DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Latest on the Daytona 500 (all local times):
12:35 in the morning
Brad Keselowski has no regrets about the way he handled the last lap of the Daytona 500.
Keselowski had a huge race on Team Penkse teammate and leader Joey Logano, about a mile from the finish line. Keselowski tried to get Logano to the bottom, but Logano blocked him and both of them collapsed.
Kyle Busch hit Ford’s side. 2 of Keselowski, sending him spinning and hitting the wall again. Austin Cindric showed in both, creating a short explosion and fire. Every driver escaped unharmed.
“I had a great race on the backstretch, I wanted to get permission to win the Daytona 500 and it got really bad,” Keselowski said. “I don’t feel like I was wrong, but I can’t drive everyone else’s car. Frustrating …
“I was in position. That’s exactly where I wanted to be – running second in the last lap of Daytona with this pack. He ran, made the move and it didn’t work.”
Michael McDowell led both and got the win, his first in the 358 Cup Series starts. It was an amazing upset at the NASCAR event.
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12:15 am
Michael McDowell won the Daytona 500 after Penske Racing teammates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski broke down in the last lap.
It was McDowell’s first victory in the 358 Cup Series, an amazing disturbance in the NASCAR event. McDowell led only one tour – the only one that mattered.
McDowell was in third place when Keselowski managed to run Logano. Keselowski tried to get Logano to the bottom, but Logano tried to block him and both of them collapsed.
Chase Elliott was second, followed by Austin Dillon, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin.
Hamlin tried to become the first in NASCAR history to win three consecutive Daytona 500s.
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23:14
Denny Hamlin won the second stage of the Daytona 500, showing that he is the guy he defeated in the “Great American Race”.
Hamlin also won the opening stage. The final stage, 70 laps, will determine the winner. Hamlin is trying to be the first to win three consecutive Daytona 500s.
He briefly lost the lead to teammate Toyota Bubba Wallace before the final lap, but Hamlin rallied in the final two laps to return to the front and then beat Harvick at the finish line. Wallace was third, followed by series champion 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 who drove a lap in the Daytona 500.
Kaz Grala had the most interesting walk in the 65 laps. His car caught fire twice due to a broken rear wheel bearing, which sent sparks and flames on the back of his Chevrolet no. The damage ended at night, but not after the workers extinguished the fire once and he went back on the track only to catch fire again and lose the brakes permanently.
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22:09
Denny Hamlin won the opening stage of the Daytona 500, showing that he has a good enough car to become the first to win the “Great American Race” for three consecutive years.
Hamlin moved to the front shortly after resuming the race after a weather delay that lasted almost six hours. Joe Gibbs Racing’s teammate Kyle Busch stayed in line behind him until he was shuffled back in 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 a delay of almost six hours caused by lightning and then heavy rains.
Only 28 of the 40 cars remain on the track, of which 23 are still in the main tour.
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21:08
The Daytona 500 was resumed after a weather delay that lasted more than five hours and caused several drivers to run fast food off the track.
Kevin Harvick was in front when the race restarted cautiously, leaving 185 laps.
The NASCAR event was stopped after 15 laps due to lightning and then heavy rains. Sixteen cars were involved in a huge accident with only one lap before stopping.
With radar showing a long delay, at least three drivers hit the road to get some grub.
Drivers Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain and Tyler Reddick used the red flag to power, giving a new meaning to fast food. Drivers left the track and made quick trips across the street to pick up some grub.
Briscoe posted a picture on social media with him wearing the fire suit in the Panda Express car. Chastain posted a photo with him on the drive-thru at McDonald’s, a sponsor. Reddick sat in Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, also a sponsor, and ate some chicken pot pie.
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18:15
Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain and Tyler Reddick gave a 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 across the street to pick up some grub.
Briscoe’s wife, Marissa, posted a photo on Twitter of Chase wearing his fire suit in his Panda Express car.
Ross Chastain followed suit shortly afterwards and posted a photo of him on the drive-thru at McDonald’s, a sponsor. He mentioned that this is “the delay of the rain in ’21”.
Reddick sat inside Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, also a sponsor, and ate some chicken pot pie, saying “some much-needed cozy food.”
The opening of the NASCAR season was stopped after 15 laps due to lightning and then heavy rains. The 2 1/2 mile route takes hours to dry. Sixteen cars, including the one driven by Reddick, were involved in a huge accident at 14 laps in the race.
