Posted on by Reid Spencer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Matt DiBenedetto’s 28th-place finish hardly did justice to the way the Grass Valley, Calif., driver performed in Sunday’s Daytona 500.

After all, DiBenedetto held the top spot for a race-high 49 laps, more than doubling the 23 he had led in his previous 140 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts combined.

RELATED: Race results

In his first race in the No. 95 Leavine Family Racing Toyota Camry, DiBenedetto was running near the front when Paul Menard’s Ford hit him from behind and turned him into the outside wall as the cars approached Turn 3. By the time the sparks stopped flying, 21 cars had been involved in the wreck, and DiBenedetto had been eliminated from the race.

“Just one of those racing deals,” DiBenedetto said ruefully after leaving the infield care center. “I talked to Paul there, and he was just trying to get to my outside and got into my right rear. This is the first time that I’m seeing it (on replay), and he just got to my right rear and was trying to push. I was focused on trying to help my Toyota teammates. This was the best speedway event I’ve had in my life – being able to lead and do some incredible things.

WATCH: DiBenedetto “heartbroken”

“This is such a great team and I know we can show them what we’re doing here. I’m just so proud to be a part of Toyota and Procore as my sponsor – all these guys – Leavine Family Racing and Toyota, they all took a heck of a chance on me, and I’m glad we proved what we’re here to do. I’m pretty heartbroken, but appreciative to be here. Thank you so much to all the fans for all the support, just happy to be here.”

Posted on by Pat DeCola

In 1993, Joe Gibbs Racing — still in its infancy — pulled off the unthinkable by winning the 1993 Daytona 500 with future NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett.

The team celebrated by going down the street from Daytona International Speedway and ripping it up at … Steak ‘n Shake.

It would be aother 23 years before Joe Gibbs landed one of his cars in Victory Lane after the “Great American Race” again, seeing longtime driver Denny Hamlin accomplish the feat in the closest finish the race has ever seen in 2016.

As a nod to how far the group had come as an organization, growing from a small collection of individuals to the four-car powerhouse it is today while maintaining its humble roots, Gibbs took everyone back to the eatery to celebrate.

So when Hamlin added a second Harley J. Earl trophy to his resume in Sunday’s instant classic, there was little doubt where the party would carry over to.

MORE: Denny Hamlin wins 61st annual Daytona 500 | Complete results

A tasty tradition like no other.

PHOTOS: Best scenes from all-time great Daytona 500

Posted on by Holly Cain

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – As far as Daytona 500 debuts go Ryan Preece was plenty encouraged if not wholly satisfied with his eighth-place finish Sunday night. He was running top five, had even pushed into the top three with a lap to go, but got shuffled out by veterans as the checkered flag flew to close out the overtime season-opener.

In the moments after climbing out of his No. 47 JTG Daugherty Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, he stood on pit road and looked at replays of the race finish on the giant television screen a few yards away.

There were the final two laps for review. Toyota driver Denny Hamlin earned his second Daytona 500 win and on the last lap, it looked as if Preece may finish on the podium in his 500 debut. Instead, a last-lap shuffle — so typical of this race — resulted in Preece losing positions as the field took the checkered flag.

RELATED: Race results | Hamlin holds off Preece, JGR teammates on final lap

But the 28-year-old Connecticut native still managed a smile at his top-10 standing by his car and shaking hands with his smiling JTG Daugherty Racing crew.

“Sitting here watching this I’m probably going to get frustrated with myself because there’s a couple things I could have done different to help my chances,” Preece said as he watched the replay. “I was so committed to pushing Joey [Logano], I focused more on him than I did some of the runs I probably should have focused on.

“All in all it’s a good day. It’s an eighth-place finish, a great day for JTG.”

Another replay of the race finish showed again over the speedway as Preece finished speaking with reporters.

“It’s so frustrating watching it,” Preece said, obviously trying to summon a smile. “We were in third place on the white-flag lap and got flushed.”

Perhaps in the coming days, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup rookie will look back at the closing laps as encouragement. His competitors were impressed with the job he did and the crowd seemed to be as well. He was competitive all day, avoided multiple late-race accidents and put himself in position to be a factor as the field approached the most famous checkered flag in NASCAR.

