Denny Hamlin Wins Third Daytona 500, and NASCAR Nation's Thoughts move to Ryan Newman

DAYTONA BEACH, FL – RIS – Denny Hamlin won the 2020  Daytona 500, but a crash at the end left everyone praying.  As Denny Hamlin, Ryan Newman, and Ryan Blaney raced for the lead, Newman’s car flipped into the air and then was hit by Corie LaJoie’s car at full speed.  No injury report has been issued by NASCAR and Roush Fenway Racing as of this hour.

Such brutal wrecks, in modern times, normally end with the driver exiting the car unhurt. This time, however, Newman was eventually removed from the No. 6 Ford and taken to the hospital via ambulance.

With just a couple of mild scrapes, the first 100-plus laps Monday were clean and orderly, as if everyone was in a hurry to get to the late laps of the 500, when the heat is jacked to extremes and dreams are fulfilled and, literally, crashed.

Chase Elliott and Hamlin, no strangers to the lead pack, won the first two 65-lap segments of the 500, but the top 10 at any given time also included some “outsiders” looking to be noticed and advance their careers — Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell and Ty Dillon made a little noise.

On Lap 184, on the backstretch and up in the lead pack, Joey Logano gave a shove to the rear bumper of Aric Almirola, and Almirola in turn drove into the rear bumper of Brad Keselowski, whose car appeared a somewhat loose and was in no need of a shove. Just about 19 cars were caught up in the wreck and damaged to various degrees. “There was a lot of kinetic energy there,” Kurt Busch said.

t was no surprise when another huge wreck erupted on Lap 199, just after Denny Hamlin passed Newman near the start/finish stripe for the lead. That one set up a two-lap overtime effort.

A fluke wreck at the start of overtime forced the second overtime that led to Hamlin’s win.

Note: According to Roush Fenway Racing and Jenna Fryer's Twitter feed, Newman is undergoing tests.  His injuries are serious, but not life-threatening.  

It was a wild finish to a day that started rather quietly.

Up to within a couple of hours of Monday’s resumption of the Daytona 500, the grandstands were almost entirely empty and the infield looked listless and less packed than it had in previous days.

The scene and vibe was something you’d expect the day after a race. And in a sense, it was, except it was also the hours before a race.

Within an hour of the 4:05 restart, the grandstands had started showing real signs of life and kept gaining humanity as the firing of engines grew close. As drivers climbed behind the wheel to strap in and await a group starting command from all in attendance, the frontstretch grandstands (101,500 seats) appeared to be at least 65% full, maybe more.

In the end, all, must’ve left feeling fulfilled. As usual, while the end result might not have pleased one and all, no one should’ve left feeling cheated. The Daytona 500 continues to produce drama and theatrics, thrills and spills.

Unlike every year since 1959, no one left the grounds until it was over as usual, but they won’t be back on the fourth of July. I will be late August. The old Fourth of July staple has been transferred to Indianapolis, while Daytona’s summertime race will be the final race of the 26-race regular season, Next race at DIS this year is on Aug. 29.  After tonight’s race, there may be some rule changes. That’s only speculation, of course.

The victory gave Hamlin, 39, two straight wins at Daytona International Speedway and his third in the past five years. Hamlin joined Richard Petty (1973-74), Cale Yarborough (1983-84) and Sterling Marlin (1994-95) as back-to-back winners of the 500.

The only racers with three or more Daytona 500 wins are Richard Petty (seven), Cale Yarborough (four) and Bobby Allison, Dale Jarrett, Jeff Gordon and Hamlin (three apiece).

Hamlin now has 38 Cup victories in 507 starts, and perhaps a foot in the door at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

The victory gave Hamlin, 39, two straight wins at Daytona International Speedway and his third in the past five years. Hamlin joined Richard Petty (1973-74), Cale Yarborough (1983-84) and Sterling Marlin (1994-95) as back-to-back winners of the 500.

