Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
It was a Cinderella story in the Daytona 500 for the second year in a row.
Austin Cindric won the Great American Race, holding off charges by Ryan Blaney on the outside and Bubba Wallace on the inside. The 23-year-old, who had yet to win a NASCAR Cup Series race, displayed some deft defensive driving, particularly as Blaney made his move on the final lap.
Daytona 500 Results
- Austin Cindric
- Bubba Wallace
- Chase Briscoe
- Ryan Blaney
- Aric Almirola
- Kyle Busch
- Michael McDowell
- David Ragan
- Brad Keselowski
- Chase Elliott
Full leaderboard available at NASCAR.com
The rookie had social media abuzz with his unexpected triumph:
Liz Clarke @lizclarketweet
NASCAR, its NextGen car & a capacity crowd get a terrific Daytona 500 finish, with rookie Austin Cindric holding off <a href=”https://twitter.com/BubbaWallace?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@BubbaWallace</a> in an OT shootout for the win. Wrecks galore; no injuries. Terrific job by both on the final lap as contenders crash around them.
The 2021 Daytona 500 had a dramatic ending as the top two drivers (Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski) crashed on the final lap to open the door for unlikely winner Michael McDowell.
While not on the same scale, Sunday saw the red flag come out with nine laps remaining.
Kevin Harvick had nowhere to go as he was running behind Chris Buescher. Kyle Larson, meanwhile, was surging up on the rear bumper on the No. 4 car. Larson bumped Harvick and set off a multi-car crash. When the dust settled, Harvick, Larson, Chase Elliott, Erik Jones, Noah Gragson and Todd Gilliland were all affected.
The red flag couldn’t have been a worse development for Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
In addition to the fact he’s on a one-man team, Stenhouse was the only Chevrolet car in the top eight. The 34-year-old was left on an island when the race restarted.
His time atop the field didn’t extend much beyond that as he fell behind on the outside and crashed with six laps to go after contact from Keselowski. It was a disappointing finish to what was shaping up to be a big night.
Sarah Stierch @Sarah_Stierch
WOW well that happened quick, another caution flag….Stenhouse coulda won the <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Daytona500?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Daytona500</a>. What a bum for him. (Side note: his mismatched Kroger/Irish Spring car makes me crazy)<br><br>Lucky Bubba got out unscathed. ????
Every year, fans expect to see “The Big One” at Daytona, and they got multiple wrecks Sunday.
It took 63 laps to get to the first major crash of the 2022 edition, with the quartet of Denny Hamlin, Ross Chastain, William Byron Jr. and Harrison Burton knocked out of the race.
NASCAR @NASCAR
Drivers involved in the crash on Lap 63: <a href=”https://twitter.com/RossChastain?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@RossChastain</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/keselowski?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@keselowski</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/dennyhamlin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@dennyhamlin</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/KyleBusch?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@KyleBusch</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/CBellRacing?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@CBellRacing</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/HBurtonRacing?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@HBurtonRacing</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/WilliamByron?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@WilliamByron</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/Alex_Bowman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@Alex_Bowman</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/DAYTONA500?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#DAYTONA500</a>
Burton was briefly airborne before the No. 21 car landed on its roof.
Martin Truex Jr. was putting himself in a great position to win his first Daytona 500. He won the first two stages and was running first when he got wrapped up in the second major wreck of the race.
Tyler Reddick got turned around and made contact with Truex before setting off a chain reaction:
Although Truex returned to the race, he had lost valuable ground. His quest for a first checkered flag was effectively over.
He at least fared better than Logano, who wound up stuck in the infield grass. He fell behind by multiple laps and couldn’t recover.
The NASCAR Cup Series is heading across the country for its next event, the Wise Power 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.
For Hamlin, Byron, Truex and Logano, it’s an opportunity to reset the 2022 season.
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