Saturday February 13, 2021 by Julie Bouchard
2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Austin Cindric started his title defense in the best possible way on Saturday, winning the series’ inaugural race in the evening in his Team Penske Ford Mustang. He beat Brett Moffitt (Chevrolet / Our Motorsports) at the finish line in a race that lasted more than 2 hours and a half and ended in overtime following numerous clashes that resulted in neutralizations in the last 40 laps.
This 1st NASCAR Xfinity event of the 2021 season, at Daytona International Speedway, saw Cindric lead 28 of 122 laps. He has constantly evolved at the forefront and thus clinches the ninth victory of his career in the series, the first on the Florida oval of 2.5 miles.
With his final second place, Moffitt had his best career result in the series, edging out cousins Harrison Burton (Toyota / Joe Gibbs Racing) and Jeb Burton (Chevrolet / Kaulig Racing), third and fourth. AJ Allmendinger, on another Kaulig Racing car, completed the Top 5 of a race which unfortunately ended for the only registered Quebecer, Alex Labbé.
Alex was classified last (40th), after having been forced to give up shortly before halfway, in 60th of 122 laps covered. At the controls of the No.36 Chevrolet of DGM Racing, Labbé suffered a loss of control by Brandon Jones. The driver of Toyota’s No.19 Joe Gibbs Racing took off into the grass, after being pushed by Myatt Snider (Chevrolet). Out of control, Jones’ Toyota then returned to the track and struck Labbé and Cody Ware (Chevrolet), unintentional victims of the incident. At the speeds reached on the Daytona oval, this type of incident is frequent and it is impossible for the drivers to react to avoid a car in distress which thus returns to the track. This resulted in a red flag which forced the race to a halt for 13 minutes and 47 seconds, time for officials to clear the debris-strewn track.
For Labbé, this abandonment is obviously more than disappointing, he who has a very limited budget to start the season. He could not count on the help of Mario Gosselin during this race. Back on track for the occasion, the driver and owner of DGM Racing found himself unqualified after the qualifying session was canceled due to rain. Ranked in the 2020 championship, Labbé was able to start 19th, unlike Gosselin who had no result in the bank at the end of last season.
Another major incident marked the race, as a pile-up involving 14 cars took place 16 laps from time, sparked off by a somewhat too intense battle between two new Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Ty Dillon and Daniel Hemric. Brandon Jones won the first segment and Brett Moffitt the second. For the complete classification of this event, Click here.
Tomorrow (Sunday), it will be the turn of the NASCAR Cup series to present its first event of the 2021 season, the famous Daytona 500. As for the next race of the Xfinity series, it will take place on Saturday, February 20 (at 19 h 30), still in Daytona. This time, the road circuit will be used.
In the video below, see the highlights of the Xfinity race this Saturday …
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