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NASCAR Xfinity Series: Snider 'extremely blessed' after terrifying crash at Daytona
By Bob Pockrass
FOX Sports NASCAR Writer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Austin Hill celebrated a victory Saturday night, but the biggest smiles were for Myatt Snider, who walked away from a terrifying flip on the final lap of the NASCAR Xfinity Series opener at Daytona International Speedway.
Myatt Snider crashes on the last lap at Daytona
Snider’s car got airborne, flipped over the car of Jade Buford and was perpendicular to the track as he slammed into the backstretch catchfence. It then landed on the wall, getting torn apart. The catchfence was damaged — it will be repaired for the Daytona 500 on Sunday — and Snider’s car, including the engine, was shredded apart by the catchfence, landing on the asphalt and then taking a violent ride through the grass on the backstretch.
The 27-year-old Snider climbed out of the car under his own power and said he has a sore left foot. He did interviews while sitting in a golf kart but said he should be fine to race next week at Auto Club Speedway in California.
Here are three takeaways from the Xfinity race:
Snider: "I’m extremely blessed"
Snider was jockeying for position when it appeared that he might have gotten a tap from Anthony Alfredo. He crossed two lanes of traffic in front of Jeb Burton and Buford, and the front of his car appeared to get hit again, sending him airborne.
"It’s the last lap, and everybody is trying their best to push as hard as possible, and I’m trying to keep as much momentum as I can, and I felt a push, and I started to feel the car go right, and I was like, ‘I might be along for a ride here,’" Snider said.
"And sure enough, I was. So I got turned around to the side, and then I was facing backward, and I started seeing the racetrack, and I’m like, ‘Hmm. Does this get better as it goes?’"
It didn’t get much better, as Snider could see what he described as a "yard sale" as he got out of his car.
"It was violent," he said. "I saw sparks going everywhere. You don’t really know what’s going on — you just know you’re going in some direction, and it’s not the right one. I was just kind of holding on, hunching over, keeping everything together as much as I could."
Snider was thankful that the car built by Richard Childress Racing and fielded by Jordan Anderson Racing team did keep him relatively uninjured.
"I’ll just double-check on it tomorrow [Sunday] because it is sore," Snider said. "But I think I should be fine to race."
Buford said the contact he had was mild, and he was glad Snider was OK.
"It was pretty crazy," Buford said. "That’s how last laps at Daytona go. ... I came over the radio and told my team, ‘I believe a car just flipped over me.’"
Hill earns second Daytona win
Hill was battling AJ Allmendinger for the top spot as they were side-by-side on the final lap. He got a push from Riley Herbst outside and then was able to cut underneath to the inside, under Allmendinger, to pass him as the wreck developed behind them.
Hill said he felt he was about a half car-length ahead of Allmendinger when he saw the yellow lights signifying the caution displayed, and the field was frozen. That would mean he was the winner, but NASCAR uses video to confirm it.
"I was 95 percent sure we had won the race," Hill said. "When they finally said [I won] ... I started shaking. It meant that much to me to get the job done."
Austin Dillon wins Xfinity opener at Daytona
Hill had spent the past six years in the truck series, including the past four years on a full-time basis, with the most recent three at Hattori Racing Enterprises. He has eight career truck wins, including at Daytona in 2019.
"It is hard to put into words what this means to me," Hill said.
Allmendinger a spot short
Allmendinger said he maybe got too far in front of Hill, allowing Hill to get a strong run. It was his third top-5 finish at Daytona.
"I kept trying to block both lanes, and it looked like that Austin moved up there and timed it perfect, where he got a massive shove," Allmendinger said. "I probably could have tried to really block, but I probably would have wrecked us."
Bob Pockrass has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s. He joined FOX Sports in 2019 following stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @bobpockrass. Looking for more NASCAR content? Sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass!
