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Daytona 500 starting order set...or is it?

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emailBy Kelly Crandall | February 12, 2021 7:09 AM

The 40-car field for the 63rd annual Daytona 500 is set, but the front row remains a question mark

A pair of Duel races held Thursday did not go well for Hendrick Motorsports teammates Alex Bowman and William Byron. Bowman, who won the pole for Sunday’s race, heard something in the engine in his Chevrolet that turned into a vibration in the chassis, which has the No. 48 team trying to diagnose a potential issue.

An engine change, or any unapproved adjustment before Sunday, would send Bowman to the rear of the field in the Daytona 500.

“We talked through engine diagnostics and sent some guys over pit wall who don’t normally go over the wall,” said crew chief Greg Ives. “Our Ally Racing team was able to go through some tire sets to make sure it wasn’t that. There were a lot of things you always think you are going to be prepared for until you actually go through them. I feel like we did a good job understanding it, and hopefully, we are able to diagnose it and make sure everything is good.”

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Byron was collected in a wreck in his Duel race, making his No. 24 Chevrolet no longer usable. Byron will go to a backup car and, as a result, will have to drop to the rear of the field Sunday afternoon.

By winning the first Duel race, Aric Almirola starts third in the Daytona 500. Austin Dillon, who won the second Duel race, starts fourth.

Three drivers are making their first starts in the Daytona 500. Chase Briscoe was due to start 30th for his Cup Series debut, but tweeted Friday that he too is switching to a backup. Anthony Alfredo will start his first Cup race in 36th. Kaz Grala, who is making his Daytona 500 debut but second start in the series, starts 40th.

Cole Custer was involved in an accident at the end of the first Duel, while seven drivers were involved in accidents in the second race. Decisions are still to be made as to who repairs their car and who will need a backup, and teams do not get back on track until Saturday for practice.

Teams who have already made quick decisions about backup cars include Stewart-Haas Racing for Custer and Chip Ganassi Racing for Ross Chastain. Like Byron, they too will have to drop to the rear of the field.

STARTING LINE-UP

Alex Bowman, Daytona 500, Cup Series, NASCAR

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A Daytona 500 for a different era

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emailBy Kelly Crandall | February 14, 2021 8:40 AM

The 63rd annual Daytona 500 will bestow the same prestige that always comes with winning it, but its pre-race pageantry will feel much different this year.

COVID-19 has forced track president Chip Wile and his team to get creative with how they will lead into the race. One of the most notable sights will be the grandstands, which are not allowed to be sold out. Instead, a crowd of roughly 30,000 will be admitted.

Driver introductions will also be different. In the pandemic, NASCAR has been introducing drivers as they stand next to their cars on pit road, forgoing the traditional walk across the stage while greeting VIPs and other dignitaries before a ride around the track in the back of a pickup truck, waving at the fans in the stands.

But driver introductions for the Daytona 500 is a different experience. It’s an electric atmosphere.

Tradition calls for drivers to be introduced by their row with dramatic music, smoke bombs and fireworks, and a long walk down a stage. The stage starts at pit road and goes straight through the infield grass, surrounded on both sides by fans, and it takes the driver to a pickup truck waiting in the tri-oval.

Not this year.

“The drivers will get loaded into trucks at their motorhomes; they’ll never actually go out of the bubble,” said Wile. “They’ll go through a path where they come out of a gate and go out onto the racetrack, and there’ll be a presentation there, and then they’ll walk down pit road.”

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Country music star Luke combs will perform the pre-race concert. That, too, will have a different look and feel.

“The pre-race concert where we’re used to seeing tens of thousands of fans on the ballfield, they won’t be there, but we’ve moved the stage so that Luke Combs is playing to the venue versus playing to the ball field,” said Wile.

“Just things like that where we know these are important parts of the tradition of the Daytona 500. We don’t want to lose them but recognize we’ve got to do it a little differently. We’ve worked hand-in-hand with John Bobo (NASCAR vice president of racing operations) and that team to ensure everybody is on board and we are doing it safely.”


Wile said Daytona is fortunate to have fans in the grandstands, going as far as to say it’s a privilege. The speedway has hosted several events over the last eight or nine months, giving them practice at pulling off a successful and safe gathering. And, going back to some of the creativity around this weekend, it involves areas not being utilized as they usually would.