The reigning NASCAR Cup champion Joey Logano, was certainly complimentary of his fellow Connecticut native.

“It was intense as you would expect with the Daytona 500 on the line and I had a great push by the 47 of Ryan Preece and I thought that was cool,” Logano said after climbing out of his car. “We grew up racing quarter-midgets against each other in Connecticut and it just shows that dreams can really come true.

“I’m proud to be racing with him in the Daytona 500. I think that’s super cool.”

Preece also recognized the opportunity to partner with Logano, a former Daytona 500 winner, and appreciated the restrictor plate lesson.

“I know he does a really good job at these restrictor plate races,” Preece said. “I have a good relationship with Joey. Other than that, he’s really good at making holes. He got me to third and I didn’t do a good enough job blocking and trying to help him move forward to.

“This is a learning experience. Everyone talks about learning and I can tell you multiple things I learned today to help me better my career but also learn what I need to do different the next time I come.”

A two-time winner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Preece eventually walked off pit road much more encouraged than frustrated. This is the biggest opportunity of his life and Sunday night was a good start.

“I’m a racer. … and I’m competitive so I’m going to nitpick myself right now,” Preece said. “When I get in my truck and drive home and watch this finish I’m going to say, ‘man, I could have had fifth. I could have had third.’ But at the end of the day, it’s still a great day.

“All in all, today’s been about finishing the race, but hopefully gaining people that will work with me in the future. If I can keep on putting that group of people together for maybe the July race [at Daytona] or Talladega [Ala.], I can build that reputation of ‘hey, we can work with him.’

“Then we will run up front more at the end of these races and put ourselves in a good situation.”

Posted on by Zack Albert

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Joey Logano confronted Michael McDowell on pit road after Sunday’s Daytona 500 after manufacturer solidarity went out the window and both drivers’ bids for victory faded in an overtime finish.

Logano finished fourth, just one spot ahead of McDowell, as Denny Hamlin led a top-three sweep of teammates to his second 500 victory. An agitated Logano quickly dismounted from his Team Penske No. 22, then made a beeline to McDowell’s Front Row Motorsports No. 34 for an animated discussion.

Logano, who established his car’s strength early by winning a Thursday qualifying race, said he was upset over their inability to team up in an aerodynamic draft with a show of automaker unity for Ford. Instead of mounting a charge to push Logano’s Team Penske No. 22 with half a lap to go, McDowell changed lanes and tried to gain ground behind Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Toyota.

RELATED: Full Daytona 500 results

The Mustang challenge never materialized and the Speedweeks that was so dominated by Ford turned into a 1-2-3 sweep in the main event for Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota.

“I was just surprised by the situation and what happened,” said Logano, who was vying for his second Daytona 500 to match the win he scored in 2015. “I thought that was going to be the plan, I would’ve thought. It’s part of it. He’s racing, too, I guess. We can’t win these things alone.”

McDowell bristled at that suggestion, saying the final lap was every driver for himself.

Said McDowell: “I just told him that my team doesn’t pay me to push Joey Logano to a win. That’s not what I get paid to do. At 200 miles an hour I made a split-second decision on what was the fastest car and who had the best shot of winning the race and that’s where I went.”

McDowell survived the late-race chaos and emerged as a contender after an eventful final stretch, which trickled over the scheduled distance into overtime. Before the final restart, McDowell was chopped by Clint Bowyer’s No. 14, triggering a nine-car pileup the sent the race to a second OT.

“The Bowyer wreck’s all his fault,” said McDowell. “He flat-out tried to shift me out and then cleared himself, and he wasn’t clear. That’s what’s so frustrating. You’ve got guys that are like, ‘Hey, why didn’t you go with me?’ Well, because every time I’m in the front, you shook me out, and so what makes you think I’m going to push you to a win when you leave me high and dry the whole entire day?”

Posted on by Staff Report

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Joe Gibbs Racing not only won the 61st annual Daytona 500 with driver Denny Hamlin, but teammates Kyle Busch and Erik Jones also made it a 1-2-3 sweep of the top positions by finishing right behind Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota. It was the first time a team swept the top three positions in the Daytona 500 since Hendrick Motorsports accomplished the feat in 1997 with Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte and Ricky Craven.

