole. But what will be the story at the end of the night?
Chandler Smith looking for third win of the season
2024 has been a tale of two halves for Chandler Smith. He started the season out on fire. Four straight top-5s including a win at Phoenix to start the year. He was top-10 at COTA, won at Richmond, and was P3 at Martinsville. Then things fell off a bit.
Since that hot start in the first seven races of the season, Smith has not won another race. He has only had one top-5 since then, P2 at Nashville. His average finish in the last four races is 28.25. Not great.
Smith could use a strong run at Daytona. There have been other drivers coming on late in the season. Smith and his team have mostly been treading off of their early season success, and it’s starting to catch up to them.
A win at Daytona would be major. First, Chandler Smith has to make it to that finish line. If he can do that, like anyone else at Daytona, he has a shot to win the race.