Danica Patrick leaves NASCAR at peace and amid love

Posted on February 18, 2018February 19, 2018 by Holly Cain

MORE: Danica Patrick through the years | Career stats

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — There was no mistaking the love. Danica Patrick got one of the largest bursts of applause when introduced for Sunday’s Daytona 500 — her last NASCAR race — then made her ceremonial lap around the famous Daytona International Speedway. She soaked in the cheers and good wishes and was genuinely moved by the standing ovation she received from the sold-out crowd.

However, her time in the race car ended a lap past the halfway mark as she was collected in a multicar accident that also ended the day for race favorites Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick among others.

Patrick was uncharacteristically emotional — wiping away tears — when she announced last November that she would run this final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race. But ever the focused competitor, she managed a smile and logical dissection of her day when speaking to the media after her crash.

She seemed at peace.

“It just wasn’t meant to be today,” Patrick said after getting the “all-clear” from Daytona’s infield care center. “I am proud. We raced the whole race other than a little bit at the end of that first stage when it looked silly with all the cars with tires and no tires.

“Other than that, we raced it and the car was competitive. That is all you can do. That is the gamble at Daytona. It can go so well, and it can go so awful.

“I’m grateful for everything. Thank you to all the fans. Still have one more. It is not a stock car, but still have one more.”

Her crew chief Tony Eury Jr. came off the sideline specifically to work with Patrick again as she closed out her NASCAR career — a proper bookend to the pairing. The two had been together when Patrick first started racing stock cars, even as she was completing her IndyCar career.

“We didn’t want things to end like that,” Eury said, standing in the garage with the Premium Motorsports crew next to Patrick’s damaged car. “Definitely one of our biggest goals was just to come in here and finish the race and if we could get a solid top 10 that was great, a win — that’s a story.

“The first wreck they had, she was running in the back of the field and I saw them dicing and I told her, ‘Get away from them, they’re getting ready to do something’ and they did.”

Eury said he was touched that Patrick asked him to lead her final NASCAR effort — officially a 35th-place finish.

MORE: Up-and-coming driver tweets thanks to Patrick

“It just shows me I made an impact on her driving career in NASCAR and it makes me feel really good,” Eury said. “I told her I was really honored that she asked me to come to do this deal.

“The whole deal coming down here was we’re going to have fun and try to run the best we can and she had a lot of confidence I would bring her a good Daytona 500 car and everybody here at Premium is really good as far as making this happen really quick.

“We were right where we needed to be but had to finish to pull it off.”

As pre-race festivities winded down earlier in the day before Patrick’s final NASCAR green flag, Patrick stood alongside her bright green No. 7 GoDaddy Chevrolet on the starting grid, surrounded by family and close friends. Her parents Bev and TJ were there, as was her new boyfriend, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and her sister Brooke and Brooke’s two young daughters.

Patrick enthusiastically posed for photographs with her loved ones in front of her car and seemed truly at ease with the big day. Rodgers gave her a kiss just before she slid her long hair into a ponytail and climbed into the car.

“Funny story is when she first started at 10, I told my wife, ‘She’s going to change racing,’ ” her proud father said while standing beside her car on the starting grid.

“I’ve been in racing my whole life and I saw that she was different.

“She’s done a lot. Would we like to have better results? I think every driver would.

“Hopefully this has opened the door for some little kids but mainly what I feel is, you don’t have to be a girl, it could be the boys, but [she’s shown] you can do whatever you like if you really, really, REALLY try.”

Posted on February 18, 2018February 18, 2018 by Brad Norman

MORE: Daytona 500 results | Dillon wins Daytona 500 on last-lap pass

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The first race with his new Stewart-Haas Racing team nearly put Aric Almirola on the historic list of Daytona 500 winners. Instead, he joined a far less pleasing one — those who lost the Daytona 500 via a last-lap pass.

Almirola was running first and in the clear when the white flag dropped, but a late freight-train in the form of Austin Dillon and Darrell Wallace Jr. caught Almirola’s No. 10 down the stretch. Dillon put pressure on the outside, Almirola attempted to block and Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet sent him spinning.

Almirola would finish 11th.

“My heart is broken,” he said after the race. “… It was the last lap and we’re all trying to win the Daytona 500. It’s the biggest race of the year and it’s a career-changing race, so we were just racing really aggressively. I put every move I knew to try and stay in the lead and, unfortunately, I just wasn’t able to hold on.