They got there after a frenzied finish that saw multiple wrecks, two red flags and Hamlin and Busch swapping the lead in between a pair of late-race restarts.

RELATED: Hamlin wins Daytona 500 | Hamlin’s rise in NASCAR

The two Joe Gibbs Racing veterans communicated through their own personal teams via scanner to orchestrate the final laps. The result of that left Hamlin exuberant in Victory Lane and Busch looking devastated on pit road.

“It’s first and foremost to try to make sure that we at least get a JGR car to Victory Lane,” Busch said of the final few laps. “(The 11 car) didn’t want to do it the previous restart, but then since he got the lead, he wanted to do it again (at the end). 

“You know, it is what it is. At least we got a JGR car in Victory Lane. That’s the big picture. That’s what matters, and we move on.”

Hamlin explained that the No. 18 team asked his group to work together on the final restart, and the way the field was stacked, the Virginia native thought it made sense in that instance.

“Our original deal was inside 10 to go, after that you kind of race,” Hamlin said. “We kept going. I think we had a restart with seven or eight to go, we worked together, and … I think they asked and we said, ‘Let’s just race it out.’ So that put us in a good position.

“(For the last restart), I think they came to my spotter and said, ‘Hey, do you want to drop down in front of us, we’re open to do that,’ and when I saw him and the 22 (of Joey Logano) lined up, I was like, ‘Well, absolutely, sure. Definitely we’ll do that.’ I thought that was the best move for us, but it still gave him a great opportunity to win because he got a great run on us on the backstretch and we had to block it.”

For Hamlin, it was his second time winning the Daytona 500 — the first was in 2016 in a razor-close finish against Martin Truex Jr. — and it ended a winless drought that stretched back to the 2017 Southern 500. The Daytona 500 victory also came on the same day that Hamlin’s crew held up a sign in tribute to another No. 11, J.D. Gibbs, the beloved co-chairman of JGR who passed away a little more than a month ago.

RELATED: JGR pit crews, team honor J.D. Gibbs

Owner Joe Gibbs was overcome with emotion during his post-race interview with FOX as he tried to put in to words what the victory and 1-2-3 finish meant to him and the team.

“What happened right here, J.D.’s name is on that car,” Joe Gibbs said. “That’s his No. 11 with Denny, he found Denny. I’m just saying what happened here was emotional for all of us, the family. Denny racing like he did right there is unbelievable.”

Jones was almost the forgotten man of the podium sweep, having gotten swept up in an on-track incident previously. But Jones kept his car (mostly) clean when the “Big One” – and then others – erupted around him, then steered through the carnage late when Joey Logano and Michael McDowell didn’t quite get their Fords hooked up late.

“I couldn’t really tell how bad (the damage) was at the time, but it’s just such a ‑‑ it’s such a race here of just perseverance,” Jones said. “I mean, you get down to those last 20 laps, I knew there was probably going to be another wreck. 

“But getting down to the end, at one point I was like, well, there’s only 14 cars left, I might as well just go race now. You’ve just got to stick with it. I mean, this is the one track where you can have quite a bit of damage and still get up there and contend, and that’s what kept me going, knowing we were still going to be in it and be able to finish.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Five weeks after the death of Joe Gibbs Racing president J.D. Gibbs, the driver he discovered won the Daytona 500 for the second time.

In a two-lap dash in overtime Sunday at Daytona International Speedway, Denny Hamlin held off teammate Kyle Busch to win the 61st running of the Great American Race, an event that featured massive fireworks with five late cautions that left 14 cars on the lead lap at the finish.

RELATED: Full Daytona 500 results | SHOP: Race winner gear

The victory was Hamlin’s 32nd in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, and it broke a 47-race drought for the 38-year-old from Chesterfield, Va., who had stickers on his No. 11 Toyota Camry commemorating J.D. Gibbs and Glen Wood, patriarch of the Wood Brothers Racing team who passed away on Jan. 18.