The only racers with three or more Daytona 500 wins are Richard Petty (seven), Cale Yarborough (four) and Bobby Allison, Dale Jarrett, Jeff Gordon and Hamlin (three apiece).

Asked to explain his success in the 500, he said, "I just feel like I'm a student to the game. I never stop learning and trying to figure out where I need to put myself at the right time. It doesn't always work.

"The odds -- we've definitely defied odds the last eight years or so to win the Daytona 500. I just trust my instincts and so far they've been good for me. I can't do it without the car and making it capable for me to make those winning moves."

Hamlin had to get through a final 30 laps that featured several huge wrecks on the high banks of the 2.5-mile track, the next-of-last of which sent the event into double overtime.

Among those who had shots at victory erased by the “big one,”were Keselowski, Almirola, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon, Ty Dillon, Ryan Blaney and Jimmie Johnson.

Seven-time Cup champion and two-time 500 winner Johnson, 44, drove well in what could be his final race at Daytona. He had a fast car all day and had the lead for a number of laps late in the race, but he wound up in 35th place.

Ryan Blaney of Team Penske finished second, Chris Buescher of Roush Fenway Racing finished third.

Rounding out the top five were David Ragan of Rick Ware Racing and Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing.

When it was over, all od NASCAR-Nation had their thoughts and prayers for Ryan Newman, the man once called “Rocketman.”

Unofficial Results: 62nd Annual DAYTONA 500

Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 21, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, 209, , 1, 3, 79, 6, 50, Running
2) 27, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Menards/Peak Ford, 209, 6, 8, 2, 4, , 43, Running
3) 19, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 209, 9, 10, , , , 37, Running
4) 30, David Ragan, No. 36 Select Blinds Ford, 209, , , , , , 33, Running
5) 10, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Busch Light #PIT4BUSCH Ford, 209, , , , , , 32, Running
6) 29, Clint Bowyer, No. 14 Rush/Mobil 1 Ford, 209, , , , , , 31, Running
7) 39, * Brendan Gaughan(i), No. 62 Beard Motorsports/South Point Chevrolet, 209, , , , , , 0, Running
8) 36, Corey LaJoie, No. 32 RagingBull.com Ford, 209, , , 1, 1, , 29, Running
9) 7, Ryan Newman, No. 6 Koch Industries Ford, 209, , , 2, 15, , 28, Running
10) 8, Kyle Larson, No. 42 Credit One Bank Chevrolet, 209, , , , , , 27, Running
11) 23, John Hunter Nemechek #, No. 38 Citgard Ford, 209, , , , , , 26, Running
12) 13, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker OffRoad Chevrolet, 209, , , , , , 25, Running
13) 33, * Justin Haley(i), No. 16 Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevrolet, 209, , , , , , 0, Running
14) 26, Michael McDowell, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, 209, , , 1, 1, , 23, Running
15) 11, Bubba Wallace, No. 43 United States Air Force Chevrolet, 209, , , , , , 22, Running
16) 34, Brennan Poole #, No. 15 SpartanGo Chevrolet, 209, , , , , , 21, Running
17) 25, Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 209, 1, 7, 1, 23, 1, 34, Running
18) 14, Erik Jones, No. 20 DEWALT Toyota, 208, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 16, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford, 207, 8, , , , , 21, Running
20) 1, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger Chevrolet, 206, 7, 3, 2, 24, , 29, Running
21) 17, Christopher Bell #, No. 95 Procore Toyota, 205, , , , , , 16, Accident
22) 5, Aric Almirola, No. 10 Smithfield Ford, 205, 3, , 2, 6, , 23, Running
23) 37, Joey Gase(i), No. 51 EFX Corp. Chevrolet, 203, , , , , , 0, Running
24) 2, Alex Bowman, No. 88 Valvoline Chevrolet, 203, 2, , 2, 3, , 22, Running
25) 20, Ross Chastain(i), No. 77 AdventHealth Chevrolet, 201, , 5, , , , 0, Accident
26) 3, Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 200, 4, 9, 1, 6, , 20, Accident
27) 32, * Timmy Hill(i), No. 66 RoofClaim.com/VSI Racing Ford, 200, , , , , , 0, Accident
28) 22, Tyler Reddick #, No. 8 Caterpillar Chevrolet, 199, , , , , , 9, Accident
29) 31, Ryan Preece, No. 37 Cottonelle Chevrolet, 198, , , , , , 8, Accident
30) 24, Ty Dillon, No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet, 198, 10, , , , , 8, Accident
31) 40, * Reed Sorenson, No. 27 Chevrolet, 192, , , , , , 6, Accident
32) 15, Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Bass Pros Shops Toyota, 186, , 4, , , , 12, Accident
33) 18, Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet, 184, , , , , , 4, Accident
34) 28, Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Toyota, 184, , 2, 2, 14, , 12, Engine
35) 6, Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 184, 5, 6, 1, 3, , 13, Accident
36) 9, Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford, 183, , , 4, 30, , 1, Accident
37) 12, Cole Custer #, No. 41 Haas Automation Ford, 174, , , , , , 1, Rear End
38) 38, BJ McLeod(i), No. 52 Ford, 105, , , , , , 0, Accident
39) 35, Quin Houff #, No. 00 Jacob Construction Chevrolet, 89, , , , , , 1, Accident
40) 4, William Byron, No. 24 Axalta 'Color of the Year' Chevrolet, 58, , , , , , 1, Accident
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 42 Mins, 10 Secs.
Race Length: 209 Laps, 522.5 Miles
Average Speed: 141.11 MPH
Margin of Victory: .014 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 9, 88, 10, 22, 48, 12, 47, 21, 17, 13

