“I just got greedy, It was just stupid” Chandler Smith and Austin Hill blame themselves for Daytona 500 DNQ
Both drivers will have the opportunity to redeem themselves in the Xfinity series opener on Saturday.
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Austin Hill and Chandler Smith
Even before drivers stepped into the main event on Sunday, the 2023 Daytona 500 had already produced some big upsets. Two of the most promising NASCAR prodigies, Austin Hill and Chandler Smith, who made their Dayton 500, were disqualified after failing to produce solid runs in qualifying and in the 150-mile preliminary run.
Austin Hill, who made his Cup debut last season with RCR, drove the No:62 Beard Motorsport Chevy, while Chandler Smith attempted to qualify in the No: 13 Kaulig Racing Chevy. Two open charter spots were up for grabs during the Bluegreen Vacations Duels after Jimmie Johnson, and Travis Pastrana secured the other two spots by single Car qualifiers. IndyCar driver Conor Daly and Zane Smith qualified for the 500 after the Duel.
Other than Zane Smith, all three contenders were in the Vacations Duels 2. Hill and Smith had a solid car and were poised to make it into the final race. While Conor Daly, who made his second Cup start, was running multiple laps down. Austin Hill was caught up in the multicar wreck prompted by Daniel Suarez and Kyle Busch, ending his day early. Hill was trying to learn to race in the pack for the final event. A pit-stop penalty cost Smith his shot, and Daly was able to finish within the time constraint.
“The 50 [of Daly] wasn’t even in the draft, and he was multiple laps down — it was just dumb on my part. There’s no way around out. It was just stupid to even be up there. I was just trying to learn and seeing what we could do in the 500, and now we’re not even in it. … It stings,” Austin Hill said about the DNQ.
“I just got greedy. At the end of pit road, I was like we were in a really good spot, and it was really promising. I squeezed a little too much [on the throttle] before we got to the [speed] line. It’s on me,” said Chandler Smith.
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Conor Daly is stocked about his Daytona 500 entry
Though Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s team made a shocking Daytona 500 entry last year, few expected them to secure back-to-back spots as the open charter line-up was strong in 2023. Conor Daly was one of the luckiest drivers on the grid, as he could qualify after a poor start and is stocked about it. He pointed out that he got better as the race progressed.
“It was really tough to drive. Thankfully, we got the yellow. Honestly, we took advantage of luck. It was very lucky, but I will take luck all the time because we got better and better as we raced, and I learned a lot at a high rate of speed. It’s pretty awesome to have a chance at it on Sunday,” Conor Daly said.
Daly said that he got a text message from Travis Pastrana congratulating him. He said, “I did notice on my phone that (Travis) sent me a text that just said hashtag you’re welcome, so I don’t know who started that crash or what happened there, but something might have happened there,”.
He added that he is happy to have the opportunity to race against JJ and Pastrana on Sunday. Daly said, “Honestly, we thought about how crazy it would have been if Jimmie [Johnson], me, and Travis would have made it because Jimmie and Travis, I know really well now. I can consider them really close friends, and we’ve all ended up here after wild routes to get here, and we’re all in the race,”.
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Justin P Joy
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