Rookie Austin Cindric Wins Daytona 500
The word most associated with this year’s Daytona 500 was “new” – new drivers, new teams, and most importantly, new cars. So it seems fitting that when all was said and done, it was a new driver that captured the checkered flag.
LAP 1: Reigning-series champion Kyle Larson led the field to the green flag from pole position, with teammate Alex Bowman starting beside him on the front row. Larson did not lead the first lap before being passed by Brad Keselowski in the #6 Ford.
CAUTION – LAP 41: Following green-flag pitstops, the #14 of Chase Briscoe got loose and spun in Turn 2. The #2 of Austin Cindric and the #50 of Kaz Grala were also involved but did not sustain damage.
CAUTION – LAP 52: The #31 of Justin Haley suffered from a loose wheel resulting in the tire falling off and rolling down the track. The yellow flag waved for debris.
CAUTION – LAP 61: The first major wreck of the race began when Brad Keselowski in the #6 and rookie Harrison Burton in the #21 collided while leading the pack on the high line. Keselowski pushed Burton offside and caused the #21 to spin, which collected Ross Chastain, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell, William Byron, and Alex Bowman.
Click to watch a video of the incident:
Take a look at the incident that brought out the yellow shortly before the end of Stage 1. #DAYTONA500 pic.twitter.com/Rjq6Cn61wu
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 20, 2022
STAGE 1 END – LAP 65: The stage ended under caution due to the previous wreck, which allowed the #19 Toyota of Martin Truex Jr to pick up the stage victory. This made him the first driver of 2022 to earn a playoff point.
LAP 72: When the green flag flew to start the second stage, Ryan Blaney in the #12 took control of the lead in the bottom lane. The field shuffled into a single-file train for most of the segment until Blaney lost the lead to Martin Truex on Lap 108.
LAP 129: With one lap to go in the stage, the lead pack came upon a small group of lapped cars, which allowed the field to start drafting towards the front.
STAGE 2 END – LAP 130: Joey Logano in the #22 made a move toward the lead and was side-drafting Truex while coming to the line, but ultimately it was the #19 who scored the stage win and secured a second playoff point.
CAUTION – LAP 151: The fifth caution of the day came out when Jacques Villeneuve got into the back of Tyler Reddick in the #8. Reddick spun backwards in front of the field and collected Martin Truex Jr, Kurt Busch, and Joey Logano.
Click to watch a video of the incident:
Caution is out with less than 50 laps to go at Daytona. pic.twitter.com/3gROzztXRc
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 20, 2022
CAUTION – LAP 191: With only eight laps to go, the second major wreck occurred as tensions rose and the outside lane was trying to form. Kyle Larson in the #5 got a good run and tried to push the #4 of Kevin Harvick. This made the #4 loose, causing him to spin and take out several cars including Noah Gragson, Todd Gilliland, and Erik Jones. Chase Elliott took evasive action and sun through the infield grass but continued racing, unlike the others.
Click to watch a video of the incident:
Trouble strikes some of our contenders late in the #DAYTONA500! pic.twitter.com/On0SY53dWB
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 20, 2022
CAUTION – LAP 196: Brad Keselowski got aggressive with his pushing again and turned the #47 of Ricky Stenhouse Jr into the outside wall on the front stretch. Stenhouse collided with the #17 of Chris Buescher and the #23 of Bubba Wallace. Stenhouse was out of the race while the others continued racing. This caution pushed the race into overtime, leading to a 2-lap shootout to the checkered flag.
CHECKERED FLAG – LAP 201: Austin Cindric crossed the line to win the first race of his Cup Series career.
RESULTS:
- Austin Cindric
- Bubba Wallace
- Chase Briscoe
- Ryan Blaney
- Aric Almirola
- Kyle Busch
- Michael McDowell
- David Ragan
- Brad Keselowski
- Chase Elliott
- Ty Dillon
- Daniel Hemric
- Martin Truex Jr
- Corey LaJoie
- Landon Cassill
- Chris Beuscher
- Cody Ware
- Daniel Suarez
- Kurt Busch
- Cole Custer
- Joey Logano
- Jacques Villeneuve
- Justin Haley
- Alex Bowman
- Austin Dillon
- Kaz Grala
- BJ McLeod
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr
- Erik Jones
- Kevin Harvick
- Noah Gragson
- Kyle Larson
- Todd Gilliland
- Christopher Bell
- Tyler Reddick
- Greg Biffle
- Denny Hamlin
- William Byron
- Harrison Burton
- Ross Chastain