“It was just one of those days where I felt like it was meant to be,” said Hamlin, who was paired with new crew chief Chris Gabehart. “Hats off to Kyle as well. I know he was eagerly wanting his first victory in the Daytona 500, but today we just weren’t going to be denied.

“The whole (Gibbs) family — they did so much for me over the course of my career. This one is for J.D. We’re desperately going to miss him the rest of our lives. His legacy still lives on through Joe Gibbs Racing and I’m proud to do this for them.”

Understandably, team owner Joe Gibbs was overcome with emotion when talking about his late son after the race.

“J.D.’s name is on that car,” Gibbs said. “That’s his number. J.D. found him (Hamlin). What happened here is really unreal. I just thank the Lord for letting us be a part of this.”

Busch chose the bottom lane for a restart on Lap 199 of 200, but Hamlin surged ahead on the backstretch moments before contact between the Fords of Clint Bowyer and Michael McDowell triggered a nine-car wreck that forced overtime. NASCAR stopped the race for the second time for the clean-up, and Hamlin chose the top lane for the final restart on Lap 206.

By design, Hamlin pulled down in front of Busch as the cars headed for Turn 1 and held the lead the rest of the way, as Busch, Joey Logano, McDowell and Erik Jones fought for position behind him. Hamlin crossed the stripe .138 seconds ahead of Busch, who was frustrated in his 14th unsuccessful attempt to win the 500.

“When he gave me the top (on the Lap 199 restart),” Hamlin said, “I was literally doing a little cheer in my mind, thinking my playbook said, ‘Always choose the top no matter who’s behind you — it doesn’t matter.’ I’ve been on the front row for so many restarts and lost ‘em because I’ve been on the bottom.

“Obviously, there were circumstances that happened behind us that allowed us to be in front at the caution.”

Busch didn’t regret his decision to let Hamlin drop down in front of him after the overtime restart.

“Strength in numbers,” Busch explained. “We were trying to protect at least one of our cars being able to get to Victory Lane, and I felt like we were able to do that with being able to do what we did on that last restart.

“But, overall, it’s certainly bittersweet. It’s awesome to see a JGR car in Victory Lane with Joe and J.D. and everything that’s gone on this offseason with all that. But it’s very, very bittersweet for all those that support us and all my team guys that work so hard to try to get to Victory Lane and get our Daytona 500 victory.

“He’s got two. I’ve got none. We just have to move on and go to the next time.”

What had been a relative calm race turned chaotic in the late going. After a restart with 10 laps left, all hell broke loose as the field approached Turn 3. Contact from Paul Menard’s No. 21 Ford sent Matt DiBenedetto’s No. 95 Toyota spinning into the outside wall and back across traffic. By the time cars finished wrecking, 21 cars had sustained damage ranging from minor to catastrophic.

DiBenedetto was eliminated from his maiden run in the No. 95 Leavine Family Racing Toyota Camry, leaving Menard to do a mea culpa when he exited the infield care center.

“I’m not really sure what happened,” Menard said. “I hooked the 95. I was trying to get to his outside, and he was kind of in the middle and he went to the outside and was going back and forth. The 12 (Ryan Blaney) had a big run, so I jumped up in front of him and hooked the 95.

“I’ll take the blame for that one, I guess. We had really fast Fords. I sped on pit road and got us behind. We had to play catch-up. We had a shot there at the end though. It was time to go. It’s frustrating that we have to put ourselves in that position to race this way. I tried backing off but wrecked a lot of cars.”

Two more cautions for multicar wrecks followed before Hamlin could make his decisive two-lap run to the finish and claim the Harley J. Earl trophy for the second time.

Posted on by Staff Report

The ‘Big One’ hit late in Sunday’s 61st running of the Daytona 500, collecting multiple cars in the melee with 10 laps to go.

The incident occurred on the backstretch when Paul Menard, driving the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford, clipped the back of the No. 95 Leavine Family Racing Toyota, driven by Matt DiBenedetto. That set off a massive wreck with cars spinning in all directions.

Both drivers were running in the top five when the incident took place, spoiling a potentially big day for the upstart teams.

