‘Rowdy’ led 19 laps and was integral to helping his teammate pick up his first Daytona 500 crown. Solid first day back at work for the champ.
Harvick was blocked by eventual Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin on the final lap, taking away any shot the 2014 champ had at a race win. Still came home with a top-five, though.
It was already starting to feel like it may be Hamlin’s year, then he went out and gave us one of the most dramatic finishes to a Daytona 500 in history. Thirty-five race to go, but things are looking good for No. 11.
No back-to-back Daytona 500 wins for Logano, but he nearly had that outside lane going to propel him to the checkered. Emphasis on “nearly.”
Any questions about the manufacturer change for the No. 78 team can now be dispelled. It’s clear Truex has the full support from Toyota and — perhaps more importantly — Joe Gibbs Racing, his technical partner.
Johnson didn’t manage a top-10, but he reminded us why he’s a six-time champ after leading 18 laps and having one of the best saves of the afternoon.
Tough break for Kenseth, who appeared destined in the closing laps to pick up another Daytona 500 win. His first 2016 win should come sooner than later, given how strong JGR is as a whole.
Arguably the driver to beat throughout Speedweeks, Junior had to say goodbye to “Amelia” after the duo wrecked toward the end of the race. But man, were they a power couple.
Quietly strong during most of Daytona on-track activity, it’s looking like another solid campaign for Kurt Busch is in the works.
Keselowski and teammate Joey Logano weren’t able to hook up in the draft as planned and it certainly didn’t do them any favors.
We know Larson likes big, wide tracks, but it hasn’t materialized at Daytona — until Sunday. Could this be a sign that the third-year driver is ready to take the next step?
Edwards really, really had to battle to get back into the top five, and it worked. Many pegged the veteran driver, in his second year at JGR, to make major moves this season.
As fast as Junior was, as much experience as Jimmie Johnson has, and where Chase Elliott started (on the pole), it’s hard to believe Kahne was the highest-finishing Hendrick driver, but it’s true.
The No. 3 car seems to always find its way into the top 10 at Daytona. Funny how that happens, isn’t it?
Tough break for Elliott, who had high expectations going into his first Daytona 500, starting from the pole. He’ll bounce back.
Newman is a pretty excellent plate racer and nearly snuck his way into the top 10. His bread and butter needs to be the intermediate tracks if he wants to inch towards his first title, however. He’ll get a shot this weekend at Atlanta.
The 2010 Daytona 500 winner did not come up big when the stakes mattered most, as we’ve grown accustomed to him doing.
We’ll see a lot of 15th to 20th-place finishes for Menard this season. It’ll keep him on the Chase bubble all year long.
Look past the 19th-place finish. Blaney had that No. 21 Ford running near the front quite often and nearly pulled off his own Trevor Bayne-type moment.
Almirola has gone from the routine 20th-place finishes, to 18th, to 15th. If he can make top-12s stick more often, he could be onto something.