DAYTONA BEACH – Denny Hamlin took a huge risk on the final lap and beat out Martin Truex Jr. to capture the Daytona 500 Sunday in the closest finish in race history.
It was Hamlin’s first Daytona 500 victory.
100 MILES
Chase Elliott and Dale Earnhardt Junior led the pack at the start of the 58th annual Daytona 500 Sunday as both Chevrolet’s set the pace early on.
Elliott started the race as the pole-sitter while Earnhardt started right behind him in the second row.
On the fourth lap, Earnhardt grabbed his first lead of the race followed by Logano who moved up as Elliott dropped back a few spots. Denny Hamlin made the biggest move of the race, working his way up from eleventh to the third spot.
Brad Keslowski made his way through the pack, starting at No. 25 before moving up to the top ten.
Matt Kenseth, who was supposed to start next to Elliott in the front row, was forced to start in the back of the pack after starting in his backup car following a wreck over the weekend. He moved his way up to the top 20 after the first 10 laps.
The first yellow of the race came out on the 20th lap when Elliott and Reagan Smith tapped each other in the fourth corner, spinning both cars out. Elliott’s No. 24 Chevy wound up in the grass in the infield, effectively ending his chances.
Dale Jarrett is the last pole-sitter to go wire-to-wire and win the Daytona 500 back in 2000.
Much of the field took advantage of the break to hit up pit row for gas and tires.
After the restart on Lap 25, Hamlin and teammate Kurt Busch took the lead ahead of Kyle Busch and Earnhardt.
After early dominance by the Chevrolet’s, a handful of Toyota’s pushed their way to the front of the pack led by Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., and Kenseth.
There were five lead chances in the first 100 miles.
200 MILES
The second caution of the day came out after Brian Vickers spun out on front stretch on lap 55, forcing Carl Edwards briefly into the wall as well as causing some damage to Trevor Bayne. Many of the leaders took advantage of the yellow flag to head into the pits for tires and gas.
Jimmie Johnson moved into the lead after the restart with Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Truex Jr., in pursuit.
After holding the lead for 18 laps, Johnson dropped back into the pack, as Kyle Busch took over the top spot as the Toyota’s continued their stranglehold on the top four spots. Busch missed last year’s Daytona 500 after suffering a leg injury.
300 MILES
Joe Gibbs teammates Kyle Busch and Kenseth continued a trend of Toyota’s leading this year’s Daytona 500.
The third caution of the day came out on the ninety-first lap when Matt DiBenedetto and Chris Buescher spun out into Turn 1 and 2 before hitting the wall hard. Both drivers were making their first appearance at the Daytona 500 and both climbed out of their cars.
Hamlin regained the lead after the restart on Lap 99 with Kenseth and Truex Jr. in the mix as well.
After falling back into the pack, Earnhardt Jr. climbed back into the top ten as he tried to maneuver his way back into contention. He was one of five Chevrolet’s making their way into the top half of the lineup 300 miles into the race.
Ten different drivers have had the lead including several multiple times like Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Earnhardt Jr.
The fourth caution came out on Lap 119 after Greg Biffle shredded a tire, forcing him slowly off the track and the clean-up crew out into action.
400 MILES
Denny Hamlin came out of the fourth caution of the day with two new tires and regained the lead with 77 laps remaining in the race. A new face made an appearance near the top of the pack as Jamie McMurray pushed his way into the top five.
Joey Logano, last year’s winner, also made his way into the mix with the leaders along with Kyle Larson who were trying to make up some group on the pack of Toyota’s that continued to lead the race. \\
Hamlin, who was looking for his first Daytona 500 win Sunday, has led a majority of the race – nearly 100 laps – as his No. 11 Toyota appeared to be near-perfect.
A green-flag stop with 44 laps left saw most of the leaders make their way into pit row for tires and gas. It was during that break that Jimmie Johnson’s team suffered a setback as the team was penalized for being too fast over the wall.
The pit stop allowed some drivers like Brian Scott and Michael Arnett.
Matt Kenseth led a group of Toyota drivers to regain the top lead over pack of drivers.
He was joined by Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch with Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards just a few spots back. Kenseth started the race in the back of pack after being forced to switch to a backup car following a wreck earlier in the week.
Brian Vickers, who was tabbed by Tony Stewart to replace him in the No. 14 after Stewart was injured during an offseason accident, moved into the top five.
The fifth caution of the day came out after Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his No. 88 Chevrolet got loose before coming to a stop in the infield grass in the 170th lap of the race. It was a disappointing finish for Earnhardt, who was considered the fan favorite heading into the race.
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