“He got to my back bumper and was pushing, and just hooked me.”

Dillon, meanwhile, celebrated in Victory Lane and attributed the ending to simple superspeedway racing.

“I had a ton of momentum, caught him and turned him,” Dillon said. “He should do the same thing to me in the same situation.”

Almirola, meanwhile, said he had no qualms with Dillon’s late-race aggression.

“He’s not driving too aggressively, he’s trying to win the Daytona 500 just like I was,” Almirola said. “I saw him come with the momentum and I pulled up to block and did exactly what I needed to do to try to win the Daytona 500. I wasn’t gonna just let him have it. I wasn’t gonna just stay on the bottom and let him rail the outside, so I blocked and he got to my bumper and pushed. I thought I was still gonna be OK, and somehow I got hooked.

“I’m really devastated, but … I’m not gonna let that get me down. We’ve got an incredible race team. This one is gonna hurt for a while, but I think next week we’ll have another shot.”

Posted on February 18, 2018February 19, 2018 by Zack Albert

RELATED: Complete Daytona 500 results

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The vignettes of emotion around Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. started early Sunday, well before he set sail in Richard Petty’s No. 43 for his first Daytona 500. They ended with a warm reception from his family after his second-place finish at Daytona International Speedway.

“We’ve waited so long, baby. So long,” Desiree Wallace, Bubba’s mother, said during their extended, tearful embrace.

The 24-year-old Wallace wept openly during his post-race news conference, his emotions pouring over after kicking off his rookie season in NASCAR’s big leagues with his first top-five result. His first year of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup competition comes filled with optimism, on the heels of a 2017 campaign filled with uncertainty.

Sunday’s finish fueled that hope and uncorked all the feelings.

“It’s a sensitive subject, but I’m just so emotional over where my family has been the last two years, and I don’t talk about it, but it’s just so hard,” Wallace said through tears, “and so having them here to support me is … pull it together, bud, pull it together. You just finished second. It’s awesome.

“I just try so hard to be successful at everything I do, and my family pushes me each and every day, and they might not even know it, but I just want to make them proud.”

Cameras for the Facebook Watch documentary series “Behind the Wall” had been following Wallace around all week. Sunday, they recorded a surplus of material.

Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton, a trailblazer in his own right in another form of motorsports, followed him on Twitter and gave him a social-media note of encouragement Sunday morning. And Wallace said he received a phone call from Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, who — like Wallace — also hails from Mobile, Alabama.

“Just knowing that people are tuning in and hopefully noticing the new face and the new change that’s coming to NASCAR and they get behind it and support it,” Wallace said. “Just exciting.”

Wallace’s Sunday drive made sure that people took notice. From his seventh starting spot, he moved up into the top five and positioned himself firmly in the top 10 for the closing stretch. Once bedlam erupted in Turn 1 on the next-to-last lap of regulation, Wallace avoided contact and put himself in contention for the frantic final laps of overtime.

FLASHBACK: Nos. 3, 43 back on top in NASCAR

Wallace’s No. 43 Chevrolet scraped together with Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota as they crossed the finish line just behind 500 winner Austin Dillon. Though Wallace admitted to a measure of disappointment in coming up just short of a major victory, he still savored the flood of sentimental moments in his first “Great American Race.”

“No matter what the circumstances are, when you have family here and you run good and it’s been a while since you’ve been somewhat competitive, it pulls on the heartstrings,” Wallace said. “I’m competitive. I love to win. I hate to finish second. Obviously that shows for everybody. But I’m human. No matter if I race cars for a living and enjoy doing it, at the end of the day we all get emotional about something, so I’m just the same as you guys.”

Posted on February 18, 2018February 18, 2018 by Reid Spencer

MORE: Results | Standings | At-track photos | Check your Fantasy Live score

SHOP: Austin Dillon gear

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Austin Dillon prevailed in a game of Survivor played at 200 miles per hour, winning the Sunday’s Daytona 500 fiercely and unapologetically after turning race leader Aric Almirola in the third corner of the final lap.

Ten of the 40 drivers who started the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ season-opening event finished on the lead lap in a race that featured eight cautions and three massive wrecks that eliminated many of the strongest cars in the field.

After a huge push from Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. down the backstretch on the second and final lap of overtime, Dillon tagged Almirola’s rear bumper when Almirola moved up the track to block him near the entrance to Turn 3.

Almirola’s No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford turned sideways and tagged the wall as Dillon sped past in the Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet bearing the No. 3, the car number that carried the late Dale Earnhardt to his only victory in the Great American Race 20 years ago.