“I am not really sure what happened,” Menard, who finished 29th, said. “I hooked the 95. I was trying to get to his outside and he was kind of in the middle and he went to the outside and was going back and forth. The 12 had a big run so I jumped up in front of him and hooked the 95.”

DiBenedetto led 49 laps and had a competitive car and was naturally disappointed with the resulting wreck, which led to a 28th-place finish for him. However, he tried to stay positive in his post-race interview:

Stage 2 winner Ryan Blaney, Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman, Aric Almirola, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Martin Truex Jr., Erik Jones, Daniel Suarez and Jimmie Johnson were among the drivers involved in the wreck.

Other drivers in the wreck were: Matt Tifft, David Ragan, Ryan Preece, Chris Buescher, Daniel Hemric, Chase Elliott, William Byron, Ty Dillon, Joey Logano and Kyle Larson.

Here are looks from the in-car cameras for some of those drivers as they tried to navigate through the wreckage:

Posted on by Staff Report

NEW SMYRNA, Fla. — Add another accomplishment to the long list of accolades for Bubba Pollard.

The Senora, Georgia, driver finished second in the 100-lap Super Late Model Orange Blossom 100 at New Smyrna Speedway on Saturday night, capturing the championship in dominating fashion after winning three races during the 53rd annual World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing.

Pollard wasn’t planning to head to New Smyrna for the World Series until he received a phone call from track regular David Rogers, who couldn’t run the week of racing due to a minor surgical procedure. In the end, the decision to step behind the wheel was well worth it, as he won the title by 42 points over track regular Brad May.

“Just thankful for the opportunity, it’s been a great week,” Pollard said. “We could have pulled it off tonight, it’s hard to start that far back and not have more than one caution. I can’t thank these guys enough.”

As Pollard mentions, Saturday’s finale for the Super Late Models rolled along with minimal issue. A caution at the halfway point slowed the field, but once the race went back green, it was clear sailing for the competition.

Derek Griffith picked up the checkered flag in the finale of the week. Griffith was challenging Carson Kvapil in the final laps of the opening night main event when the two made contact and Griffith was black flagged. After an up and down week, Griffith was able to end the prestigious event in celebration.

“We had a fast car all week,” Griffith said. “We got tangled up the first night, but my guys just did an awesome job. They made it easy for me tonight.”

Jett Noland, who took the lead on lap 10, led the race until lap 77 when Griffith rolled on by. As Griffith pulled away in the final laps, Pollard made his way to the back bumper of Noland, but it took him multiple laps to get around, ultimately giving Griffith the win.

Noland finished third, followed by teammate Tate Fogelman and Logan Seavey.

Wayne Parker won the final Florida Modified feature of the week, but it was second-place finisher Travis Eddy who clinched the championship over Jerry Symons. Eddy tied with Symons at the top of the standings with 292 points each, but Eddy won the title after a tiebreaker was broken. Both drivers ended the World Series with one victory, but Eddy finished second three times, while Symons did only once.

All eight nights of NASCAR Whelen All American Series racing aired via a live stream on FansChoice.TV. Fans can also re-live all of the action from the week on NASCAR.com.

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RESULTS: World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Night 9:

Super Late Models: 1. Derek Griffith; 2. Bubba Pollard; 3. Jett Noland; 4. Tate Fogelman; 5. Logan Seavey; 6. Travis Brayden; 7. Carson Kvapil; 8. Jared Irvan; 9. Ryan Moore; 10. Derek Kraus; 11. Colin Garrett; 12. Alex Labbe; 13. Sam Mayer; 14. Gabe Sommers; 15. Nicholas Naugle; 16. Brad May; 17. Brad Kossaw; 18. Toby Grynewicz; 19. Clay Greenfield; 20. Anthony Sergi; 21. Spencer Davis; 22. Christian Rose

Posted on by Staff Report

Which channels have NASCAR programming this week? We answer that and give you the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: Get the NBC Sports App | How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports Go | How to find NBCSN

Monday, Feb. 18
Midnight, Daytona 500 (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports GO
3 a.m., Unrivaled: Earnhardt vs. Gordon (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports GO
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports GO
9 p.m., Daytona 500 (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports GO

