DAYTONA, Florida — Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the Daytona 500 in double overtime and under caution Sunday night in the longest race of “The Great American Race.”
The two overtimes pushed the race’s 65th run to a record 212 laps – a dozen laps over the scheduled distance and a whopping 530 miles.
Stenhouse’s victory in a Chevrolet for JTG Daugherty Racing – a one-car team partly owned by former NBA player Brad Daugherty – was the third of his career. JTG is the first single-seater team to win the Daytona 500 since The Wood Brothers Racing did it with Trevor Bayne in 2011.
Stenhouse’s only other victories came in 2017, at Talladega and the summer race at Daytona.
Now the 35-year-old from Olive Branch, Mississippi, has another win at Daytona in NASCAR’s biggest race of the season. And he came in his first race reunited with crew chief Mike Kelly, who guided Stenhouse to a pair of Xfinity Series championships earlier in his career.
“I think this whole offseason Mike just preached about how much we all believed in each other. They left me a note in the car that said they believed in me and they were going to do the work,” Stenhouse said. “Man, that’s amazing. It was the site of my last win in 2017. We worked really hard. We had a few knocks last year to get a win and we fell short.
“It was a tough season, but man, we made it, Daytona 500.”
Kyle Larson was picked up in the race-ending crash after jumping off the line too early in an attempt to win the race. His disappointment was mitigated by Stenhouse’s victory.
“Glad Ricky won. I’m super happy. That’s all I could think about after my crash, waiting to hear he won,” Larson said. “He’s one of my best friends so I screamed into my helmet when I helped push him into the lead there. I was hoping he would stay green so it was me or him who were winning.
“I can’t wait to get changed and give him a big hug because he’s a great friend of mine.”
Defending Cup champion Joey Logano finished second in a Ford for Team Penske, which won the race last year with Austin Cindric.
“Second is the worst, man,” Logano said. “Congratulations to Ricky. There’s nothing like winning the Daytona 500. That’s why it hurts so much to finish second.”
Christopher Bell was third in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing and followed by Chris Buescher in a Ford for RFK Racing and Hendrick Motorsports poleman Alex Bowman in a Chevrolet. It was the first time the poleman had finished in the top five since Bill Elliott in 2001.
AJ Allmendinger was sixth for Kaulig Racing, Daniel Suarez seventh for Trackhouse Racing and Ryan Blaney eighth for Team Penske. Trackhouse’s Ross Chastain and Rick Ware Racing’s Riley Herbst round out the top 10.
Action sports star Travis Pastrana finished 11th in his Daytona 500 debut, and Kevin Harvick finished 12th in his last Daytona 500. Harvick is retiring at the end of the year.
Kyle Busch fell to 0 for 18 in the Daytona 500, but fought for his new team Richard Childress Racing. He was the leader ahead of team-mate Austin Dillon with three laps to go in regulation time when a spin from Daniel Suarez brought out the caution and sent the race into extra time.
“1998 would be the win, boys,” Busch radioed his team in deliberate reference to how the late Dale Earnhardt won his only Daytona 500. There was no overtime at the time. and Earnhardt won on bail.
Busch finished 19th after the race-ending crash in second overtime.
“I think it’s the first time I’ve led the 200 lap, so I wish it was the 1998 rules. But, no, it’s just normal for the course, just used to it and come here every year to know when and where I’m going to crash and what lap I get out of the care center,” Busch said. “Who won? I don’t even know who was lucky.
Busch was told Stenhouse was the winner.
“Here,” he replied.
Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson returned to the series and ran in the top 15 for most of the race. He was recovered in one of the crashes in overtime and finished 31st. Johnson returned from two years of racing in the IndyCar Series as part-owner of Legacy Motor Club and he plans to compete in a handful of races.
Brad Keselowski led a race-high 42 laps, but finished 22nd. He refused to speak to reporters after falling to 0 for 14 in a race he desperately wants to win.
CHAMPIONS RACE
The 65th running of the Daytona 500 marked the first time the defending Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series champions were all part of the field.
Logano Cup champion was second, while Xfinity Series champion Ty Gibbs was 25th and Truck Series champion Zane Smith was 13th.
Smith had to work his way through the 40-driver field and won Game 1 of the Truck Series on Friday night. It was the Daytona 500 debut for Gibbs and Smith.
FOLLOWING
The Cup Series races at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. next Sunday in the final race at the current track layout. It will be renovated to short track after the race – a project that will prevent the track from hosting races in 2024. Kyle Larson won last year’s race.
Copyright © 2023 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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