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Chase Elliott holds off Joey Logano to win Daytona Xfinity race


DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Here's what you need to know from the Powershares QQQ 300 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday:

CUT TO THE CHASE: Chase Elliott warmed up for his start in the pole position in Sunday’s Daytona 500 by winning the Xfinity Series season opener Saturday in a rousing duel with Joey Logano at Daytona International Speedway.

The 20-year-old son of 1988 Winston Cup champion Bill Elliott led the final stages of the race, including the final 13 laps after a restart. Elliott will start first Sunday in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in the 58th running of the Great American Race.

Elliott bounced his right rear quarterpanel against the left front of Logano’s car as the two approached the finish line. Elliott won by 0.043 seconds.

500 WARMUP: Sprint Cup regulars Kasey Kahne, Aric Almirola, Austin Dillon, Logano and Elliott led laps during Saturday’s race, which several teams used as a warmup for the Daytona 500. Kyle Larson also participated in Saturday’s race. None was eligible to score points toward the Xfinity Series championship.

ERIK JONES: A hopeful start for a promising 19-year-old driver turned to disappointment Saturday when Erik Jones fell behind early and faded to a 31st-place finish. Jones, last year’s Camping World Truck Series champion who moved up to a full-time Xfinity ride with Joe Gibbs Racing for 2016, had started fifth.

FRONT ROW JOE LEADS LAPS: Joe Nemechek, the 52-year-old Sprint Cup veteran who’s been racing in NASCAR since 1989, led two laps Saturday as the field cycled through pit stops under green. He finished 19th.

BY THE NUMBERS: Saturday’s race was relatively calm compared with Friday’s crash-marred truck race. The Xfinity Series drivers were responsible for just four caution periods in 120 laps; the 100-lap truck race — which ended with Christopher Bell’s dramatic barrel roll — featured seven cautions covering 29 laps.

WHAT’S NEXT: The Xfinity Series resumes Feb. 27 with the Heads Up Georgia 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Follow Olson on Twitter @jeffolson77

PHOTOS: 2016 Xfinity Series opener at Daytona

Powershares QQQ 300 results

Saturday's results from the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway (starting position in parentheses):

1. (19) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 120 laps, 0 points.

2. (8) Joey Logano, Ford, 120, 0.

3. (15) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 120, 0.

4. (10) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 120, 38.

5. (4) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 120, 0.

6. (12) Darrell Wallace Jr., Ford, 120, 35.

7. (7) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 120, 34.

8. (2) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 120, 33.

9. (9) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, 120, 32.

10. (6) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 120, 32.

11. (24) Aric Almirola, Ford, 120, 0.

12. (16) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 120, 29.

13. (1) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 120, 29.

14. (18) Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, 120, 27.

15. (37) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 119, 26.

16. (11) Ryan Reed, Ford, 119, 25.

17. (14) John Wes Townley, Chevrolet, 119, 0.

18. (23) David Starr, Toyota, 119, 23.

19. (28) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 119, 0.

20. (25) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 119, 21.

21. (20) Matt Tifft, Toyota, 119, 0.

22. (36) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 118, 19.

23. (3) Bobby Labonte, Toyota, 118, 0.

24. (38) B.J. McLeod, Ford, 118, 17.

25. (21) Jeb Burton, Ford, 118, 16.

26. (29) Anthony Kumpen, Chevrolet, 118, 15.

27. (13) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 117, 14.

28. (35) Chris Cockrum, Chevrolet, 117, 13.

29. (30) Scott Lagasse Jr., Chevrolet, 117, 12.

30. (33) Eric McClure, Chevrolet, 117, 11.

31. (5) Erik Jones, Toyota, 115, 10.

32. (39) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 114, 9.

33. (32) Ray Black Jr., Chevrolet, 114, 8.

34. (17) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 111, 0.

35. (22) Benny Gordon, Toyota, transmission, 103, 6.

36. (26) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, rear gear, 59, 5.

37. (40) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, transmission, 50, 4.

38. (34) Martin Roy, Chevrolet, accident, 22, 3.

39. (27) Bobby Gerhart, Chevrolet, accident, 6, 2.

40. (31) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet, accident, 5, 1.

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Race Statistics

Average Speed of Race Winner: 151.176 mph.

Time of Race: 1 hour, 59 minutes, 4 seconds.

Margin of Victory: 0.043 seconds.

Caution Flags: 4 for 17 laps.

Lead Changes: 19 among 9 drivers.

Lap Leaders: A.Dillon 1-2; J.Logano 3-14; C.Elliott 15-18; B.Gaughan 19; A.Dillon 20-21; B.Gaughan 22-26; K.Kahne 27; A.Dillon 28; T.Dillon 29-30; K.Kahne 31-56; J.Nemechek 57-58; A.Almirola 59-67; B.Gaughan 68-70; K.Kahne 71-73; J.Logano 74-95; C.Elliott 96; E.Sadler 97-100; J.Logano 101-106; C.Elliott 107-120.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): J.Logano, 3 times for 40 laps; K.Kahne, 3 times for 30 laps; C.Elliott, 3 times for 19 laps; B.Gaughan, 3 times for 9 laps; A.Almirola, 1 time for 9 laps; A.Dillon, 3 times for 5 laps; E.Sadler, 1 time for 4 laps; T.Dillon, 1 time for 2 laps; J.Nemechek, 1 time for 2 laps.

Top 10 in Points: 1. E.Sadler, 38; 2. D.Wallace Jr., 35; 3. B.Jones, 34; 4. D.Suarez, 33; 5. B.Koch, 32; 6. B.Gaughan, 32; 7. J.Allgaier, 29; 8. T.Dillon, 29; 9. D.Armstrong, 27; 10. J.Clements, 26.