Rookie Austin Cindric Holds Off Bubba Wallace to Win Daytona 500

Austin Cindric won the Daytona 500 on Sunday afternoon from the Daytona International Speedway to pick up his first career victory.

Cindric ran up front for most of the day as part of a group of Fords that controlled the lead for a majority of the race.

The 2020 Xfinity Series Champion and Cup Series rookie won in just his eighth career start, and said he was surrounded with great people at his team who helped him get to victory lane to kick off his rookie campaign.

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“I’m surrounded by great people, that’s all there is to it,” Cindric said.  “I know there’s going to be highs and lows when you’re a rookie in a field of drivers this strong.  I’m just grateful for the opportunity and excited for the climb…we’ve got ahead of us.”

Cindric was the leader before they headed to Overtime, and was able to stay at the front of the field with help from his Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney. Headed into the trioval, Blaney tried going to the outside of Cindric following a push from Bubba Wallace, but the rookie was able to throw a block to hold off the field.

Cindric thanked his teammate following the race for the push that helped get to the lead.

“I appreciate Ryan being a great teammate,” Cindric said.  “Obviously he wants to win one.”

Wallace picked up his second runner-up finish in the Daytona 500, and said he was disappointed with this one.

“I’m going to be pissed off about this one for awhile,” Wallace said.  “I was happy on the first second place we got a couple years ago; this one just sucks when you’re that close.”

“I thought our Toyota teammates did good work until they got picked off.  Just dejected; the thing that keeps me up is just the hard work…from everybody at 23XI.”

Unofficial results:

1. Austin Cindric

2. Bubba Wallace

3. Chase Briscoe

4. Ryan Blaney

5. Aric Almirola

6. Kyle Busch

7. Michael McDowell

8. David Ragan

9. Brad Keselowski

10. Chase Elliott

11. Ty Dillon

12. Daniel Hemric

13. Martin Truex Jr.

14. Corey LaJoie

15. Landon Cassill

16. Chris Buescher

17. Cody Ware

18. Daniel Suarez

19. Kurt Busch

20. Cole Custer

21. Joey Logano

22. Jacques Villeneuve

23. Justin Haley

24. Alex Bowman

25. Austin Dillon

26. Kaz Grala

27. BJ McLeod

28. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

29. Erik Jones

30. Kevin Harvick

31. Noah Gragson

32. Kyle Larson

33. Todd Gilliland

34. Christopher Bell

35. Tyler Reddick

36. Greg Biffle

37. Denny Hamlin

38. William Byron

39. Harrison Burton

40. Ross Chastain

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McDowell Surprises with Daytona 500 Victory

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Michael McDowell won the Daytona 500 from the Daytona International Speedway on Sunday night.

McDowell was running third headed down the backstretch while he pushed Brad Keselowski to the front. After Keselowski made contact with leader Joey Logano, McDowell was able to sneak past as a massive crash erupted in the pack.

McDowell was ahead of Chase Elliott and Austin Dillon at the time of the caution, which officially froze the field and awarded McDowell his first career victory in NASCAR’s biggest race.

McDowell said he was excited to pick up his first victory after 14 years in the Cup Series.

“Just can’t believe it,” McDowell said.  “So many years just grinding it out for an opportunity like this.  Such a great way to get a first victory."

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With the laps winding down, a group of Ford drivers led the field.  Logano, Kevin Harvick, Keselowski and McDowell ran single-file until the final lap.  McDowell said the manufacturer teamwork helped give them all a chance at the victory.

“We had our Ford partners at the end and they all crashed; luckily I was able to make it through,” McDowell said. 

Elliott was second at the moment of the caution, and he said he knew he came up short when he saw the caution lights come on.

“I don’t think it was very close,” Elliott said.  “Got next to him and saw the lights come on, so I knew it was over right there.”

Elliott, who began his championship defense on Sunday, said he was just excited to finish NASCAR biggest event after having bad luck in years past.

“Staying out of trouble…that’s not something I’ve done a very good job of here in this race,” Elliott said.  “We finished one, so I’m pretty pleased with that.”

Unofficial results:

1. Michael McDowell

2. Chase Elliott

3. Austin Dillon

4. Kevin Harvick

5. Denny Hamlin

6. Ryan Preece

7. Ross Chastain

8. Jamie McMurray

9. Corey LaJoie

10. Kyle Larson

11. Cole Custer

12. Joey Logano

13. Brad Keselowski

14. Kyle Busch

15. Austin Cindric

16. Christopher Bell

17. Bubba Wallace

18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

19. Chase Briscoe

20. Joey Gase

21. Cody Ware

22. Kurt Busch

23. BJ McLeod

24. Josh Bilicki

25. Martin Truex Jr.

26. William Byron

27. Tyler Reddick

28. Kaz Grala

29. Quin Houff

30. Ryan Blaney

31. Chris Buescher

32. Anthony Alfredo

33. Matt DiBenedetto

34. Aric Almirola

35. Alex Bowman

36. Daniel Suarez

37. David Ragan

38. Ryan Newman

39. Erik Jones

40. Derrike Cope

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Denny Hamlin Wins Daytona 500, Newman Taken to Hospital Following Accident

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Denny Hamlin won the 62nd running of the Daytona 500 on Monday night from Daytona International Speedway.