“In Turns 3 and 4, you’re used to seeing a lot of our tent campers that come in for the week,” said Wile. “Unfortunately, because of COVID we can’t have tent camping, so we’ve turned that into kind of old school, and we’ve sold car parking. So basically (someone else) and I could come to the race together, we buy two tickets in our car, we sit in our designated space with a spot to the right of us, and we can come and enjoy the race like you did in the ’70s and ’80s. But again, we’re just trying to safely put as many people in the venue as possible to enjoy one of sport’s biggest days.”

The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will once again perform the flyover (pictured in 2020, top). Grammy-winning singer Pitbull, also the co-owner of Trackhouse Racing, is the Grand Marshal and will give the command to start engines.

WWE Superstar and Smackdown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks is the honorary starter for the Daytona 500.

The National Anthem is to be performed by Technical Sgt. Sam Allen, USAF, Joint Base, Anacostia – Bolling, Washington, D.C.

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'Crazy' holiday work schedule pays early season dividends for 23XI

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emailBy Kelly Crandall | February 13, 2021 12:15 PM

Mike Wheeler went through his phone Friday night, making notes from all the messages Denny Hamlin had sent him in the early days of 23XI Racing. At the suggestion of a colleague, Wheeler has been keeping a diary of sorts about building the team and getting it on track in the NASCAR Cup Series.

“The reality is, it’s a crazy story,” Wheeler said Saturday.

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While the funding for the Hamlin and Michael Jordan owned team has been there since the beginning, Wheeler and company have had to do everything else from scratch. And it really has been everything from shopping for TVs and tool benches to getting the race team the appropriate clothing. There was even the process of shopping and buying a hauler.

The biggest obstacle, however, was getting into their race shop.

A permanent shop is being built in Huntersville, North Carolina, so until that’s complete, the team is housed in Mooresville in a building owned by the now-defunct Germain Racing. The first week of December was the target of 23XI moving in, but that was delayed because of a few issues.

“I had guys employed and ready to start working December 1st, and we were sitting around – I wouldn’t say twiddling our thumbs, but we couldn’t do any physical work yet,” said Wheeler. “We ended up having a few engineering meetings in my own personal garage, a two-car garage that has heat in it. I had a bunch of guys over getting computers ready and everything else.

“But it wasn’t until, like, December 14th that we got about 20 guys to show up at the shop and actually start painting walls and getting setup plates ready and everything else. It was definitely a delayed process. It didn’t put us behind, but we definitely had to dig hard in December to get ready.”

Having an alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing and TRD signed early took away some of the headaches: 23XI doesn’t have to worry about cars and engines, and their cars showed up on time. But a few rule changes late in the offseason that Gibbs had to adapt to slowed them down a bit for Daytona.

“The last week before Daytona was kind of hell week,” said Wheeler. “There were a lot of nights we left between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. I give my car chief credit; he would stay late in the (OSS) just making sure he was doing a bunch of stuff.

“The (OSS) showed up the Wednesday before we left for Daytona. We didn’t have that until the last minute. It took about eight weeks to get it in house and get going. But honestly, we loaded up for Daytona on Monday and left basically on time. Fortunately, our performance is strong, and the rest of it is stuff we can work on.”

Wheeler estimated that over 90 percent of the guys on the race team worked elsewhere last season, and and all worked hard all year to have some downtime with family around Christmas. Wheeler felt bad they joined 23XI and had to go so hard in the offseason without stopping.

“Fortunately, you’re kind of at mid-season form when you work that hard,” Wheeler said. “But the biggest thing with getting ready for Daytona was a couple of last-minute changes and templates and rules in how they were going to tech things. To give JGR credit, they did their homework and got the cars right before they came down. Some teams you watch, they just didn’t fit the mold that NASCAR was now inspecting to, and that correction put (Gibbs) behind.

“We were supposed to get the cars, I think, on a Friday, and we ended up getting them on a Wednesday. But ultimately, that extra work back then saved our butt now. So while we were working a lot of late nights getting three cars ready for Daytona as a new group (and that) was not easy, it’s been smooth sailing down here.”

