Race 1 of 33: PowerShares QQQ 300 at Daytona International Speedway
Track Specs: 2.5-mile superspeedway / 120 laps
Weather: Sunny; 72 degrees
Race Winner: Chase Elliott

Chase Elliott won Saturday’s Power Shares QQQ 300 at Daytona International Speedway for JR Motorsports, giving the company its third NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) win at the famed superspeedway.

After qualifying 19th on Saturday morning, Elliott strapped into his No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro in hopes of capturing his first restrictor plate win and his fifth career win. 

When the caution flag was shown on lap five, Elliott reported that the car’s splitter was making contact with the racetrack. The No. 88 TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet made a fuel-only pit stop on lap seven and restarted 10th. The caution flag returned two laps later, when a wreck happened on the outside of Elliott. The No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro stayed on the racetrack with no damage and restarted in the first position. 

Under caution, Elliott brought his No. 88 TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet to pit road on lap 23 for four tires and Sunoco Racing fuel. Running 15th on lap 46, Elliott reported that his Chevrolet Camaro was tight off and the car’s splitter continued to make contact with the racetrack. On lap 57, the No. 88 Chevrolet came to pit road for right side tires and fuel only. 

Quiet on the radio, Elliott was running third in the lead pack with 35 laps to go. The team came to pit road for a tank of fuel with 26 laps to go and returned to the track in the fifth position. When a late-race caution was shown with 19 laps remaining, the team radioed to Elliott to save fuel. 

Elliott held off a furious charge by Joey Logano that included multiple bumps and bangs coming out of turn four on the final lap. Sawing the steering wheel to keep the car straight, Elliott kept Logano behind him just long enough to get the TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet to the stripe and take the victory.

This is Elliott’s fifth career NXS win.  It is JR Motorsports’ 27th victory in the Xfinity Series. Other JR Motorsports winners at Daytona included Regan Smith (Feb. 22, 2014) and Kasey Kahne (July 4, 2014).

Chase Elliott, driver No. 88 TaxSlayer.com team
“This was a fantastic Saturday to start the weekend in Daytona. It was a great day and we had a really fast Chevrolet Camaro. I have to thank TaxSlayer.com and JR Motorsports for letting me drive. It is such a different style of drafting from the (NASCAR Sprint) Cup series, but I am looking forward to tomorrow even more now after this win.”

Congratulations to Chase from the SEM team!

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