The 2019 Circle K Firecracker 250 was a NASCAR Xfinity Series race held on July 5, 2019, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 100 laps on the superspeedway, it was the 16th race of the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.
Background
Track
The race was held at Daytona International Speedway, a race track located in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, the track is the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, USCC, SCCA, and Motocross. It features multiple layouts including the primary high speed tri-oval, a sports car course, a motorcycle course, and a karting and motorcycle flat-track. The track's infield includes the Lake Lloyd, which has hosted powerboat racing. The speedway is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.
Entry list Driver Team Manufacturer 00 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste Racing Ford 0 Garrett Smithley JD Motorsports Chevrolet 01 Stephen Leicht JD Motorsports Chevrolet 1 Michael Annett JR Motorsports Chevrolet 2 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Landon Cassill JD Motorsports Chevrolet 5 Matt Mills (R) B. J. McLeod Motorsports Toyota 07 Ray Black Jr. SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet 7 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports Chevrolet 08 Gray Gaulding (R) SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet 8 Sheldon Creed (i) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 9 Noah Gragson (R) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 10 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 11 Justin Haley (R) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 13 Joe Nemechek (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 15 B. J. McLeod JD Motorsports Chevrolet 16 Ross Chastain (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 18 Riley Herbst (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Brandon Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Joe Graf Jr. Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 22 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 23 John Hunter Nemechek (R) GMS Racing Chevrolet 25 Chris Cockrum ACG Motorsports Chevrolet 28 Shane Lee H2 Motorsports Toyota 35 Joey Gase MBM Motorsports Toyota 36 Josh Williams DGM Racing Chevrolet 38 Jeff Green RSS Racing Chevrolet 39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet 42 Chad Finchum MBM Motorsports Toyota 51 Jeremy Clements Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet 52 David Starr Jimmy Means Racing Chevrolet 61 Austin Hill (i) Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota 66 Timmy Hill MBM Motorsports Toyota 74 Mike Harmon Mike Harmon Racing Chevrolet 78 Vinnie Miller B. J. McLeod Motorsports Toyota 86 Brandon Brown Brandonbilt Motorsports Chevrolet 90 Caesar Bacarella DGM Racing Chevrolet 93 Scott Lagasse Jr. RSS Racing Chevrolet 98 Chase Briscoe (R) Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste Racing Ford 99 Stefan Parsons B. J. McLeod Motorsports Toyota
Practice
Final practice A. J. Allmendinger was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 46.177 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 10 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 46.177 194.902 2 25 Chris Cockrum ACG Motorsports Chevrolet 46.295 194.405 3 19 Brandon Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 46.360 194.133
Qualifying Tyler Reddick scored the pole for the race with a time of 47.938 seconds and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 2 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 47.938 2 10 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 48.060 3 1 Michael Annett JR Motorsports Chevrolet 48.064 4 16 Ross Chastain (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 48.065 5 08 Gray Gaulding (R) SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet 48.101 6 21 Joe Graf Jr. Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 48.119 7 11 Justin Haley (R) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 48.140 8 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48.157 9 8 Sheldon Creed (i) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 48.194 10 98 Chase Briscoe (R) Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste Racing Ford 48.271 11 18 Riley Herbst (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48.278 12 7 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports Chevrolet 48.309 13 90 Caesar Bacarella DGM Racing Chevrolet 48.327 14 39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet 48.334 15 00 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste Racing Ford 48.353 16 9 Noah Gragson (R) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 48.358 17 19 Brandon Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48.377 18 66 Timmy Hill MBM Motorsports Toyota 48.390 19 22 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 48.553 20 38 Jeff Green RSS Racing Chevrolet 48.607 21 23 John Hunter Nemechek (R) GMS Racing Chevrolet 48.618 22 25 Chris Cockrum ACG Motorsports Chevrolet 48.626 23 93 Scott Lagasse Jr. RSS Racing Chevrolet 48.692 24 4 Landon Cassill JD Motorsports Chevrolet 48.872 25 01 Stephen Leicht JD Motorsports Chevrolet 48.883 26 36 Josh Williams DGM Racing Chevrolet 48.890 27 78 Vinnie Miller B. J. McLeod Motorsports Toyota 49.031 28 5 Matt Mills (R) B. J. McLeod Motorsports Toyota 49.164 29 99 Stefan Parsons B. J. McLeod Motorsports Toyota 49.182 30 15 B. J. McLeod JD Motorsports Chevrolet 49.213 31 42 Chad Finchum MBM Motorsports Toyota 49.300 32 28 Shane Lee H2 Motorsports Toyota 49.366 33 86 Brandon Brown Brandonbilt Motorsports Chevrolet 49.386 34 52 David Starr Jimmy Means Racing Chevrolet 49.424 35 0 Garrett Smithley JD Motorsports Chevrolet 49.724 36 07 Ray Black Jr. SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet 49.751 37 51 Jeremy Clements Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet 49.905 38 13 Joe Nemechek (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 49.706Did not qualify 39 74 Mike Harmon Mike Harmon Racing Chevrolet 49.577 40 35 Joey Gase MBM Motorsports Toyota 49.600 41 61 Austin Hill (i) Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota 0.000
Race
Summary Tyler Reddick began on pole. The first caution occurred when Caesar Bacarella lost control of his car and spun, causing seven other drivers to be involved. Landon Cassill was the only driver taken out in this caution due to a bent track bar.