Wheeler and Darrell Wallace Jr. have acclimated well with each other in their first few sessions on track. Wallace was fourth fastest in single-car qualifying and then nearly won his Duel race. The No. 23 Toyota starts sixth in the Daytona 500 (Sunday, 2:30 p.m. ET, FOX), and Wheeler believes they have a chance to contend.

And once Speedweeks is over, the good news is that the organization won’t have to do any more thrashing to be ready to race. But Wheeler’s note-taking will likely continue.

“We’re in a much better spot; we’re kind of on a normal schedule,” Wheeler said. “Moving forward, the stuff for the Daytona road course is already in process. And, with the single-day shows, we’re not leaving Thursday for the track; we’re going to leave Friday night or Saturday morning. So you’ve got a lot more time during the week to prepare cars.

“We’re in much better shape than we were two weeks ago and pretty much normal processes going forward.”

23XI Racing, Darrell Wallace Jr., Cup Series, NASCAR

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Wallace joins group at rear of field for start

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emailBy Kelly Crandall | February 14, 2021 11:51 AM

The final tally of drivers dropping to the rear of the field in the Daytona 500 this afternoon reached 10.

The latest is Darrell Wallace Jr., whose car failed pre-race inspection twice. The No. 23 Toyota will negate its sixth-place starting position, and Wallace will have to come from the rear to kick off the debut season for 23XI Racing.

Wallace’s car chief, Greg Emmer, was ejected from the event. For getting caught.......shame shame, boy.

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Seven other drivers are dropping to the rear after having to go to backup cars. All were the result of accidents in their Thursday night Duel races.

Those drivers are William Byron (qualified second), Brad Keselowski (qualified 24th), Cole Custer (qualified 27th), Chase Briscoe (qualified 30th), Ross Chastain (qualified 34th), Anthony Alfredo (qualified 36th), and Kaz Grala (qualified 40th).

Martin Truex Jr. is dropping to the rear because his Joe Gibbs Racing team changed his Toyota’s radiator. Truex qualified 26th.

Erik Jones drops to the rear because of an engine change in his Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43. Jones qualified 31st.

The green flag for the 63rd annual Daytona 500 is 3:05 p.m. ET.

Daytona 500, Cup Series, NASCAR

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McDowell escapes final lap carnage to win Daytona 500

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February 14, 2021 10:00 PM

The seas parted going into Turn 3 on the final lap of the Daytona 500, and Michael McDowell emerged as the winner of the rain-delayed “Great American Race.”

McDowell shot through the middle as Team Penske teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano wrecked in front of him. Keselowski was shot to the outside wall while Logano spun to the inside. The race ended under caution with McDowell declared the winner over Chase Elliott and Austin Dillon.

“I just can’t believe it,” said McDowell. “I’ve just got to thank God. So many years just grinding it out and hoping for an opportunity like this. I’ve got to thank Love’s Travel Stops, Speedco, Bob Jenkins (team owner) for giving me this opportunity. I’m so thankful. Such a great way to get a first victory — a Daytona 500. Are you kidding me?

“I just want to say hi to my wife back home. Happy Valentine’s Day. I know it’s been a tough week. My kids, I love you guys. I wish they could be here with me to celebrate; maybe NASCAR will send a plane to bring them down here, but we’re the Daytona 500 champions. Thank you, Doug Yates, Ford. We had our Ford partners at the end, and they all crashed, but luckily I was able to make it through. I’m just so thankful. God is good.”


The victory is McDowell’s first in the NASCAR Cup Series in 358 starts.

Kevin Harvick finished fourth, and Denny Hamlin finished fifth. Ryan Preece finished sixth, Ross Chastain seventh, Jamie McMurray eighth, Corey LaJoie ninth, and Kyle Larson 10th.

Hamlin led a race-high 98 laps, but he, along with the other Toyotas, were shuffled from the front of the field after the final round of green-flag pit stops when the Fords and Chevrolets were able to leapfrog them by pitting earlier. Hamlin and his teammates were also disconnected coming off pit road.

McDowell led one lap in his win.

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No drivers were injured in the last-lap accident. Keselowski was hit in the right-side door at full speed by Kyle Busch, resulting in a fireball around the cars. Also collected were Ross Chastain, Ryan Preece, Austin Cindric, Cole Custer, and Darrell Wallace Jr.