Hamlin won his third Daytona 500 on Sunday following a photo finish with Ryan Blaney.

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Hamlin, who was one of the favorites going into the weekend, said it was unexpected to win his second-consecutive Daytona 500.

“I knew [Ryan Newman and Blaney] were going to come with a big run right there; my job was to just not put a block that was going to wreck me,” Hamlin said.  “I got to the 12 [of Blaney’s] bumper, got to pushing him there and I knew I was going to give him a big run.”

Hamlin’s celebration was subdued as teams waited to hear any information on Newman, who wrecked coming to the checkered flag.  Newman was turned into the outside wall, flipped and was hit in the driver’s side by Corey LaJoie. 

Newman was extracted from his car by safety personnel and taken to the local hospital.

Drivers up and down pit road were worried about Newman’s condition.

“We pushed Newman there to the lead, and then we got a push from the 11 [of Hamlin],” Blaney said after finishing second.  “I made a move off turn four on Newman and he blocked it.  I kind of went low and he blocked that, so then I was committed to just pushing him to the win; I guess we got our bumpers hooked up wrong.”

“I hope he’s alright; it looked pretty bad.”

“Number one, we’re praying for Ryan,” Hamlin said.  “I think we take for granted sometimes how safe the cars are.”

Unofficial results:

1. Denny Hamlin

2. Ryan Blaney

3. Chris Buescher

4. David Ragan

5. Kevin Harvick

6. Clint Bowyer

7. Brendan Gaughan

8. Corey LaJoie

9. Ryan Newman

10. Kyle Larson

11. John Hunter Nemechek

12. Austin Dillon

13. Justin Haley

14. Michael McDowell

15. Bubba Wallace

16. Brennan Poole

17. Chase Elliott

18. Erik Jones

19. Matt DiBenedetto

20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

21. Christopher Bell

22. Aric Almirola

23. Joey Gase

24. Alex Bowman

25. Ross Chastain

26. Joey Logano

27. Timmy Hill

28. Tyler Reddick

29. Ryan Preece

30. Ty Dillon

31. Reed Sorenson

32. Martin Truex Jr.

33. Kurt Busch

34. Kyle Busch

35. Jimmie Johnson

36. Brad Keselowski

37. Cole Custer

38. BJ McLeod

39. Quin Houff

40. William Byron

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Hamlin Wins Emotional Daytona 500

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Denny Hamlin won the Daytona 500 on Sunday afternoon from the Daytona International Speedway after three late crashes took out most of the field.

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The victory was Hamlin’s second in NASCAR’s biggest event, and he had to hold off his teammate Kyle Busch to get to victory lane.  Hamlin pulled down in front of Busch after the final restart, and he was able to stay in the lead when Busch and Joey Logano started fighting for second.

Hamlin said he will enjoy this Daytona 500 win more than his first victory in 2016.

“I’m just going to enjoy it more,” Hamlin said.  “I think I was just so dumbfounded by everything that happened in the first one…this one lets me soak it in a little more.”

It was an emotional victory for the entire Joe Gibbs Racing organization.  In the offseason, team founder Joe Gibbs’ son JD died following a brain illness.

Hamlin said the victory was more special to him because JD Gibbs discovered Hamlin and brought him to JGR.

“The whole family…they’ve done so much for me over the course of my career,” Hamlin said.  “This one’s for JD.  His legacy still lives on through Joe Gibbs Racing.”

Busch finished second to his teammate, once again failing to win NASCAR’s biggest event.

Busch said with so little cars running at the finish that he couldn’t have done anything differently.

“There wasn’t enough cars out there, really,” Busch said.  “With six cars running around at the end, I don’t know if anything would have been any different.”

“It’s awesome to see a JGR car in victory lane for Joe and JD…but it’s very bittersweet…for all the guys trying to get our Daytona 500 victory.”

Unofficial results:

1. Denny Hamlin

2. Kyle Busch

3. Erik Jones

4. Joey Logano

5. Michael McDowell

6. Ty Dillon

7. Kyle Larson

8. Ryan Preece

9. Jimmie Johnson

10. Ross Chastain

11. Alex Bowman

12. Brad Keselowski

13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

14. Ryan Newman

15. Parker Kligerman

16. Austin Dillon

17. Chase Elliott

18. Corey LaJoie

19. BJ McLeod

20. Clint Bowyer

21. William Byron

22. Jamie McMurray

23. Brendan Gaughan

24. Landon Cassill

25. Kurt Busch

26. Kevin Harvick

27. Tyler Reddick

28. Matt DiBenedetto

29. Paul Menard

30. David Ragan

31. Ryan Blaney

32. Aric Almirola

33. Daniel Suarez

34. Daniel Hemric

35. Martin Truex Jr.

36. Matt Tifft

37. Chris Buescher

38. Bubba Wallace

39. Cody Ware

40. Casey Mears

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Austin Dillon Wins Wild Daytona 500

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Austin Dillon won the Daytona 500 on Sunday afternoon from the Daytona International Speedway.

