Gray Gaulding survived and thrived in Friday‘s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway.
No, the 22-year-old didn‘t win the Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola. Justin Haley claimed that honor. But Gaulding did score his second career top-five finish in 43 series starts. He was actually the runner-up, missing the checkered flag by .253 seconds. He even led two laps in just his second series start of the season.
“Kids dream about having a chance to win Daytona,” Gaulding said. “I‘ve been dreaming about this since I was 5 years old, writing about it in my kindergarten class.”
RELATED: Race results | Race recap
Gaulding has raced on Daytona‘s historic 2.5-mile oval four times. His resume breaks down into 38th, 34th, eighth and second — in order from 2018 to present.
Filling in as a part-time driver in 2020, Gaulding steered the No. 07 SS Green Light Racing Chevrolet all the way from a 28th starting position to a 13th-place run in Stage 1 by Lap 30 and a fourth-place run in Stage 2 by Lap 40. The final stage was fully green — a 40-lap stretch — and Gaulding was able to remain in the top five.
Apart from the stage breaks, there were six cautionary periods, including a red-flag stretch during the second stage. Three of the cautions involved at least three cars, with one actually featuring a grand 13 total on Lap 41 of 100.
“I knew once I missed that one big wreck I‘d have a chance to win — or at least a chance at the end for a top 10, top five,” Gaulding said. “I put myself in a position to get there late, and that‘s what I did.
“I busted through the middle on the back straightaway. I said, ‘This is my chance. I‘m not lifting. Whoever turns in front of me, I‘m sorry, but I don‘t get many opportunities to win.‘ And I feel like I really did everything I could to win, just came up short.”
This wasn‘t Gaulding‘s first standout performance on a superspeedway. He has proven before he know what he is doing when the speeds increase.
In 2019, when Gaulding drove the No. 08 SS Green Light Racing Chevrolet full time to 13th in the final standings, he pulled out a second-place showing at Talladega Superspeedway. That time, he was just .127 seconds behind the race winner.
This Daytona race was just Gaulding‘s second of the season. He also competed in, no surprise, the Talladega event, where he finished eighth in the same entry.
“I really want to be back here full time next year, or just something competitive that I can show up and have days like today,” Gaulding said. “I know I can do it on other tracks, but this is kind of my only equalizer as far as equipment on a normal basis.”
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Gallery: Five to Watch: Regular-season finale at Daytona (NASCAR)
After an aggressive schedule over the summer months to make-up the missed races due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Daytona International Speedway is set to host the regular-season finale to determine the 16-driver field for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will mark the first time in the postseason era where Daytona will host the 26th race of the season. Indianapolis Motor Speedway previously helped determine the playoff field the last two seasons with Richmond Raceway holding the determining race in the year’s prior. Among the 13 drivers locked-in by a win or points, 10 have at least one win at a superspeedway led by Brad Keselowski with six. “I think from a fan’s perspective, it’s going to be very entertaining and the fans are going to tune in,” said Jimmie Johnson, who is on the outside looking in. “For us guys in the pressure cooker, it’s more intense than any situation that I’ve been in the past.”
BATTLE AT THE BUBBLE: Behind Clint Bowyer (+57), there is a tight battle in the points for the 15th and final spot for the NASCAR Playoffs with Wood Brothers Racing’s Matt DiBenedetto (+9) and Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron (+4) and Jimmie Johnson (-4). Although all three drivers near the bubble have not recorded a top 10 in the two superspeedway races this season, Johnson leads the group in points earned in those races and Byron does have a win in this year’s Bluegreen Vacations Duel qualifying race at Daytona. “Whatever way you look at it, no matter where we’re at, our approach isn’t going to change that much going into Daytona,” Byron said. “You’re going to have to be aggressive in this race regardless of the situation by trying to get stage points and trying to win the race.”
FINAL TIME: Jimmie Johnson has enjoyed his share of success at Daytona that includes two Daytona 500 wins and a season sweep in 2013. Saturday will mark his final start at “The World Center of Racing” as a full-time Cup Series driver. The seven-time Cup Series champion is ready to put it all on the line as he looks to make the postseason for the 16th time since its inception in 2004. “We have a lot at stake and, again, it could be a great storybook ending for my last full-time race or race on an oval at Daytona.” Johnson said. “We all understand the story lines. I’m excited, I’m ready to go. I’m not one to spend too much time getting overly sentimental.”
NEEDING A WIN: There are a number of drivers that need a win to advance to the playoffs and the list includes former Daytona winners. Erik Jones, who won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 in 2018 is a longshot to clinch on points (-50), but would need some help. Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. are the other former Daytona winners deep in the standings. Daytona has been the home to 20 first-time winners with the last two coming in the summer race. “If somebody like ourselves or somebody outside of the playoffs get a win, I think that’s kind of the thing that’s exciting,” said Stenhouse Jr., who won the 2017 Coke Zero Sugar 400. “Makes it come down to the final lap in the last race of the regular season because there’s multiple people that can win and move somebody out of the playoffs.”
RAISING EACH OTHER’S GAME: Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin have been trading the series lead in wins this summer with Harvick taking back the top spot with his seventh win of the year last weekend. Hamlin comes into Daytona looking for the season sweep and the chance to tie Harvick for the win lead as the regular-season comes to a close. “Every time we have the most wins for a while, he matched it and then beat it, and then we matched it and he beat it again,” said Hamlin, who began the season with his third Daytona 500 win. “It’s certainly a lot of fun from our stand point. I’m sure that there are 36 other guys that are not as amused by it, but certainly I think that we’re just doing everything right, right now. We’re having cars that are fast.”
TRUEX EYES SUPERSPEEDWAY WIN: Martin Truex Jr. is seeking to continue his streak of seven consecutive top-three finishes on the season and at the same time he’s looking to end another streak. Truex is still winless at superspeedways – Daytona and Talladega – in the Cup Series, a streak that stands at 61 races. Daytona has been the site of Truex’s best superspeedway finish – second in the 2016 Daytona 500 and the 2018 July race. “Honestly, it’s been a tough place for us to finish,” Truex Jr. said. “I think for me I feel like I tried the strategy of laying back and trying to be safe and all I’ve ever done by doing that is lost out on stage points and ended up being crashed anyway. We’re in and obviously we can just go race, but I think the riding around strategy for me is out the window and we’re just going to try to stay up front and hopefully be able to keep enough Toyota’s up there where we can be strong.”
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