Keselowski jumped from fourth to second with two laps to go. Having hung back to get a run, Keselowski dove to the inside in Turn 3 and picked off two spots with McDowell following him through. On the final lap, Keselowski got a shove from McDowell going into Turn 3 and thought he was in a position to win his first Daytona 500.

“Had the run, made the move, and it didn’t work out,” said Keselowski.

McDowell gives Front Row Motorsports its third win in the NASCAR Cup Series. All three have come with a different driver – David Ragan won at Talladega in 2013 and Chris Buescher at Pocono in 2016.


With the win, McDowell clinches a spot in the playoffs.

“My plan was to stick to the 2 car,” said McDowell of Keselowski. “I knew he would go for a race-winning move, and my plan was to let him make that move and then, coming off of (Turn) 4, try to get to his outside or inside. I knew I didn’t want to make my move too early, so I was committed to the 2 car’s bumper, and when he made the move, the hole opened up. It’s just unbelievable.”

RESULTS:

1. (17) Michael McDowell, Ford, 200.

2. (12) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 200.

3. (4) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 200.

4. ( Kevin Harvick, Ford, 200.

5. (25) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 200.

6. (11) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet, 200.

7. (34) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 200.

8. (19) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 200.

9. (16) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 200.

10. (13) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 200.

11. (27) Cole Custer, Ford, 200.

12. (9) Joey Logano, Ford, Accident, 199.

13. (24) Brad Keselowski, Ford, Accident, 199.

14. (10) Kyle Busch, Toyota, Accident, 199.

15. (39) Austin Cindric(i), Ford, Accident, 199.

16. (5) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 199.

17. (6) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, Accident, 198.

18. (21) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 198.

19. (30) Chase Briscoe #, Ford, 197.

20. (2 Joey Gase, Ford, 196.

21. (35) Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 196.

22. (20) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 195.

23. (3 BJ McLeod(i), Ford, 195.

24. (37) Josh Bilicki, Ford, 194.

25. (26) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 193.

26. (2) William Byron, Chevrolet, 191.

27. (29) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, 188.

28. (40) Kaz Grala, Chevrolet, DVP, 115.

29. (33) Quin Houff, Chevrolet, Accident, 37.

30. (14) Ryan Blaney, Ford, Accident, 14.

31. (22) Chris Buescher, Ford, DVP, 14.

32. (36) Anthony Alfredo #, Ford, DVP, 14.

33. (23) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, DVP, 14.

34. (3) Aric Almirola, Ford, Accident, 13.

35. (1) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, Accident, 13.

36. (15) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, Accident, 13.

37. (1 David Ragan, Ford, Accident, 13.

38. (7) Ryan Newman, Ford, Accident, 13.

39. (31) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, Accident, 13.

40. (32) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, Accident, 3.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 144.416 mph.

Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 27 Mins, 44 Secs. Margin of Victory: Under Caution Seconds.

Caution Flags: 7 for 40 laps.

Lead Changes: 22 among 13 drivers.

Lap Leaders: A. Bowman 1;K. Harvick 2-17;*. Grala 18-27;C. Elliott 28-29;A. Dillon 30;C. Custer 31;D. Hamlin 32-71;*. Cindric(i) 72-73;D. Hamlin 74;C. Bell 75-106;A. Dillon 107-108;C. Elliott 109;K. Larson 110;D. Hamlin 111-117;J. Logano 118;K. Harvick 119;D. Hamlin 120-128;B. Wallace 129;D. Hamlin 130-132;A. Dillon 133-136;D. Hamlin 137-174;J. Logano 175-199;M. McDowell 200.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Denny Hamlin 6 times for 98 laps; Christopher Bell 1 time for 32 laps; Joey Logano 2 times for 26 laps; Kevin Harvick 2 times for 17 laps; * Kaz Grala 1 time for 10 laps; Austin Dillon 3 times for 7 laps; Chase Elliott 2 times for 3 laps; * Austin Cindric(i) 1 time for 2 laps; Michael McDowell 1 time for 1 lap; Bubba Wallace 1 time for 1 lap; Cole Custer 1 time for 1 lap; Alex Bowman 1 time for 1 lap; Kyle Larson 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 11,37,3,5,33,20,23,22,42,41

Stage #2 Top Ten: 11,4,23,9,3,22,34,5,18,2

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Not to plan but 'it all played out' for Daytona 500 winner McDowell

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emailBy Kelly Crandall | February 15, 2021 11:30 AM

Michael McDowell had a plan going into the Daytona 500. But plans, as McDowell knows, can change or just not work.