The lightning in the area, a few minutes later, determined the officials to clean the motor sports stadium, to send the socially distant fans in a crowded space. The drivers got out of the cars and, once it rained, they let go.
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16:15
Pitbull’s Daytona 500 party ended long before the last call.
The rapper who sells platinum bought in Trackhouse Racing, which placed the driver Daniel Suarez on the field. Suarez drives the Chevrolet no. 99 and was among the drivers collected earlier in a pile of 16 cars. He was forced to leave after 13 laps completed.
“Lord. Worldwide,” he also ordered drivers to start their engines.
Pitbull says he is one of the newest owners of the NASCAR team.
“Now that there are no more laps, I’ll be pretty much at every race,” Pitbull said. “There is a greater call for this.”
Pitbull has joined the famous NBA Michael Jordan as the owners of stars entering NASCAR this year. The trackhouse was launched late last year by former driver Justin Marks and watched the Pitbull race in a suite.
“There is no hidden agenda. We are here to win, “said Pitbull.
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15:50
Big One hit 14 laps in the Daytona 500, triggered when Aric Almirola became pole winner Alex Bowman and started a 16-car accumulation.
A few minutes later, the race was stopped by lightning, and fans who were socially distanced in the stands had to seek shelter in the crowded hall. Heavy rains followed, closing the “Great American Race” for what will be a long delay.
Christopher Bell started the fight when he pushed Almirola too hard near the front of the field and forced the Stewart-Haas Racing driver to fly while trying to avoid slipping. Almirola turned right into Bowman. Their contact causes others to collide, sending them spinning and skidding through grass and mud. Martin Truex Jr., Erik Jones, Jamie McMurray, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch were among those involved.
“We were just pushed too hard too early,” Almirola said. “It’s a long, long race.” he came with a big race and hit me very hard in a bad place and turned me to the right, broke our race car and finished our Daytona 500 too early “, said Almirola.
Hendrick Motorsports had put Bowman and Byron first.
Newman was nearly killed in a horrific crash in the last lap of the Daytona 500 last year. Newman left safely on Sunday and even checked Busch while he was in the Chevy.
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15:25
Derrike Cope was eliminated after just three laps, an ignominious end for the 62-year-old driver who won the 1990 Daytona 500.
Cope made his first Daytona 500 start in 2004 and 15th overall. Cope seemed to have a cut tire on Chevrolet no. 15 that he drove for Rick Ware Racing.
Cope was forced to reach the garage in the third round, while fans and teams greeted the late Dale Earnhardt by raising three fingers in tribute to mark the 20th anniversary of his death. Cope overtook Earnhardt, who blew a tire a mile to win the 1990 Daytona 500.
Cope scored two victories in 428 Cup careers.
Rick Ware Racing also finished last in the Indianapolis 500 in 2020. James Davison completed just four laps in that race.
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15:10
Fans and crews greeted the late Dale Earnhardt by raising three fingers in round 3 during the Daytona 500, recognizing the 20th anniversary of his death, which came in the final round of the NASCAR event. Earnhardt led the famous no. 3 for Richard Childress Racing.
The death of the seven-time Cup Series champion has forced NASCAR to make significant safety improvements, changes that have saved many lives in the 20 years since. Ryan Newman survived a terrible accident in the last round in last year’s opening, leaving a hospital two days after everyone watching was afraid of the worst.
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At 14:00
Bubba Wallace’s car failed the inspection twice for the Daytona 500 and will have to start from behind the field.
The head of the car for 23XI Racing was expelled as punishment. Toyota no. 23 passed the inspection for the third time.
Wallace leads a new entry owned by the great NBA Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin. He had been scheduled to start the “Great American Race” in the third row. Instead, Wallace will be one of the 10 pilots who have to descend behind the pack during the pace laps.
Nine other people have already lost their starting places due to changes after the 150-mile NASCAR double qualifying races on Thursday. Former Series Cup champion Brad Keselowski and first-place qualifier William Byron switched to spare cars due to wrecks. The same goes for Chase Briscoe, Kaz Grala, Anthony Alfredo, Cole Custer and Ross Chastain.
Martin Truex Jr.’s team had to change a radiator and an oil cooler. Erik Jones’ team changed an engine.
Alex Bowman is scheduled to drive the 40-car field to the green flag at 3:05 p.m. EST.
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