On MRN:
3 p.m., MRN Outloud

Tuesday, Feb. 19
2 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports GO
3 a.m., Daytona 500 (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports GO
5 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports GO

On MRN:
7 p.m., NASCAR Live with Mike Bagley

Wednesday, Feb. 20
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports GO

On MRN:
3 p.m., MRN Crew Call

Thursday, Feb. 21
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports GO
6 p.m., NASCAR The Decades: The 1990s (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6:30 p.m., NASCAR The Decades: The 1990s (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App

Friday, Feb. 22
3 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, FS1/FOX Sports GO (Canada: TSN App)
4 p.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series final practice, FS1/FOX Sports GO
5 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying, FS1/FOX Sports GO (Canada: TSN App)

Saturday, Feb. 23
6:30 a.m., The Adventures of Janet Guthrie (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports GO
7 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series practice (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports GO
8 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports GO
9:30 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Qualifying, FS1/FOX Sports GO (Canada: TSN App) CANCELED
10:30 a.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Qualifying, FS1/FOX Sports GO CANCELED
Noon, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, FS1/FOX Sports GO (Canada: TSN5)
1:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: NASCAR Xfinity Series at Atlanta, FS1/FOX Sports GO
2 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Rinnai 250 at Atlanta, FS1/FOX Sports GO (Canada: TSN5)
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Atlanta 200, FS1/FOX Sports GO
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Post-Race Show, FS1/FOX Sports GO

On MRN:
4 p.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Atlanta 200

Sunday, Feb. 24
6 a.m., The Adventures of Janet Guthrie (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports GO
6:30 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Rinnai 250 at Atlanta (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports GO
11:30 a.m., Unrivaled: Earnhardt vs. Gordon (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports GO
12:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta, FS1/FOX Sports GO
1:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta, FOX/FOX Sports GO
2 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta, FOX/FOX Sports GO (Canada: TSN5)

Posted on by Staff Report

Kyle Busch won Stage 1 in the 61st annual Daytona 500 on Sunday at Daytona International Speedway. Busch, who started the race in the 31st position, took the lead on Lap 35 and held onto the top spot as the green-white-checkered flag waved on Lap 60.

Busch, who has a hole in his trophy case reserved for the Harley J. Earl Trophy, was part of a pack of Toyotas and Chevrolets that took fresh tires on a pit stop after the first caution of the stage (for debris on Lap 21). That group assembled on the low line and gave each other a good push to overcome a group of Fords that had the early advantage.

RELATED: Stage 1 results | Fantasy

Alex Bowman, who started on the front row, came in second behind Busch after falling back in the field early on in the stage. A pack of Fords –Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top five.

There were two cautions during the first stage, including one for a wreck involving Kurt Busch, Bubba Wallace and Jamie McMurray.

Finish Driver Team Race Points
1 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing 10
2 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports 9
3 Joey Logano Team Penske 8
4 Daniel Suarez Stewart-Haas Racing 7
5 Ryan Blaney Team Penske 6
6 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing 5
7 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports 4
8 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing 3
9 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing 2
10 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing 1

STAGE 2

Ryan Blaney won Stage 2 of the Daytona 500 on Sunday to reassert Ford’s spot at the top of the leaderboard after Toyota driver Kyle Busch won Stage 1. Blaney took the lead following a late caution and reached the line just ahead of Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron.

Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola was third, followed by Blaney’s Team Penske teammate Brad Keselowski in fourth. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rounded out the top five.

RELATED: Stage 2 results

Matt DiBenedetto, the new driver for the No. 95 Leavine Family Racing Toyota, finished sixth in Stage 2 and led the most laps through the first two stages with 49.

There was one caution during the stage for an incident in Turn 1 involving Casey Mears and Parker Kligerman on Lap 106.

Finish Driver Team Race Points
1 Ryan Blaney Team Penske 10
2 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports 9
3 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing 8
4 Brad Keselowski Team Penske 7
5 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing 6
6 Matt DiBenedetto Leavine Family Racing 5
7 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing 4
8 Daniel Suarez Stewart-Haas Racing 3
9 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports 2
10 Joey Logano Team Penske 1