“My plan was to be in the top lane running third when we took the white flag and to not make a move until we got to Turn 3,” McDowell deadpanned in the early morning hours of Monday. “It just happened that we were in the top lane and running third, and it all kind of played out…”

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Whatever McDowell’s actual plan was no longer matters. The Front Row Motorsports driver won the 63rd annual Daytona 500 after splitting the two Team Penske drivers when all broke loose in Turn 3. However, McDowell did admit he was committed to Brad Keselowski and was pushing the No. 2 before disaster struck.

“The last lap, you just lock bumpers and push as hard as you can,” said McDowell. “I gave him a shove, but we actually got disconnected, and thankfully we did because it’s when we got disconnected – and I didn’t see how Joey and Brad got together – but it’s when we got disconnected that the contact was made and that gave me a little bit of a gap. Otherwise I would have been right on (Keselowski).


“The way these runs work, sometimes, when you hit a guy, you kind of push him out a little bit, and you get detached from him. Brad and I had a great run, and I was on his bumper; but then he pulled down, and I got a little bit detached from him. And then him and the 22 (Logano) got together.”

Neither Logano nor Keselowski placed direct blame on anyone. Keselowski’s frustration stemmed from being in the position he wanted and so close to possibly winning the Daytona 500 for the first time. He threw his helmet at his Ford after climbing out of the mangled machine.

Kevin Harvick wasn’t surprised to see McDowell in that position because he felt McDowell was the best pusher and had been told as much by his team. McDowell stuck with Keselowski when Brad pulled out of the freight train with two laps to go, moving from fourth to second. McDowell advanced to third and was then able to capitalize on the final lap.

McDowell also felt he had a good pushing car. Its performance in the Thursday Duel race left him feeling confident it was the most competitive car that his small team has had. Most importantly, McDowell was pleased with how it sucked up in the draft and its ability to stay close to another car.

“I didn’t feel great leading,” McDowell said. “I tried to pull out in front of Brad there at the end of (one) stage and tried to get to the front, and wasn’t quite able to do it. From that, I was able to learn, ‘All right, I am going to stay pushing, and I’m going to be behind a good car that’s going to be close to the front and hopefully be in a position to do it.’”

When all was said and done, McDowell became a NASCAR Cup Series winner for the first time. Having a plan worked, and while he wasn’t exactly where he wanted to be, McDowell knew staying with Keselowski would give him an opportunity.

“The hole happened on its own. I can’t even tell you what happened,” he said. “Brad and I pulled down with a run, and next thing you know, Brad was turning right, Joey was turning left, and I went right through the middle of it.

“I looked in my mirror, and I saw Chase Elliott with a run, and I went up there and blocked him as fast as I could, and we made a little bit of contact, and I didn’t see anything else from that point. It’s just kind of a blur from there.”

Michael McDowell, Cup Series, NASCAR

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First Big One beats the early rain at Daytona

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emailBy Kelly Crandall | February 14, 2021 1:11 PM

It didn’t take long for Daytona International Speedway to turn into a race car junkyard.

On Lap 14 of the season-opening Daytona 500, Kyle Busch gave a shove to his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell going down the backstretch. The momentum propelled Bell forward and his run ended on the back bumper of Aric Almirola. But their bumpers were not flush, and Bell turned Almirola to trigger a 15-car wreck.

“We were just getting pushed too hard too early,” said Almirola, who won his Duel race and started third. “It’s a long, long race. Man, we were in a fine position, just sitting there riding around in the top two, three, and the 20 (Bell) just came with a big run and hit me really hard in a bad spot, and it turned me to the right and tore up our race car and ended our Daytona 500 way too early.”

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"I don't know what we could have done any different" – Hamlin

Almirola was the second car running in the inside line behind leader Kevin Harvick. When Almirola was turned, he collided with polesitter Alex Bowman, who was leading the outside lane.

