Key takeaways from Daytona

By Kenny Bruce
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The third of four restrictor-plate races for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams Saturday night provided everything most folks expected, with close, side-by-side racing throughout the field and multi-car incidents.
There were 13 different race leaders in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway, but the margin between first and second was little more than a car-length on most occasions, and often much less.
In the end, Team Penske driver Brad Keselowski scored the holiday weekend victory, his fifth restrictor-plate win but his first at DIS.

Dillon Undaunted

Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Dillon continued to impress. His seventh-place finish at DIS was his third top 10 in plate races this season.
He was ninth in the season-opening Daytona 500 and third at Talladega.
Although still winless, Dillon improved his Chase chances, advancing two positions, to 12th, in the points battle.

Star-Spangled Win

Heading into Saturday night's Coke Zero 400, Brad Keselowski, the 2012 series champion, sported only three top-10 finishes in 14 attempts at Daytona.
'We came down here for the (Daytona) 500 and, quite honestly, we ran like dog crap, but my team worked on it,' Keselowski said. 'I didn't give up on them. I believe in my team, and my team believes in me.'

In the Mix

When a 22-car pileup early took some heavy hitters out of the running, it opened the door for others, including Clint Bowyer and Michael McDowell.
Bowyer finished ninth while McDowell grabbed his first of the season with a 10th-place result.
A hat tip as well to Cole Whitt, who brought the Premium Motorsports Toyota home in 11th, a career best for driver and team.

Daytona Swan Song

Three-time series champion Tony Stewart had high hopes for his final Sprint Cup Series start at Daytona, coming in on the heels of last week’s victory at Sonoma.
But a crash on Lap 149 ended the chances of the Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner/driver.
'Hadn't been loose all day, but I got loose there and then over-corrected for it and drove it in the fence,' Stewart explained. 'So definitely my fault.'

Back On Track

After suffering through four finishes of 30th or worse, defending series champion Kyle Busch has now put together back-to-back top-10 results, thanks to a second-place run at Daytona.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver led four times for 16 laps and trailed only race winner Brad Keselowski at the finish.
'There at the end of the race the 2 (Keselowski) was really, really fast,' Busch said. 'Really, really strong. It's really hard to get by him. I tried just about everything.'

Roush Fenway Resurgence?

Roush Fenway Racing teams enjoyed a top-10 sweep by its teams at Daytona, a first for the three-team organization this season.
Former Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne finished a season's best third, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. placed fifth and pole winner Greg Biffle came home eighth.