
Keselowski plowed into the outer wall and catch fence after being rammed by Kyle Busch. Brad Keselowski tried passing Joey Logano for the lead on the backstretch when they tangled.
#WHO WON DAYTONA 500 LAST YEAR SERIES#
McDowell scored his Daytona win, the only Cup Series triumph of his career, in 2021 with the help of “ The Big One,” a massive wreck on the final lap. Even then, the Daytona victory will show up in the second paragraph of your obituary instead of the first. Once you’ve won Daytona, that’s all that people will remember unless you capture a season championship. But it won’t matter unless one of them is another Daytona 500. His margin of victory was 0.128 of a second.Michael McDowell could win a bunch more races in his NASCAR Cup Series. Thirteen cars were involved, with no injuries reported. But with the restrictor plates that slow the cars and keep them bunched, the inevitable multi-car crash came on lap 135 when two-time Daytona winner Dale Jarrett sun in traffic. The race was incredibly competitive, with nearly constant battles for position. He played it safe for most of the race, saving his daring move for when it counted most. Gordon led only 17 laps, but that included the final 11. I thought he was going to drive right in the back of Rudd." "Gordon just got me on the apron down there," Wallace said. Wallace took the top spot for the first time on lap 58 and was able to stay at or near the front until Gordon's late pass.
#WHO WON DAYTONA 500 LAST YEAR DRIVERS#
The drivers went 94 laps before the first caution flag waved when a car stalled on the track.Īfter some close early racing, the field stretched out and broke up into groups, with the front-runners pulling away. The race was run under partly sunny skies and in the mid-50s, which kept the cars cool and running well. Kenny Irwin, last year's top rookie, finished third, followed by Skinner and Michael Waltrip. "Looking back on it right now, maybe if I would have had a little bit more grip in the tires I might have been able to hold that bottom line a little bit better. "I still think the decision was fine," said Wallace, who led 102 of the 200 laps. Jeff Gordon collected a record $2.1 million payday for his Daytona 500 victory.
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That yellow flag came out 27 laps from the end after Bobby Hamilton crashed. Seconds after the two crossed the finish line, Earnhardt paid tribute to Gordon, banging into the side of his car and giving him a wave.Īs for Wallace, he probably lost his chance of winning the race for the first time when his team chose to keep him on the track while most of the other leaders pitted for fresh tires during the final caution period. "It's a dream come true for me to race Dale Earnhardt all the way to the finish line in the Daytona 500."


"I had a mirror-full today," said Gordon, who now has 43 career victories. The 27-year-old Gordon, the two-time defending Winston Cup champion, had a $2.1 million payday - the biggest in auto racing history - as he got to the finish line about two car-lengths ahead of the 47-year-old Earnhardt. "If I could have, maybe I could have done something with him. "I couldn't even get to his bumper," he said. But the seven-time serie champion just couldn't catch him. "I got beat."Įarnhardt eased off the accelerator driving off turn two on the final lap and took a run at Gordon on the back straightaway.

"If I could have just got to Gordon in the corner, I might have got under him, but I just couldn't get there," Earnhardt said. He moved to Gordon's rear bumper two laps later, setting up one of the classic finishes in the 41 years of racing at Daytona International Speedway. "I couldn't have done it without his help," Gordon said of Earnhardt.Įarnhardt then made his own charge, as he had done so many times in his 25-year career. With Earnhardt bumping him from the back to help him get by, Gordon came out in front at the flagstand, followed by Wallace and Skinner. Mike Skinner, Earnhardt's teammate, moved alongside Wallace on the outside and the three cars drove side-by-side into the third turn as the crowd roared. He then squeezed past the slow-moving lapped car of Ricky Rudd at close to 190 mph, drawing a gasp from the standing crowd of 185,000. His winning move came when he ducked under leader Rusty Wallace heading toward the first turn on lap 190.