“It looks like (Almirola) kind of got turned sideways there, and I was the guy that got ran into,” said Bowman. “Bummer — I hate it for Ally. Obviously, we had a really fast Camaro. The Chevrolets were working good together; hopefully, a Chevy still ends up in victory lane.”

Bell and Kyle Busch avoided the carnage.

In addition to Almirola and Bowman, the drivers collected were: Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, Martin Truex Jr., Matt DiBenedetto, William Byron, David Ragan, Anthony Alfredo, Erik Jones, Jamie McMurray, Daniel Suarez.

Almirola, Ragan, Blaney, Suarez, Jones, Bowman, and Newman are already confirmed out of the race.


“It’s just unfortunate to have a bunch of tore-up race cars that early,” said Ragan. “I’ve never met a driver that said, ‘Hey, I’m gonna start this 500-mile race and just be super aggressive.’ We all talk about give and take and making it to the end, but it seems nobody does that once they get out there.

“It’s frustrating that everybody is pushing and shoving, and I just saw the 48 (Bowman) get turned, and whenever someone wrecks in the top five or six, it tears up a lot of cars.”

As the field paced under caution from the accident, a lightning strike occurred within eight miles of the speedway. That forced a 30-minute hold, which has turned into a rain delay.



Byron went for a wild ride that saw his Chevrolet up on its two right-side tires.


Daytona 500, Cup Series, NASCAR

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"I don't know what we could have done any different" – Hamlin

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emailBy Kelly Crandall | February 15, 2021 9:21 AM

Denny Hamlin controlled so much of the Daytona 500 that he made it look easy. And in fact, he admitted that controlling the lanes and the event’s pace was easy for a while.

“But I knew it was all going to be about that last pit stop if we didn’t have any other cautions,” Hamlin said.

There weren’t any. The final stage went green and forced teams to make their last pit stops under racing conditions as they entered the final 30 laps. Hamlin and three Toyota teammates were the last to make their pit stops, which came with 28 laps to go.

Not only did they pit last, but they didn’t have the numbers for the draft. Plus, Hamlin came off pit road quite a bit ahead of Kyle Busch, who was quite a bit ahead of the next Gibbs car. It didn’t take much time before they were swallowed up into the pack, and when the leaderboard cycled through, Hamlin had gone from leading the race to 13th in the single-file freight train.

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“I don’t know what we could have done different,” Hamlin said. “Maybe back up to the 18 (Kyle Busch) trying to get up to speed faster, but I don’t know. Our fate was sealed when we got shuffled there, and then everyone committed to going single file until the last lap. I thought for sure the Chevys would make a move.

“I was 12th or something in line, and I’m like, I’m not going to win from here, so I got to get some energy going, get something moving, tried to shuffle a few times. It didn’t work. Nobody was wanting to go anywhere.

“And then, once we came up on some laps cars, I was able to gain four spots to get to eighth, and I’m like, OK, I can do something from here with two to go, as long as they go with two to go. But everyone thought they could win from 10th on the last lap. So, it didn’t work out, and our fate was sealed, and so we got the best finish honestly we possibly could.”

Hamlin tried to do everything he could from the back of the line. He pulled out of line and tried to side-draft the driver in front of him, hoping to pick them off one-by-one. It never worked.

At the white flag, Hamlin was eighth in line. A multi-car wreck in Turn 3 with the leaders opened the door for one last charge, but the race ended under caution, and he was scored in fifth place.

While his bid to become the first driver in history to win three consecutive Daytona 500s came up short, Hamlin acknowledged it was a good showing for his Joe Gibbs Racing team. Hamlin was the class of the field with 98 laps led and wins in both stages. He was happy with everything but the final result.

“I’m certainly disappointed simply because we had a dominant car,” said Hamlin. “We won the stages and led a lot of laps. But I hate being helpless. I hate not being able to do anything. Not being able to use the skill set that I have to make moves.

“If I ever could get cars moving around a little bit, I can shuffle (them) and get my way to the front. But the single file, especially when you had the manufacturer alliance up at the front, I just thought for sure the Chevys would be like, OK, we’re not going to win from here we have to do something. But nobody wanted to. It’s just kind of the way it goes. We’re the ones that executed too well and put ourselves in the back there for that final pit stop.”

Monday was the first superspeedway race since the summer of 2019 that Hamlin finished outside the top four.

