Dale Earnhardt Jr. has won his second Daytona 500 with a classy performance in a race that included a six hour plus rain delay.
NASCAR’s most popular driver was near or at the front for the majority of the race, leading a total of 54 of the 200 laps run. Denny Hamlin finished second with Brad Keselowski in third.
The only major drama for Earnhardt Jr. came just prior to the final re-start with three laps remaining when he got tape caught on his grill after it fell from the repaired car of Ryan Newman. Hamlin just as impressive after losing his radio with 100 laps to run meaning he had no communications with his crew or spotter.
The results all but seals Earnhardt Jr in the Chase for the Cup under the new rules which reward the top 15 drivers based on race wins over the first 26 races of the year.
In a race that featured six separate caution periods, including three for multicar wrecks, none of which caused the driver of the #88 as he was always in front of the dramas.
“Winning this race is the greatest feeling you can feel in this sport, besides accepting the trophy for the championship,” said Earnhardt Jr who last won the race in 2004.
“This is amazing. I can’t believe this is happening. I’m not taking this for granted.”
Crew Chief Steve Letarte collected his first win in ‘The Great American Race’. “If you’re going to win one, this is the one you want to win. Dale drove a great race,” said Letarte.
Australia’s Marcos Ambrose finished the race in 18th after running as high as fourth. He got caught up in two of the big wrecks after cars crashed in front of him.
“We had a fast car today. The Stanley Ford was good all week and the car was fast tonight. That is encouraging,” said Ambrose.
“We were caught in the wreck close to the end. From there we survived the other ones and finished the race on the lead lap. It’s just a shootout, but we had a chance for the majority of the day.”
VIDEO: Race finish and Victory Lane
VIDEO: Wreck number #3 of the race
VIDEO: Kyle Larson Wrecked by Austin Dillon and Marcos Ambrose gets involved
VIDEO: First big wreck of the race
RESULTS: Daytona 500
|
POS |
Car # |
Driver |
Make |
Start Pos. |
Laps |
Laps Led |
Final Status |
Points |
Bonus Points |
|
1 |
88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | Chevrolet | 9 | 200 | 54 | Running | 48 | 5 |
|
2 |
11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 4 | 200 | 16 | Running | 43 | 1 |
|
3 |
2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | 33 | 200 | 13 | Running | 42 | 1 |
|
4 |
24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | 6 | 200 | 0 | Running | 40 | 0 |
|
5 |
48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 32 | 200 | 15 | Running | 40 | 1 |
|
6 |
20 | Matt Kenseth | Toyota | 3 | 200 | 0 | Running | 38 | 0 |
|
7 |
17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | Ford | 34 | 200 | 0 | Running | 37 | 0 |
|
8 |
16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 25 | 200 | 8 | Running | 37 | 1 |
|
9 |
3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 1 | 200 | 1 | Running | 36 | 1 |
|
10 |
13 | Casey Mears | Chevrolet | 28 | 200 | 0 | Running | 34 | 0 |
|
11 |
22 | Joey Logano | Ford | 35 | 200 | 2 | Running | 34 | 1 |
|
12 |
40 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | 18 | 200 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 |
|
13 |
4 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | 38 | 200 | 0 | Running | 31 | 0 |
|
14 |
1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | 22 | 200 | 0 | Running | 30 | 0 |
|
15 |
52 | Bobby Labonte | Chevrolet | 26 | 200 | 0 | Running | 29 | 0 |
|
16 |
36 | Reed Sorenson | Chevrolet | 39 | 200 | 0 | Running | 28 | 0 |
|
17 |
99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | 30 | 200 | 8 | Running | 28 | 1 |
|
18 |
9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | 7 | 200 | 0 | Running | 26 | 0 |
|
19 |
18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 37 | 200 | 19 | Running | 26 | 1 |
|
20 |
32 | Terry Labonte | Ford | 24 | 200 | 0 | Running | 24 | 0 |
|
21 |
41 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | 8 | 199 | 15 | Running | 24 | 1 |
|
22 |
31 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | 19 | 199 | 0 | Running | 22 | 0 |
|
23 |
23 | Alex Bowman | Toyota | 29 | 198 | 0 | Running | 21 | 0 |
|
24 |
98 | Josh Wise | Ford | 11 | 196 | 0 | Running | 20 | 0 |
|
25 |
33 | Brian Scott | Chevrolet | 12 | 196 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 |
|
26 |
47 | AJ Allmendinger | Chevrolet | 15 | 194 | 1 | Running | 19 | 1 |
|
27 |
51 | Justin Allgaier | Chevrolet | 40 | 193 | 4 | Accident | 18 | 1 |
|
28 |
26 | Cole Whitt | Toyota | 23 | 193 | 0 | Accident | 16 | 0 |
|
29 |
30 | Parker Kligerman | Toyota | 41 | 193 | 0 | Accident | 15 | 0 |
|
30 |
55 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | 31 | 192 | 0 | Running | 14 | 0 |
|
31 |
5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | 5 | 192 | 2 | Running | 14 | 1 |
|
32 |
27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | 10 | 184 | 29 | Running | 13 | 1 |
|
33 |
21 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | 14 | 183 | 2 | Accident | 0 | 0 |
|
34 |
34 | David Ragan | Ford | 43 | 176 | 0 | Running | 10 | 0 |
|
35 |
14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | 21 | 174 | 0 | Running | 9 | 0 |
|
36 |
38 | David Gilliland | Ford | 17 | 171 | 0 | Running | 8 | 0 |
|
37 |
7 | Michael Annett | Chevrolet | 36 | 161 | 0 | Accident | 7 | 0 |
|
38 |
42 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 16 | 160 | 0 | Accident | 6 | 0 |
|
39 |
43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | 13 | 146 | 5 | Accident | 6 | 1 |
|
40 |
10 | Danica Patrick | Chevrolet | 27 | 145 | 2 | Accident | 5 | 1 |
|
41 |
66 | Michael Waltrip | Toyota | 42 | 144 | 4 | Accident | 4 | 1 |
|
42 |
15 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | 20 | 127 | 0 | Engine | 2 | 0 |
|
43 |
78 | Martin Truex Jr | Chevrolet | 2 | 30 | 0 | Engine | 1 | 0 |
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