Dillon picked up his second career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory in NASCAR’s most prestigious race.  Dillon took the lead on the final lap after making contact with Aric Almirola while making a pass for the lead.

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Dillon said he didn’t mean to wreck Almirola for the lead.

“I hate it for the 10 [of Almirola],” Dillon said.  “We just had a run and I stayed in the gas…I did what I had to do at the end.”

Dillon restarted fourth heading into overtime, and he used a push from Darrell Wallace Jr. to take the lead.  Wallace finished second, and he became the highest-finishing African American driver in the Daytona 500 in just his first start with a new team.

Dillon’s win returns the iconic No. 3 to victory lane 20 years after Dale Earnhardt won the Daytona 500.  Dillon was in victory lane with Earnhardt back in 1998, and he said he was excited to take his grandpa back to victory.

“It is so awesome to take the 3 car back to victory lane,” Dillon said.  “20 years ago…this one’s for Dale Earnhardt Sr. and all those Sr. fans.”

“I said that my first win…I couldn’t beat it, and this does.”

Wallace was emotional following his second-place finish, but he said he was excited to start the season off strong with a new team.

“I’ve got so many emotions right now,” Wallace said.  “Thank you to the King [Richard Petty] for giving me this opportunity.”

“We know how much stress this team has been through in the last three or four months just trying to get this thing together, so for me to come out here…P2 in my first Daytona 500.”

Unofficial results:

1. Austin Dillon

2. Darrell Wallace Jr.

3. Denny Hamlin

4. Joey Logano

5. Chris Buescher

6. Paul Menard

7. Ryan Blaney

8. Ryan Newman

9. Michael McDowell

10. AJ Allmendinger

11. Aric Almirola

12. Justin Marks

13. Trevor Bayne

14. David Gilliland

15. Clint Bowyer

16. Jamie McMurray

17. Alex Bowman

18. Martin Truex Jr.

19. Kyle Larson

20. Gray Gaulding

21. Jeffrey Earnhardt

22. Mark Thompson

23. William Byron

24. DJ Kennington

25. Kyle Busch

26. Kurt Busch

27. Matt DiBenedetto

28. Brendan Gaughan

29. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

30. David Ragan

31. Kevin Harvick

32. Brad Keselowski

33. Chase Elliott

34. Kasey Kahne

35. Danica Patrick

36. Erik Jones

37. Daniel Suarez

38. Jimmie Johnson

39. Ty Dillon

40. Corey LaJoie

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Kurt Busch Wins Wild Daytona 500

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Kurt Busch passed Kyle Larson on the final lap to win a wild Daytona 500 on Sunday from the Daytona International Speedway.

 

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Busch made the winning pass coming off turn 2 after getting a big run on Larson’s 42 car.  The win was Busch’s first Daytona 500 victory after finishing runner-up three times before.  Busch said he used that experience to get to victory lane on Sunday.

“The more that becomes unpredictable about Daytona, the more it becomes predictable,” Busch said.  “The more that I’ve run this race, the more that I’ve just thrown caution to the wind and let it rip…that’s what we did.”

There were a lot of unknowns going into the weekend.  The Daytona 500 was the first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race to use the new race format announced earlier in the year, and no one knew how the Stewart-Haas cars would perform following their offseason switch to Ford.  Busch showed that SHR didn’t miss a step with their switch when he pulled into victory lane.

“I can’t believe this homecoming to Ford,” Busch said.  “The strategy today; who knew when to pit when; what segments were what; everybody’s wrecking as soon as we were done with the second segment.”

“Unbelievable to have all of this teamwork build these SHR Fords, and here we are in victory lane.”

Chase Elliott won the pole and was strong throughout the whole race, but ran out of gas with less than two laps to go while leading the field.  Larson knew he was going to be close at the end of the race because he and Elliott were on the same strategy.

“I got worried when Chase ran out,” Larson said.  “I knew we’d be close because we pitted the same time, have the same engines.”

“I didn’t think I’d have a shot to win the Daytona 500 just yet.  I don’t feel like I have the experience enough on this kind of stuff, but I feel like I learned a lot today.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kurt Busch

2. Ryan Blaney

3. AJ Allmendinger

4. Aric Almirola

5. Paul Menard

6. Joey Logano

7. Kasey Kahne

8. Michael Waltrip

9. Matt DiBenedetto

10. Trevor Bayne

11. Brendan Gaughan

12. Kyle Larson

13. Martin Truex Jr.

14. Chase Elliott

15. Michael McDowell

16. Landon Cassill

17. Denny Hamlin

18. Cole Whitt

19. Austin Dillon

20. Elliott Sadler

21. Ryan Newman

22. Kevin Harvick

23. Joey Gase

24. Corey LaJoie

25. David Ragan

26. Jeffrey Earnhardt

27. Brad Keselowski

28. Jamie McMurray

29. Daniel Suarez

30. Ty Dillon

31. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

32. Clint Bowyer

33. Danica Patrick

34. Jimmie Johnson

35. Chris Buescher

36. DJ Kennington

37. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

38. Kyle Busch

39. Erik Jones

40. Matt Kenseth

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images