DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The latest Daytona 500 (always local):
12:35 h
Brad Keselowski has no regrets about how he handled the last lap of the Daytona 500.
Keselowski had a great race with Team Penkse teammate and race leader Joey Logano about a mile from the finish line. Keselowski tried to get Logano through, but Logano blocked him and crashed into the net.
Kyle Busch crashed into Keselowski’s Ford No. 2, sending him spinning and hitting the wall again. Austin Cindric plowed both, creating a brief explosion and fire. Each driver escaped unharmed.
“He had had a great race in the back, he wanted the pass to win the Daytona 500 and he finished really badly,” Keselowski said. “I don’t feel like I was wrong, but I can’t drive the rest of the car. Frustrating …
“We were in his position. It’s exactly where he wanted to be, finishing second on the last lap of Daytona with this pack. We had done the race, we had made the move and it didn’t go well.”
Michael McDowell won both and got the win, his first start in the 358 Cup Series. It was an impressive upheaval at the NASCAR auteur event.
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12:15 p.m.
Michael McDowell won the Daytona 500 after Penske Racing teammates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski sank on the final lap.
It was McDowell’s first victory in the early 358 Cup Series, an impressive nuisance at the NASCAR event. McDowell led just one lap, the only one that mattered.
McDowell was in third place when Keselowski got a great run with Logano. Keselowski tried to get Logano through, but Logano tried to block him.
Chase Elliott was second, followed by Austin Dillon, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin.
Hamlin was trying to become the first in NASCAR history to win three consecutive Daytona 500s.
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23: 14h
Denny Hamlin won the second stage of the Daytona 500, proving that he was the guy to beat in “The Great American Race”.
Hamlin also won the first stage. The final stage, of 70 laps, will determine the winner. Hamlin tries to become the first to win three consecutive Daytona 500s.
He briefly lost the lead to his Toyota teammate Bubba Wallace before the final lap, but Hamlin reunited on the final two laps to go back and finished with Harvick at the finish line. Wallace was third, followed by series defender Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon and Joey Logano. Michael McDowell, Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski completed the top 10.
Wallace became the black driver to lead a lap on the Daytona 500.
Kaz Grala has had the most interesting trip in the 65 lap stage. His car caught fire twice due to a broken rear wheel bearing, which sent sparks and flames through the back of his Chevrolet no. 16. The damage ended its night, but not after the workers put out the fire once and returned to the track to catch fire again and permanently lose the brakes.
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22:09 h
Denny Hamlin won the first stage of the Daytona 500, proving he has a car good enough to become the first to win “The Great American Race” three years in a row.
Hamlin moved to the front shortly after the race was restarted after a weather delay that lasted nearly six hours. Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch stayed in line behind him until he shuffled again on the final lap of the stage, which took more than seven hours to complete.
Ryan Preece was second, followed by Austin Dillon, Kyle Larson and Austin Cindric. Christopher Bell was sixth, while Bubba Wallace, Joey Logano, Ross Chastain and Cole Custer completed the top 10.
The race restarted after almost six hours of delay caused by lightning and then heavy rain.
Only 28 of the 40 cars remain on track, and 23 of those are still on the main lap.
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9:08 p.m.
The Daytona 500 has resumed after a weather delay that lasted more than five hours and caused several drivers to make fast food tracks off the track.
Kevin Harvick was in front when the race restarted cautiously with 185 laps remaining.
The NASCAR auteur event was stopped after 15 laps due to lightning and after heavy rains. Sixteen cars suffered a huge crash just one lap before the stop.
With a radar showing a long delay, at least three drivers took to the road to pick up some trash.
Drivers Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain and Tyler Reddick used the red flag to refuel, giving new meaning to fast food. Drivers left the track and made quick trips down the street to grab some bouquets.
Briscoe posted a photo on social media where he was wearing his fire suit in the Panda Express car. Chastain posted a photo of himself on the drive-thru of McDonald’s, a sponsor. Reddick sat in Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, also a sponsor, and ate some chicken pie.
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6:15 p.m.
Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain and Tyler Reddick gave new meaning to fast food during a rain delay at Daytona International Speedway.
Drivers left the famous track during a long red flag during the Daytona 500 and made quick trips down the street to catch some trail.
Briscoe’s wife, Marissa, tweeted about a photo of Chase carrying his fireplace in the Panda Express car.
Ross Chastain followed suit shortly after and posted a photo of him in the car of McDonald’s, a sponsor. He noted that these are “rain delays on the 21st.”
Reddick sat in Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, also a sponsor, and ate some chicken pie, saying “some much-needed cozy food.”
