Michael McDowell won the Daytona 500 after a final lap crash involving Penske Racing teammates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski ended up in flames.
McDowell had never won in 358 Cup Series starts and only led one lap as he ended up being the beneficiary of the huge crash. He was running in third behind Keselwoski and leader Logano before the pair crashed.
Keselwoski got an excellent run on Logano a mile from the finish and attempt to pass him on the low side of the track. The leader moved over to block the move which sent them both crashing into the wall.
The crash then picked up more casualties with Kyle Busch slamming into the side of Keselowski’s No. 2 Ford, sending it spinning back into the wall.
Austin Cindric crashed into them both which created a brief explosion and fire. Bubba Wallace, who was racing for team owner and basketball legend Michael Jordan, was also caught up in the shunt.
The drivers all escaped unscathed. After the race Keselowski said he had no regrets about making the move.
“Had a big run down the backstretch, wanted the make the pass to win the Daytona 500 and it ended up really bad,” he said.
“Don’t feel like I made a mistake, but I can’t drive everyone else’s car. Frustrating.
“We were in position. It’s exactly where I wanted to be running second on the last lap of Daytona with this package. Had the run, made the move and it didn’t work out.”
Over 30,000 fans were in attendance at the iconic Florida circuit.
That makes it the largest sporting event since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The race had to be stopped midway through due to lightning and heavy rain which resulted in a near six-hour delay.
Chase Elliott finished the race in second, followed by Austin Dillon, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin, who was eyeing his third straight Daytona 500 victory.
