McDowell Gets Lucky with Daytona 500 Victory

The Daytona 500 and unpredictability go hand in hand. Between the major wrecks that collect 10+ cars at a time (aptly referred to as ‘The Big One’); the draft that makes it hard for big-name racers to drive up through the field and simultaneously easier for smaller names to ride around in the front; and the unfavourable weather that has played a roll in the last two Daytona 500s in a row, it’s easy to see how the winner could be anyone in the field.

LAP 1: Alex Bowman led the field to green after securing the coveted pole position earlier in the week. Bowman was in the iconic #48 Chevrolet, having taken over the number from Jimmie Johnson following his retirement last season. Bowman got a good start and began leading the two-wide field.

LAP 3: This year’s Daytona 500 marked the 20th anniversary of the legendary Dale Earnhardt Sr’s tragic passing during the 2001 running of the race. On the 3rd lap, teams and fans held up 3 fingers to honor Earnhardt, who drove the #3 car.

CAUTION – LAP 4: The first caution of the day came out early when the #16 of Derek Cope blew a right-front tire and scraped the wall. The 62-year-old driver was making his final start in the 500.

CAUTION – LAP 15: The “Big One” came early when Christopher Bell in the #20 gained speed on the bottom lane and hit the back of Aric Almirola in the #10. The bump knocked Almirola up the track and into the side of the #48 of Bowman. The two spun sideways and collected Ryan Newman, Matt DiBenedetto, Kurt Busch, Martin Truex Jr, Ryan Blaney, Daniel Suarez, William Byron, and many others.

While under caution, the field was brought down pit road due to lightning in the area. As per NASCAR’S rulebook, if lightning strikes within 10 miles of the speedway, the race is suspended for 30 minutes. During the delay, the dark clouds unleashed heavy rain and wind, which led to a 5-hour delay.

LAP 30: Shortly after 9 PM, engines were finally refired and the Daytona 500 was able to continue. Several cars pitted once the red flag was lifted, which put Denny Hamlin in the top spot.

CAUTION – LAP 38: Having been caught up in the previous wreck, William Byron had significant damage on his #24 Chevrolet but was still attempting to compete. His rear bumper came unattached on the left side and dropped debris, which cut the left-front tire on Quin Houff’s #00 and brought out the yellow flag.

STAGE 1 – LAP 65: Denny Hamlin picked up the first stage win of the 2021 season. Christopher Bell, Austin Dillon, Austin Cindric, and Kyle Larson rounded out the top 5. Hamlin remained in the lead during the restart

LAP 70: Hamlin lost the lead to his teammate, Christopher Bell in the #20, and the field began to count down the laps by running single file.

LAP 104: Green-flag pitstops commenced with a group of Fords coming down pit road for fuel only. During the following laps, all Toyotas and Chevrolets pitted for fuel and the lead cycled through to Hamlin.

CAUTION – LAP 114: Christopher Bell had a tire go down in Turn 3 and spun. He collected Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Kyle Larson and brought out the 5th caution of the night. When the race restarted, Hamlin retained the lead and the pack ran single file once again.

STAGE 2 – LAP 130: The final lap of Stage 2 featured an intense battle when Bubba Wallace, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and others dropped to the bottom of the track to form a second lane and challenge Hamlin. A brief back-and-forth lead exchange took place before Hamlin crossed the line and took his second stage victory of the night. Kevin Harvick, Wallace, Chase Elliott, and Austin Dillon completed the top 5. When the race restarted, Hamlin still occupied the top spot.

LAP 170: The Ford drivers decided to pit early and undercut their competitors. Chevrolets also came down pit road on the next lap. The few remaining Toyota drivers opted to stay out for a few more laps before making their final stop of the night. The strategy shuffled the field and allowed the #22 Ford of Joey Logano to inherit the lead, followed by his teammate Brad Keselowski and Michael McDowell.

CAUTION / CHECKERED FLAG – LAP 200: On the backstretch during the final lap, the #38 of McDowell delivered a big push to the back of Keselowski in the #2. The force pushed Keselowski offside and he hit Logano in the process. Keselowski and Logano spun in opposite directions and collected Austin Cindric, Kyle Busch, and others in a massive fireball. The race ended under caution, and after review, McDowell was declared P1 when the yellow flag came out. As a result, he scored the prized Daytona 500 victory as well as a spot in the playoffs in his 358th start in the Cup Series.

RESULTS:
1. Michael McDowell
2. Chase Elliott
3. Austin Dillon
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Denny Hamlin
6. Ryan Preece
7. Ross Chastain
8. Jaime McMurray
9. Corey Lajoie
10. Kyle Larson
11. Cole Custer
12. Joey Logano
13. Brad Keselowski
14. Kyle Busch
15. Austin Cindric
16. Christopher Bell
17. Bubba Wallace
18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
19. Chase Briscoe
20. Joey Gase
21. Cody Ware
22. Kurt Busch
23. BJ McLeod
24. Josh Bilicki
25. Martin Truex Jr
26. William Byron
27. Tyler Reddick
28. Kaz Grala
29. Quin Houff
30. Ryan Blaney
31. Chris Buescher
32. Anthony Alfredo
33. Matt DiBenedetto
34. Aric Almirola
35. Alex Bowman
36. Daniel Suarez
37. David Ragan
38. Ryan Newman
39. Erik Jones
40. Derrick Cope