Brandon Jones’ wreck on the next-to-last scheduled lap sent the race into a two-lap overtime and Justin Allgaier quickly powered to the lead.
On the final lap, Same Mayer went high to get around Allgaier and Hill hit him from behind, which sent Mayer’s No. 8 flipping in the air and bringing out a caution, which froze the field.
Following a video review, NASCAR ruled Hill was the leader at the time the caution was called, which handed him his second straight Daytona win.
.@sam_mayer_ goes from leading to sliding upside down on the final lap!
— Motorsport.com (@Motorsport) February 19, 2023
After a review of the dramatic finish, @_AustinHill is declared the winner of the @DAYTONA @NASCAR_Xfinity race for the consecutive year. 🏁 #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/7x79vxXhUh
Hill, who drives the No. 21 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, had won the pole for the race but was forced to pit before the green flag to fix a radio issue. He essentially went from the back to the front in the race.
“I have no idea (what happened). When I chose the outside line, I didn’t feel like the inside line was that great all day for the most part,” Hill said. “I just wanted to choose the top (on the final restart). I knew (Anthony Alfredo) would stay with me.
“When I saw (Mayer) and (Allgaier) get together, I went to go squeeze him and (Mayer) came down, he started getting loose and then you can’t lift – it’s the last lap. I hope Sam’s OK, man.
“As soon as the caution lights came on, I thought I had it, but it was so close. To get back-to-back at Daytona is real special. We came from the back two different times.”
John Hunter Nemechek was credited with second, Allgaier third, Parker Retzlaff fourth and Myatt Snider rounded out the top-five.
Rounding out the top-10 were Riley Herbst, Joe Graf Jr., Ryan Sieg, Cole Custer and Jeb Burton.
Stage 3
Following the caution between Stages 2 and 3, all the lead lap cars pit with Allgaier the first off pit road.
On the restart on Lap 67, Allgaier led the way followed by Hill, Josh Berry and Jones.
A group of Chevrolets elected to make green-flag pit stops on Lap 75 and Parker Kligerman went for a spin while approaching pit road.
A rude welcome back to #XfinitySeries full-time for @pkligerman.
— Xfinity Racing (@XfinityRacing) February 18, 2023
What a job keeping the No. 48 off the wall and getting into the pits. pic.twitter.com/uC43h0SFqk
A contingent of Fords and Toyotas pit on Lap 76.
Once the cycle of green-flag stops was completed on Lap 79, Berry cycled to the lead. He was followed by Hill, Allgaier and Mayer.
C.J. McLaughlin spun off Turn 4 and hit the wall to bring out a caution on Lap 90. Sammy Smith also appeared to suffer some damage in the incident.
A handful of cars pit but Berry remained on the track and in the lead when the race returned to green on Lap 95.
Hill was able to get around Berry to reclaim the lead on Lap 96.
With 10 laps remaining, the field remained mostly single-file with Hill holding a small lead over Berry, who was followed by his three JR Motorsports teammates.
With five to go, Hill reported a “bad vibration” in his No. 21 Chevrolet.
Jones came down on Berry on Lap 119 and spun into the infield to bring out a caution and send the race into a two-lap overtime.
On the overtime restart, Hill continued to lead followed by Allgaier, Mayer and Alfredo. During the caution, Berry’s No. 8 Chevrolet ran out of fuel.
Stage 2
Allgaier got around Mayer with one lap to go and held him off to take the Stage 2 win. Sammy Smith went for a spin on the frontstretch as the stage came to a close.
Jones was third, Hill fourth and Brett Moffitt rounded out the top-five.
Following the caution between Stages 1 and 2, several lead-lap cars elected to pit with Jones first off pit road.
Sheldon Creed was among those who stayed out and inherited the lead. Ryan Ellis had to restart from the rear of the field for an uncontrolled tire and interfering with another pit stop.
The race returned to green on Lap 37 with Creed followed by Kligerman and Mayer.
From the outside lane, Mayer got around Creed to take the lead for the first time on Lap 38.
Allgaier went three-wide and got loose in the middle of the field and spun which triggered a multi-car wreck on Lap 41. Also collected were Kligerman, Stefan Parsons, Creed, Hill and Justin Haley.
The race returned to green on Lap 46 with Mayer still out front followed by Kligerman and Jones.
Kligerman powered to the lead on the restart only to see Mayer reclaim the top spot on Lap 47.
Hill worked his way back up front and grabbed the lead on Lap 50 with Allgaier right behind him in second.
Allgaier reclaimed the lead on Lap 54 and Mayer powered past him back to the front on Lap 56.
Stage 1
Hill held off a late charge from Chandler Smith to claim the Stage 1 win.
Allgaier was third, Haley fourth and Burton rounded out the top-five.
Hill, who started on the pole, had to pit before the green flag to fix a radio issue. Kligerman started the race as the control car.
Custer edged past Kligerman to grab the lead on Lap 1, but Allgaier quickly got around him to lead Lap 2.
On Lap 8, NASCAR was forced to display a caution for potential fluid on the track as the No. 4 of Bayley Currey suffered an engine issue.
A handful of cars elected to pit under the caution but Nemechek remained on the track and in the lead when the race resumed on Lap 12.
Allgaier edged ahead of Nemechek to lead Lap 13 as Haley moved into third.
Blaine Perkins spun off Turn 4 after contact from Mayer and collected Daniel Hemric on Lap 20 to bring out the second caution of the race.
