![]() ![]() Harvick’s Daytona 500 win came in his sixth try. Harvick picked up his first Cup Series win in just his third start after Earnhardt Sr.’s death in the 2001 Daytona 500 led to Harvick’s early promotion. Quick success is something that Cindric also shares with Harvick and Earnhardt Jr. ![]() Ironically, Keselowski was one of the drivers with whom he battled for the win after an overtime restart in Sunday’s race. However, he has yet to win on the sport’s biggest stage, going 0 for 12 with Team Penske and finishing in ninth place on Sunday in his first start with RFK Racing.įor Cindric, the win comes in his eighth career Cup Series start, and he also won his Xfinity Series championship with Team Penske. Keselowski found success early in his career, winning at Talladega Superspeedway in just his fifth career Cup Series start and winning championships with Team Penske in the Xfinity Series in 2010 and the Cup Series in 2012. He replaced Brad Keselowski, who left to join the newly renamed RFK (Roush Fenway Keselowski) Racing as a driver and co-owner. Cindric’s ability to quickly adapt in NASCAR is something he shares with the veterans in this group, plus the driver he has replaced at Team Penske.Ĭindric joined this small group in just his second Daytona 500 start and his first regular season race as driver of the #2 Ford for Team Penske. He is the only driver in this group to have a Cup Series title as well, though this is only Cindric’s first season competing for Cup Series points.ĭillon was the champion in the sport’s second-tier series in 2013 before winning the Great American Race in 2018, when he returned the #3 Chevrolet to the track’s victory lane on the 20-year anniversary of Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s lone Daytona 500 win. Harvick won the Xfinity Series championship in 20 before winning the Daytona 500 in 2007. Earnhardt pulled off that feat in 2003 to 2004. still annoys Martin Truex Jr.Įarnhardt won back-to-back Xfinity Series titles in 19 before winning the Great American Race in both 20.Ĭindric, the 2020 champion in NASCAR’s second-tier series, is also the first driver since Earnhardt to win the Daytona 500 after winning the opening race of the Xfinity Series season at Daytona International Speedway the year prior. The longest of races had produced a most unlikely winner.Must Read: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Elliott actually passed him, but an official review said the pass came seconds too late. McDowell was in fifth, then fourth, and then suddenly in the lead - on the final lap - as the crashes unfolded around him. ![]() The three Toyota drivers remaining in the race - Hamlin, Wallace and Busch - were unprepared to respond in kind they were all spread out on the track after their stops, and Hamlin found himself relegated to 12th place with about 25 laps to go.Īfter the final pits stops, there were five Fords in formation running up front, followed by the Chevrolets of Elliott and Dillon, and the Toyotas of Busch, Hamlin and Wallace. And all of them executed their pit stops with identical precision and came back out on the track in a pack. They all pitted unexpectedly, together, in tight formation. The Ford teams, including McDowell’s, also outfoxed the rest of the Chevrolets and Toyotas in the field on the last scheduled round of pit stops. One driver deftly avoided trouble on the track only to have his car slide into its muddy bog of an infield, which tore out some of the key components that make it run.Īnd yet, when it was all done, when the rain stopped and the smoke cleared and the cars limped back into their garages, this year’s Daytona 500 still found one more way to surprise: with a 100-1 long shot, Michael McDowell, celebrating in Victory Lane. Cars went out with crash damage, or tire damage, or engine damage, or all three. One owned by the basketball star Michael Jordan was still battling for the lead late. Drivers sprinting for shelter, fans running for safety and at least three contenders who left the track in search of dinner, including one who went through a takeout window still wearing his racing suit.Ī car partly owned by the singer Pitbull crashed out early. Fiery crashes, smoky crashes and muddy crashes. In between, Sunday’s Daytona 500 had a bit of everything. There was a 16-car pileup near the start of the afternoon race and another fiery one right before it ended shortly after midnight. ![]()
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