As the first stage neared its end, Ross Chastain blocked Reddick and narrowly missed the wall, but Reddick made contact with it. The stack-up from the two drivers resulted in Sheldon Creed and John Hunter Nemechek simultaneously spinning from contact, bringing out the second caution.
Chastain won Stage 1. On the final lap of the first stage, Justin Haley blocked several drivers from making a run, causing them to pass him from underneath, but NASCAR deemed he forced them below the double-yellow line, and sent him to the rear of the field.
Reddick got a flat tire in the middle of Stage 2 and collected Chase Briscoe, ending his day. A. J. Allmendinger blocked Chastain to win Stage 2. The first “Big One” occurred in the middle of the field later on and collected ten drivers. Riley Herbst spun with 21 laps remaining, but no caution was thrown. Another “Big One” 7 laps later took out fifteen drivers, including Michael Annett and Cole Custer, and also brought out a red flag.
On the final restart, Shane Lee and Justin Allgaier both spun out on separate occasions, but no caution was thrown for either instance. The trio of Kaulig Racing drivers proved too fast for any other driver to contend them. Chastain would win the race and was followed by teammates Haley and Allmendinger, Allmendinger would soon be disqualified after failing post race inspection.
Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 30
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 16 Ross Chastain (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 02 39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet 93 18 Riley Herbst (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 04 9 Noah Gragson (R) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 75 66 Timmy Hill MBM Motorsports Toyota 66 7 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports Chevrolet 57 2 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 48 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 39 86 Brandon Brown (R) Brandonbilt Motorsports Chevrolet 210 98 Chase Briscoe (R) Stewart-Haas Racing withBiagi-DenBeste Ford 1
Stage Two Laps: 30
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 1 Michael Annett JR Motorsports Chevrolet 102 16 Ross Chastain (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 03 11 Justin Haley (R) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 84 7 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports Chevrolet 75 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 66 9 Noah Gragson (R) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 57 00 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing withBiagi-DenBeste Ford 48 18 Riley Herbst (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 09 22 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 210 39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet 1
Final Stage Results
Stage Three Laps: 40
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 4 16 Ross Chastain (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 100 02 7 11 Justin Haley (R) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 100 423 8 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 100 434 19 22 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 100 355 25 01 Stephen Leicht JD Motorsports Chevrolet 100 326 33 86 Brandon Brown Brandonbilt Motorsports Chevrolet 100 337 20 38 Jeff Green RSS Racing Chevrolet 100 308 5 08 Gray Gaulding (R) SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet 100 299 37 51 Jeremy Clements Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet 100 2810 28 5 Matt Mills (R) B. J. McLeod Motorsports Toyota 100 2711 27 78 Vinnie Miller B. J. McLeod Motorsports Toyota 100 2612 29 99 Stefan Parsons B. J. McLeod Motorsports Toyota 100 2513 36 07 Ray Black Jr. SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet 100 2414 35 0 Garrett Smithley JD Motorsports Chevrolet 100 2315 16 9 Noah Gragson (R) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 99 3416 1 2 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 99 2517 12 7 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports Chevrolet 99 3218 11 18 Riley Herbst (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 98 019 22 25 Chris Cockrum ACG Motorsports Chevrolet 97 1820 18 66 Timmy Hill MBM Motorsports Toyota 97 2321 32 28 Shane Lee H2 Motorsports Toyota 97 1622 21 23 John Hunter Nemechek (R) GMS Racing Chevrolet 93 1523 6 21 Joe Graf Jr. Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 92 1424 14 39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet 89 2325 3 1 Michael Annett JR Motorsports Chevrolet 86 2226 15 00 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing withBiagi-DenBeste Ford 86 1527 31 42 Chad Finchum MBM Motorsports Toyota 86 1028 26 36 Josh Williams DGM Motorsports Chevrolet 86 929 13 90 Caesar Bacarella DGM Motorsports Chevrolet 86 830 17 19 Brandon Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 76 731 23 93 Scott Lagasse Jr. RSS Racing Chevrolet 73 632 34 52 David Starr Jimmy Means Racing Chevrolet 72 533 30 15 B. J. McLeod JD Motorsports Chevrolet 72 434 9 8 Sheldon Creed (i) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 71 035 10 98 Chase Briscoe (R) Stewart-Haas Racing withBiagi-DenBeste Ford 44 336 38 13 Joe Nemechek (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 39 037 24 4 Landon Cassill JD Motorsports Chevrolet 12 138 2 10 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 100 1
After the race A. J. Allmendinger was disqualified from his third-place finish after his car failed post-race inspection. This was the third consecutive week where a driver was disqualified with respect to the 2019 rules. Allmendinger's car failed an engine vacuum test, dialling back the initial 1-2-3 finish for Kaulig Racing to simply a 1-2 finish. Allmendinger was also stripped of his stage points after being relegated to last place.
References