XFINITY: Akinori Ogata wrecks on the opening lap at Daytona
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: Tanner Marlar, @tanner_marlar
Akinori Ogata picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Friday’s Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola at the Daytona International Speedway when his #35 YKK Chevrolet was collected in a multi-car accident without completing any of the 102 laps.
The finish, which came in Ogata’s ninth series start, was his second of the year and first since Martinsville, 15 races ago. In the XFINITY Series’ last-place rankings, this was the 20th for the #35, the 399th from a crash, and the 646th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 34th for the #35, the 1,389th from a crash, and the 1,954th for Chevrolet.
Friday’s race marked Ogata’s first XFINITY Series start since the last-place run at Martinsville, which came with Joey Gase Motorsports. He’d failed to qualify for his most recent attempt at Charlotte, where he joined Jade Buford in the Mike Harmon Racing entry on the short DNQ list. During that span, his only other NASCAR national series start came at Nashville, where he finished 30th in the Truck Series race, driving the #20 Hirotec Chevrolet from Young’s Motorsports. He’s also continued to compete in late models at Hickory, campaigning the #14.
Ogata was one of 38 drivers entered for as many spots entered in Friday’s race, meaning both he and the Mike Harmon Racing entry, the #74 AWS Roofing / Brand X Marine Marine Chevrolet now driven by Tim Viens, would both qualify for the event. The weekend began with trouble in the inspection cue as Ogata’s #35 was one of nine cars – including teammate Gase in the #53 Hoover A / The Florida Man Games Ford - to twice fail inspection, resulting in a loss of two crew members. Lightning in the area cut short qualifying, setting the grid based on Round 1 speeds. Of these, Ogata secured the 32nd starting spot with a lap of 50.355 seconds (178.731mph), putting him into his first-ever Daytona start.
Securing the 38th and final starting spot was Sam Mayer, who couldn’t turn a lap in qualifying due to an engine change on his #1 Carolina Carports Chevrolet. He’d be joined in the back by outside-polesitter Austin Hill, whose #21 Bennett / Global Industrial Chevrolet incurred a tail end penalty for unapproved steering adjustments. Hill’s car also stayed on pit road as the field rolled away due to an unrelated radio issue, though he wouldn’t pull to the back until the one lap to green signal was given.
When the green flag dropped, Hill crossed the line in 35th, 3.438 seconds back of the lead ahead of original last-place qualifier Sam Mayer with a 3.548. Two more behind them voluntarily dropped back – Joey Gase, whose #53 was listed 3.577 seconds back of the lead, and Tim Viens’ #74, now in 38th at 4.086 seconds back of the lead.
Before the leaders could even exit Turn 4 for the first time, trouble broke out near the middle of the pack. Jeremy Clements qualified 13th in his #51 One Stop / All South Electric Chevrolet, and headed down the backstretch was closing on the rear bumper of Justin Allgaier’s #7 Hellmann’s / Sam’s Club Chevrolet. At that same moment, Jeffrey Earnhardt caught Clements heading into the corner, giving Clements a bump with the nose of his #26 Forever Lawn / Big Studios Toyota. The contact was enough to send Clements into a long slide along the apron of Turn 3. While Clements managed to keep his car no higher than the low lane, the back half of the field checked up. Ogata didn’t slow in time, sideswiping Austin Hill’s penalized #21 into the outside wall, then rear-ending Gus Dean’s #15 Airbox Ford, shoving Dean into the back of Jordan Anderson’s #32 Volpi Foods Chevrolet. Ogata and Hill slid down the track, just as Ryan Ellis tried to escape to the apron in his #43 Classic Collision Chevrolet. The hole closed, and Ellis struck the side of Hill’s car. Ogata dropped the window net, the right-front corner of his car destroyed.
When the smoke cleared, Viens had climbed from 38th to 33rd, but was already three seconds back of the next car in line. Hill and Ellis made it to pit road running 34th and 35th with a trailing C.J. McLaughlin now 36th, his #14 Main Street Auto Chevrolet crossing the line just behind Ellis. Ogata had already taken over last place with Clements now 37th, soon to climb past Ellis, Hill, and Dean into 34th. By Lap 2, Ellis climbed from his car on pit road, done for the evening and taking 37th. Dean continued after repairs to the nose of his Ford, only to blow the engine due to a punctured oil cooler on Lap 5. Dean’s issues prolonged the caution until Lap 10, by which point Hill managed to barely clear the “Crash Clock.” Hill went behind the wall for more than 20 laps of repairs, then returned to finish 31st. Hill first passed Tim Viens, who after continuing to lag behind the field fell out with engine trouble. Rounding out the Bottom Five was Parker Retzlaff, whose #31 Funkaway Chevrolet was swept up in a multi-car tangle on Lap 78.
Underdogs survive superspeedway chaos in Daytona
Unphased by the first-lap contact from Gus Dean, Jordan Anderson earned a 6th-place finish, earning top-ten finishes in both Daytona races this year. Three spots behind in 9th came the #42 Cornerstone Produce Chevrolet of Leland Honeyman, who earned his second career top-ten finish and first since his career-best 4th in Talladega. Kyle Weatherman rounded out the Top 10 with his fifth career top-ten finish and fist since an 8th back at Dover in DGM Racing’s #91 Wawa Chevrolet.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the first last-place finish for the #35 in a XFINITY Series race at Daytona.
*Ogata is the first driver to finish last without completing a lap of a XFINITY Series race at Daytona since February 13, 2010, when Chrissy Wallace crashed her #41 Fuel Doctor FD-47 Chevrolet, a Rick Ware Racing entry, on the opening lap of the DRIVE4COPD 300. It had never before happened in the 100-lap summer race.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
38) #35-Akinori Ogata / 0 laps / crash
37) #43-Ryan Ellis / 1 lap / crash
36) #15-Gus Dean / 4 laps / crash
35) #74-Tim Viens / 15 laps / engine
34) #31-Parker Retzlaff / 76 laps / crash
2024 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Joey Gase Motorsports (4)
2nd) JR Motorsports (3)
3rd) DGM Racing, Jordan Anderson Racing, SS-Green Light Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing (2)
4th) Alpha Prime Racing, AM Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, Kaulig Racing, Mike Harmon Racing, Motorsports Business Management, RSS Racing (1)
2024 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (14)
2nd) Ford (5)
3rd) Toyota (3)
2024 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