Stage 2 Top 10: 11, 18, 47, 19, 77, 48, 9, 12, 22, 17

Race Comments: Denny Hamlin won the 62nd annual DAYTONA 500 at Daytona International Speedway, his 38th victory in the NASCAR Cup Series. Prior to the start of the race, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reasons indicated: Nos. 12, 32 (Backup Car), No. 15 (Engine, Muliple Inspection Failures), No. 13 (Gear), No. 11 (Multiple Inspection Failures), No. 52 (Transmission), No. 95 (Unapproved Adjustments).

Failed to Qualify: (3) 96 Daniel Suarez, 54 JJ Yeley, 49 Chad Finchum.

Caution Flags: 9 for 39 laps:
Laps: 21-25 (Weather {Red: Postponed} [None]);
60-63 (No. 47, 24 Incident Backstretch [51]);
67-71 (Stage 1 Conclusion [None]);
91-95 (No. 10, 00, 52 Incident Backstretch [None]);
132-135 (Stage 2 Conclusion [15]);
185-190 (No. 2,1,48,43,10,19,12,3,16,88,77,36,38,8,17,21,62,22,13 Incident Backstretch {Red: 12:05} [None]);
194-196 (No. 27, 66 Incident Backstretch [15]);
200-203 (No. 22, 77, 9, 37, 8, 13, 10, 95, 34 Incident Turn 1 {Red: 9:36} [62]);
205-207 (No. 14, 34, 16 Incident Frontstretch [None]).

Lead Changes: 23 among 13 drivers;
R. Stenhouse Jr. 0;
R. Stenhouse Jr. 1-23;
M. McDowell 24;
B. Keselowski 25-28;
A. Almirola 29-30;
B. Keselowski 31-38;
R. Newman 39;
A. Almirola 40-43;
C. Elliott 44-66;
A. Bowman 67;
D. Hamlin 68-92;
C. LaJoie 93;
D. Hamlin 94-135;
R. Blaney 136;
R. Stenhouse Jr. 137;
R. Blaney 138-140;
K. Busch 141-148;
B. Keselowski 149-163;
J. Logano 164-169;
J. Johnson 170-172;
A. Bowman 173-174;
K. Busch 175-180;
B. Keselowski 181-183;
R. Newman 184-197;
D. Hamlin 198-209.

Busch Pole Award: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. , No. 47 46.253 secs. 194.582 mph