Daytona 500, Denny Hamlin, NASCAR

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Penske teammates trigger last-lap crash fighting for Daytona glory

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emailBy Kelly Crandall | February 14, 2021 10:56 PM

Team Penske had two of its drivers less than a lap from potentially winning the Daytona 500 when it all went wrong in Turn 3.

“I had a big run down the backstretch and wanted to make the pass to win the Daytona 500, and it ended up really bad,” said Brad Keselowski. “I don’t feel like I made a mistake, but I can’t drive everybody else’s car. So frustrating.”

It started the lap before. The field had settled into a single-file train around the outside of the speedway after pit stops, and Keselowski began laying further and further back, appearing to set himself up for a run as the finish approached.

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Joey Logano led the field, cycling to the top spot following the final round of green-flag pit stops. Keselowski was running fourth. In Turn 3 with two laps to go, Keselowski got his run and picked off two spots. Michael McDowell followed.

A lap later, it looked like the same situation was materializing. Keselowski got a run after a shove from McDowell, but it sent him right into the back bumper of Logano. Keselowski hit the outside wall head-on and was drilled in the right-side door by Kyle Busch.

“I had a run down the backstretch, and everybody was kind of checking up in the middle, so I went high to go around the outside,” Busch said. “I figured guys would kind of blend back to the high side, and the 2 (Keselowski) car just landed on my hood. Came out of nowhere.”


Logano spun to the inside, but his car then came back up into traffic and collected Ross Chastain and Ryan Preece. At least seven cars were involved in the crash.

“The Discount Tire Ford was not the fastest, but Jeremy Bullins and the whole team did a great job of keeping us in position, and right then, we were in position,” said Keselowski. “It’s exactly where I want to be running second on the last lap at Daytona with this package and had the run, made the move, and it didn’t work out.”

Keselowski didn’t lead a lap in the race that ended Monday morning after being delayed by rain for nearly six hours. Logano, the 2015 winner of the Daytona 500, led 26 laps, which was the third-most behind Denny Hamlin (9 and Christopher Bell (26).


What happened on the final lap?

“Pandemonium, I guess,” said Logano. “Chaos struck. The 2 (Keselowski) kept trying to back up, trying to get a run. I was trying to back up to him to keep the runs from being too big and just, I guess he got to the back of the 34 (McDowell), and it ended up being a really big run coming at me, and it seemed like we all just collided in one spot.

“It’s a real bummer that none of the Penske cars won, but at least a Ford won. I’m really happy for McDowell. I hate that we didn’t win with our Shell/Pennzoil Mustang. I feel like we had a great shot being where we were and leading on the last lap, but if we couldn’t win, I’m really happy to see McDowell win this thing. He’s a great guy, a great person, a good leader in life, and has helped me a lot in my life, so it’s very cool to see him win the Daytona 500.”

Brad Keselowski, Daytona 500, Joey Logano, Team Penske, Cup Series, NASCAR

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Rain abbreviates second Daytona practice

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emailBy Kelly Crandall | February 13, 2021 7:45 AM

The second practice session for the 63rd annual Daytona 500 barely lasted three minutes Saturday morning before rain ended the proceedings.

Cup Series teams rolled out on track at 9:30 a.m. ET, but the red flag was displayed shortly thereafter. It then didn’t take long before what had been light precipitation turned into a heavy downpour, and practice never resumed.

In the abbreviated session, 27 drivers were able to get on track, with 26 of them putting at least one timed lap in the books. The majority of those who made it out of the garage did so in a pack — drafting with their manufacturer teammates.

Brad Keselowski was fastest at 196.395 mph (45.825 seconds). Kyle Busch was second fastest at 195.435 mph, and Darrell Wallace Jr. was third fastest at 195.312 mph. Completing the top five was Denny Hamlin, fourth fastest, at 195.308 mph, and Martin Truex Jr., fifth fastest, at 195.299 mph.

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Josh Bilicki was the only driver to get two timed laps in practice. Bilicki was 27th on the speed chart.

Among those who never made it on the track were the four Hendrick Motorsports cars and the duos from Richard Childress Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing.

UP NEXT: Final Daytona 500 practice at 12:05 p.m. ET.

Daytona 500, Cup Series, NASCAR