Several drivers took the opportunity to pit but Allgaier stayed out and led the way when the race resumed on Lap 26.
Haley got around Allgaier in Turn 3 to move into the lead on the restart and Hill – who drove from the rear of the field – passed Haley to take the lead for the first time in the race on Lap 27.
Before the green flag, Burton had to make a stop on pit road for a battery change.
| Cla | # | Driver | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | Laps Led | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 |  Austin Hill |
Chevrolet | 125 | 2:21'29.984 | 39 | |||
| 2 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek |
Toyota | 125 | 2:21'30.360 | 0.376 | 0.376 | 8 | |
| 3 | 7 | Justin Allgaier |
Chevrolet | 125 | 2:21'30.361 | 0.377 | 0.001 | 36 | |
| 4 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff | Chevrolet | 125 | 2:21'30.361 | 0.377 | 0.000 | ||
| 5 | 19 | Myatt Snider |
Toyota | 125 | 2:21'30.362 | 0.378 | 0.001 | ||
| 6 | 98 | Riley Herbst |
Ford | 125 | 2:21'30.629 | 0.645 | 0.267 | ||
| 7 | 39 | Joe Jr. | Ford | 125 | 2:21'30.742 | 0.758 | 0.113 | ||
| 8 | 38 | Ryan Sieg |
Ford | 125 | 2:21'31.302 | 1.318 | 0.560 | ||
| 9 | 00 | Cole Custer |
Ford | 125 | 2:21'31.583 | 1.599 | 0.281 | 1 | |
| 10 | 10 | Justin Haley |
Chevrolet | 125 | 2:21'31.584 | 1.600 | 0.001 | 1 | |
| 11 | 27 | Jeb Burton |
Chevrolet | 125 | 2:21'31.773 | 1.789 | 0.189 | ||
| 12 | 16 | Chandler Smith | Chevrolet | 125 | 2:21'32.152 | 2.168 | 0.379 | ||
| 13 | 45 | Stefan Parsons | Chevrolet | 125 | 2:21'32.394 | 2.410 | 0.242 | ||
| 14 | 9 | Brandon Jones |
Chevrolet | 125 | 2:21'32.395 | 2.411 | 0.001 | ||
| 15 | 92 | Josh Williams |
Chevrolet | 125 | 2:21'32.976 | 2.992 | 0.581 | ||
| 16 | 24 | Parker Chase |
Toyota | 125 | 2:21'34.477 | 4.493 | 1.501 | ||
| 17 | 51 | Jeremy Clements |
Chevrolet | 125 | 2:21'39.692 | 9.708 | 5.215 | ||
| 18 | 53 | Joey Gase |
Ford | 125 | 2:21'39.693 | 9.709 | 0.001 | ||
| 19 | 18 | Sammy Smith | Toyota | 125 | 2:21'39.694 | 9.710 | 0.001 | ||
| 20 | 08 | Gray Gaulding |
Chevrolet | 125 | 2:21'41.898 | 11.914 | 2.204 | 1 | |
| 21 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | Ford | 125 | 2:21'46.462 | 16.478 | 4.564 | ||
| 22 | 02 | David Starr |
Chevrolet | 125 | 2:22'04.300 | 34.316 | 17.838 | 2 | |
| 23 | 48 | Parker Kligerman |
Chevrolet | 125 | 2:22'12.288 | 42.304 | 7.988 | 1 | |
| 24 | 78 | Anthony Alfredo | Chevrolet | 125 | 2:22'33.025 | 1'03.041 | 20.737 | ||
| 25 | 5 | Jade Buford |
Chevrolet | 125 | 2:22'37.015 | 1'07.031 | 3.990 | ||
| 26 | 8 | Josh Berry | Chevrolet | 125 | 2:23'01.233 | 1'31.249 | 24.218 | 17 | |
| 27 | 1 | Sam Mayer | Chevrolet | 124 | 2:20'39.194 | 1 Lap | 1 Lap | 14 | |
| 28 | 44 | Jeffrey Earnhardt |
Chevrolet | 124 | 2:21'44.980 | 1 Lap | 1'05.786 | ||
| 29 | 25 | Brett Moffitt |
Ford | 124 | 2:21'54.972 | 1 Lap | 9.992 | ||
| 30 | 34 | Jesse Iwuji |
Chevrolet | 110 | 2:06'49.794 | 15 Laps | 14 Laps | ||
| 31 | 35 | CJ Mclaughlin | Chevrolet | 87 | 1:39'19.540 | 38 Laps | 23 Laps | ||
| 32 | 26 | Kaz Grala |
Toyota | 82 | 1:35'30.596 | 43 Laps | 5 Laps | ||
| 33 | 6 | Brennan Poole |
Chevrolet | 81 | 1:34'36.815 | 44 Laps | 1 Lap | ||
| 34 | 2 | Sheldon Creed |
Chevrolet | 41 | 53'17.205 | 84 Laps | 40 Laps | 5 | |
| 35 | 43 | Ryan Ellis |
Chevrolet | 41 | 55'59.992 | 84 Laps | 2'42.787 | ||
| 36 | 11 | Daniel Hemric |
Chevrolet | 20 | 20'17.158 | 105 Laps | 21 Laps | ||
| 37 | 07 | Blaine Perkins | Chevrolet | 19 | 19'26.160 | 106 Laps | 1 Lap | ||
| 38 | 4 | Bayley Currey |
Chevrolet | 8 | 9'48.870 | 117 Laps | 11 Laps |
