Jones gets a push to Busch Clash victory
Image by Thacker/LAT
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Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service | 22 hours ago
Denny Hamlin couldn’t win the Busch Clash at Daytona for himself, but he made sure his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate did.
For nearly the entire final lap in the third attempt at overtime, Hamlin pushed the mangled Toyota of Erik Jones all the way to finish line in a race that saw only six of 18 cars running at the finish.
With the nose of his car caved in and held together with tape, Jones led only the final lap — the 88th of the race and the 13th of overtime — in collecting his first victory in the season-opening NASCAR Cup Series exhibition race.
Jones’ No. 20 Toyota Camry sustained heavy damage during a spate of wrecks that started on Lap 66 of a scheduled 75 and continued into the extra circuits. Hamlin, whose No. 11 Toyota was damaged in the Lap 66 and spun with a flat tire in the first overtime attempt, lost two laps on pit road after the incident.
But Hamlin’s car was still running at the finish, and he was there to push Jones past the lead-lap cars of Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman and Clint Bowyer on the last circuit.
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“I knew he was going to be in for a ride,” Hamlin said. “It was just a matter of whether he could handle it… “I knew that last lap he needed to strap in, because I was going to push him. I didn’t care if I pushed him into a wreck; I was going to push him.”
That’s exactly what Jones did, even though his battered machine looked more like a refugee from a salvage yard than the sleek race car that started the race.
Celebration! Image by Thacker/LAT
“It was an awesome race,” Jones said. “I’ve got to give a huge thanks to Denny. He gave us a huge push that last run. It wasn’t the fastest car in the race, but we brought it home.