Daniel Dye set his sights well on Friday night, scoring an eighth-place finish at EchoPark Speedway. (Photo Credit: Sydney Redden | The Podium Finish)
HAMPTON, Ga. — Daniel Dye got back on consistent terms after a bumpy five-race slump since last month at Charlotte, claiming an eighth-place finish during Saturday night’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Focused Health 250 at the newly dubbed EchoPark Speedway.
The Xfinity Series rookie contender endured a long and strenuous night, after having two lightning delays, pushing the race into the early morning hours on Saturday, as well as severely damaging the rear clip of his No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing when Harrison Burton got spun around late in Stage 2, but kept his head down and powered to his sixth top 10 finish of 2025.
After qualifying 22nd during Friday afternoon’s qualification session, the DeLand, Florida native played the strategy game late in Stage 1, taking advantage of the long green-flag opening run, working inside the top 5. By the end of Stage 1, claiming third-place points.
Daniel Dye racing Jeremy Clements (No.51) during the 2025 Focused Health 250 at EchoPark Speedway. (Photo Credit: Declan Wayman | The Podium Finish)
But the night didn’t stay smooth. On lap 80, as the weather started to loom over the track, contact mid-pack forced Dye to check up hard, sending him into evasive maneuvers that dropped him back to 25th after contact with Burton. The subsequent caution for lightning and rain only added to the scramble.
The 21-year-old driver settled back on the final two restarts, maintaining his composure, ultimately climbing his way, utilizing the draft to wind up finishing in eighth after 163 laps of attrition and gutsy racing in the Peach State.
“Yeah, we got collected there running about 5th,” Dye told The Podium Finish. “Once we got that damage, it was tough. We had to come all the way up in the back and drive our way back up to about 10th, but overall a great day for us.”
Following the race on pit road, five-time EchoPark Speedway winner Austin Hill approached Dye, as he pointed out that Dye didn’t help the driver of the No. 21, who went numerous laps down due to a loss of fuel pressure, and apparently resulting in hand gestures being exchanged between both drivers.
Yeah, I just let him know how I felt; he was six laps down in situations that presented themselves. If I try and help him, you know, and help us as a group, and welcome. And that was not reciprocated today, quite the opposite. So, I’m sure once he calms down from having a bad day, we will talk more about it.”
Dye led the Kaulig Racing charge throughout the night, as both his teammates of Christian Eckes and Josh Williams, suffered early race damage, resulting in 19th and 38th place finishes respectively.
As nine races remain in the Xfinity Series regular season, Dye finds himself sitting 16th in playoff standings, amid a huge bubble battle as he sits 52 points out of the final transfer spot heading into a pair of road course events at Chicago Street Course next Saturday, followed by the yearly trip to Sonoma Raceway on July 12.
The Loop 110 at Chicago Street Course will air live on The CW on Saturday, July 5 at 4:30 p.m. ET, with radio broadcast coverage provided by the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
