A jubilant Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his crew raised their hands in victory celebrating Earnhardt’s win in the Daytona 500. [Russ Lake Photo]
The skies were dark as the Daytona 500 field drove under the American flag near the end of the first lap of the race Sunday afternoon. Polesitter Austin Dillon (#3) led the first lap, but that was the only lap he would lead in the race. [Russ Lake Photo]
Paul Menard (#27) led the field as the cars ran two wide in the early portion of the Daytona 500 on Sunday. [Russ Lake Photo]
Denny Hamlin (#11) and Kasey Kahne (#5) ran side-by-side at the front in Sunday’s Daytona 500 while the field ran three wide for at least five rows behind them. [Russ Lake Photo]
Jeff Gordon (#24) was bump drafting leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the closing stages of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, as the top eight cars ran in tight formation just a few hundredths of a second apart. [Russ Lake Photo]
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (#88) came to the checkered flag on Sunday to claim his second Daytona 500 win. Denny Hamlin (#11) was second and while Jeff Gordon (#24) is third in this photo, Brad Keselowski (#2) slipped past him just a split second later to take third, leaving Gordon to finish fourth, while Jimmie Johnson (#48) was fifth. [Russ Lake Photo]
The crew cheered as Dale Earnhardt Jr. held the Harley J. Earl Trophy overhead in Victory Circle after winning Sunday’s Daytona 500. [Russ Lake Photo]
Daytona Beach, Fla. – Dale Earnhardt Jr. wasn’t to be denied as he powered to victory in the rain-delayed Daytona 500 late Sunday evening. In winning, NASCAR’s most popular driver staved off repeated challenges of former Sprint Cup Series champions and others to win the “Great American Race” for the second time.
“Man, this is a great feeling,” Earnhardt said in victory lane. “I didn’t know I’d get a chance to win one of these things again. This is a lot better than the first one because of how hard we tried after finishing second year after year. This race car was awesome and we showed them what a good car we had.
“Winning this race is the greatest feeling in the world for a race driver, and it is hard to put into words. I feel very lucky. What makes it special is the people you are with, and it puts icing on the cake.
“At the end, we got a little help from Jeff (Gordon). This is amazing and I can’t believe this is happening. I will never take this for granted because this happened not once but twice. I am really thankful.”
Earnhardt led 54 laps on six occasions, including the final 18 circuits.
Stated owner Rick Hendrick, “This is really special, and this team proved last year how good they were. This race is our Super Bowl, and our guy drove his butt off. Our whole team was flawless all night, and this win should carry us for a long time.”
Earnhardt’s National Guard Chevrolet picked up a piece of “Bear Bond” tape from another car near the end and although he made several attempts to remove it, it stayed in place until the end.
Regarding it, Earnhardt stated, “I had no thought about it as there were only two laps to go. I knew everything would be fine and if anything, it helped the car run better.”
“If you are only going to win one race, this is the one,” said crew chief Steve Latarte. “Dale drove a great race.”
Expressing disappointment with the outcome, Denny Hamlin finished second in the FedEx Express Toyota.
“Our performance declined as Speedweeks went on,” Hamlin stated. “The competition got better, and this is a tough business. Our car was OK, and we were stuck where we were. Our radio had gotten wet after the rain, so I had to spot myself, and it is hard to win a super-speedway race without a spotter.
“From my standpoint, it was a great race, but it was so hard to pass. When Dale (Earnhardt) got out front, he played it perfectly and when everyone else was side-by-side, you really can’t make any moves. But it was a fun race.”
Hamlin led 16 laps.
Finishing a strong third was Brad Keselowski in the Miller Lite Ford. Said the former series champion, “I thought our car was really strong, and the best one I’ve ever had at Daytona. I did the lead twice, but didn’t get the win, which is disappointing to a race drive. We came up a little short on that last restart, but I am happy for my friend (Earnhardt).”
Keselowski led 13 laps.
Jeff Gordon ended up fourth with 2013 Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson in fifth, to give Hendrick Motorsports three top-five finishers.
Matt Kenseth, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Greg Biffle, Austin Dillon and Casey Mears rounded out the top-10 finishers.
Although NASCAR’s Super Bowl started on time, it ended 10 hours later after a six hour and 21 minute time-out, which turned the race from a day-time event to one run under the lights..
When green-flag racing resumed Sunday night, the cars ran in a pack for the first 100 laps until slowed by a 12-car bash that saw three of them end up mired in the swampy front-stretch grass. In the wreck, Danica Patrick smashed head-long into a wall.
“This car was the best one I’ve had in Speedweeks, so I more than anything, I am upset,” she said, acknowledging how hard the crash was.
Racing had barely gotten underway when another multi-car accident slowed the action. Rookies Kyle Larson and Austin Dillon instigated the crash.
Four cars crashed out with six laps to go and in the final yards before the finish line, the cars of Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Reed Sorenson, A. J. Allmendinger, Jamie McMurray and Kevin Harvick tangled just as Earnhardt took the checkered flag.
Seven cautions slowed the race for 39 laps.
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