The NASCAR season opener was stopped after 15 laps due to lightning and after heavy rains. The 2 1/2 mile track takes hours to dry. Sixteen cars, including the one driven by Reddick, took part in a huge crash 14 laps from the race.
Lightning in the area a few minutes later caused officials to clear the motoring stadium and send socially distanced fans to a crowded space. Drivers got out of their cars and once the rain fell, they hit the road.
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4:15 p.m.
Pitbull’s Daytona 500 party ended long before the last call.
The platinum-selling rapper bought from Trackhouse Racing, which put driver Daniel Suarez on the field. Suárez drives the No. 99 Chevrolet and was among the drivers picked up in a pile of 16 cars early. He was forced to leave after 13 laps completed.
“Mr. All over the world ”also gave the order to the drivers to start the engines.
Pitbull says he is one of the most recent NASCAR team owners.
“Now that there are no tours, I’ll be in pretty much every race,” Pitbull said. “There’s a higher call on that.”
Pitbull joined Michael Jordan, the famous NBA show, as celebrity owners entering NASCAR this year. Trackhouse was launched late last year by former driver Justin Marks and watched the race with Pitbull from a suite.
“There is no hidden agenda. We’re here to win, ”Pitbull said.
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3:50 p.m.
The Big One hit 14 laps on the Daytona 500, triggered when Aric Almirola became pole winner Alex Bowman and started a 16-car accumulation.
Minutes later, the race was stopped by lightning and fans who had been socially distanced in the stands had to seek refuge in the crowded venue. It was followed by heavy rain that closed “The Great American Race” so it would be a long delay.
Christopher Bell started the melee when he pushed Almirola too hard to the front of the field and forced the Stewart-Haas Racing driver to tip over while trying to avoid a slip. Almirola ended up becoming Bowman on the right. Their contact causes others to collide, causing them to spin and slide on grass and mud. Martin Truex Jr., Erik Jones, Jamie McMurray, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch were among those involved.
“They were pushing us too hard too early,” Almirola said. “It’s a long, long race.” Man, we were in a good position, just sitting there, riding between the first two, three and (Bell) just He came in with a great run and hit me really hard in a bad place, he turned me right, he broke our race car and finished the Daytona 500 too early, ”Almirola said.
Hendrick Motorsports had put Bowman and Byron in the front row.
Newman died almost in a horrific accident on the last lap of last year’s Daytona 500. Newman left safely on Sunday and even checked on Busch while sitting in his Chevy.
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3:25 pm
Derrike Cope was eliminated after just three laps, an ignominious finish for the 62-year-old rider who won the 1990 Daytona 500.
Cope made his first start in the Daytona 500 since 2004 and 15th overall. Cope appeared to have a cut tire on the No. 15 Chevrolet he was driving for Rick Ware Racing.
Cope was forced into the garage on the third lap as fans and teams greeted the late Dale Earnhardt by raising three fingers in tribute to the 20th anniversary of his death. Cope passed over Earnhardt, who flew a tire with less than a mile to win the 1990 Daytona 500.
Cope got two wins in 428 Cup starts.
Rick Ware Racing also finished last in the 2020 Indianapolis 500. James Davison only completed four laps in that race.
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15:10 h
Fans and crew greeted the late Dale Earnhardt by raising three fingers on lap 3 during the Daytona 500, recognizing the twentieth anniversary of his death, which came on the final lap of the NASCAR auteur event. Earnhardt drove the famous No. 3 Richard Childress Racing.
The death of the seven-time Cup Series champion forced NASCAR to significantly improve safety, changes that have saved many lives in the next 20 years. Ryan Newman survived a head-on collision on the last lap at last year’s opening, leaving a hospital two days after everyone watching feared the worst.
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14.00 h
Bubba Wallace’s car failed twice in the Daytona 500 inspection and will have to start at the back of the field.
The 23XI Racing car boss was kicked out as punishment. Toyota No. 23 passed the inspection for the third time.
Wallace leads a new entry owned by NBA great Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin. He had planned to start “The Great American Race” in the third row. Instead, Wallace will be one of ten riders who will have to fall to the back of the group during the lap laps.
Nine other people have already lost their starting places due to changes made after NASCAR’s two 150-mile qualifying races on Thursday. Former Series Cup champion Brad Keselowski and top-ranked William Byron switched to secondary cars due to accidents. The same for Chase Briscoe, Kaz Grala, Anthony Alfredo, Cole Custer and Ross Chastain.
Martin Truex Jr.’s team he had to change a radiator and an oil cooler. Erik Jones’ team changed engines.
Alex Bowman is scheduled to drive the 40-car field on the green flag at 3:05 p.m. EST.
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