“I did what I had to do there at the end,” Dillon said. “I hate it for the No. 10 (Almirola’s) guys. We had a run, and I stayed in the gas. It is what it is here at Daytona.

“This is so awesome to take the No. 3 car back to Victory Lane. This one is for Dale Earnhardt Sr. and all those (Dale) Sr. fans. I love you guys. We are going to keep kicking butt the rest of the year!”

Racing for his grandfather, Richard Childress, Dillon got his first victory in last year’s Coca-Cola 600. That was a fuel-mileage win. Sunday’s quest for the Harley J. Earl trophy was a rough-and-tumble affair. Dillon said before the race that he liked his chances. He liked them better when he lined up fourth for the final restart and reacted when the race came to him.

“I knew we were in a good spot,” Dillon said. “And I have to thank Darrell Wallace, Jr.—he did a great job. Finishing one-two with ECR (Earnhardt Childress Racing) engines. What a day. Thanks, Darrell, for that push. I had to make it happen in the end.

“I said (after) my first win I couldn’t beat it, but this does. My grandfather has done everything for me. Everybody knows it. There is a lot of pressure on me to perform, because I’ve had a little bit of everything. But I like that pressure. The same with the No. 3. There is a lot of pressure behind that.

“But I’m willing to take that and go with it. I’m just thankful for all the people that support us along the way—Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his family for letting us bring this number back. It comes full circle. I just can’t thank the Lord enough for this opportunity.”

Wallace ran second, 0.260 seconds behind Dillon and .002 seconds ahead of third-place finisher Denny Hamlin, who led the field to green to start the overtime but, as the only Toyota driver on the lead lap, couldn’t find a drafting partner in the two-lap shootout that decided the race.

Wallace posted the best finish ever by an African-American driver in the Daytona 500, surpassing the 13th-place result of NASCAR Hall of Famer Wendell Scott in 1966.

Joey Logano overcame a myriad of issues to come home fourth, and Chris Buescher secured a fifth-place finish in his No. 37 JTG Daugherty Chevrolet.

The finishing order, however, did little to reflect the bulk of the race. Seventh-place finisher Ryan Blaney led 118 of the 207 laps but suffered damage to the nose of his No. 12 Ford in a 13-car pileup on Lap 199, the wreck that sent the race to overtime.

That accident also ended the winning chances of 2017 Daytona 500 winner Kurt Busch, who was jousting for the top spot as the end of regulation approached; pole winner Alex Bowman, who ran patiently in the top five for most of the event; and Martin Truex Jr., the defending series champion.

Notes: Dillon’s victory was the first for Chevrolet’s new Camaro ZL1 race car, which was introduced into the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series this season… A six-car wreck on Lap 102 knocked Danica Patrick out of the race. She ended her NASCAR career with a 35th-place finish. Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick and pre-race favorite Brad Keselowski were eliminated in the same incident… Jimmie Johnson’s lost his third No. 48 Chevrolet during Speedweeks in a nine-car collision on Lap 60 that also KO’d the strong Joe Gibbs Racing cars of Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez… Kurt Busch won the first 60-lap stage and Blaney the second. Blaney leads the series standings by six points over Dillon and sixth-place finisher Paul Menard.

Posted on February 18, 2018February 25, 2018 by Staff Report

What channels are NASCAR races on this week? We answer that and provide all 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, FS2 | Get FOX Sports GO | How to find NBCSN

Monday, February 19
6 a.m., Xfinity Series Power Shares QQQ 300 (re-air), FS2
8:30 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Can-Am Duel at Daytona (re-air), FS2
11 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 (re-air), FS2
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Tuesday, February 20
2:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FS1
3 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 (re-air), FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Wednesday, February 21
3:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Classic: 1998 Daytona 500, FS1
noon, Daytona 500 Media Day, FS1
5 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub (2-hour show), FS1

Thursday, February 22
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Friday, February 23
11:30 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Atlanta, FS1 (Canada: TSN GO)
1 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series practice at Atlanta, FS1 (Canada: TSN GO)
2 p.m., Camping World Truck Series practice at Atlanta, FS1
3 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice at Atlanta, FS1 (Canada: TSN GO)
4 p.m., Camping World Truck Series final practice at Atlanta, FS1
5 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying at Atlanta, FS1 (Canada: TSN 1)
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Classic: 1988 Daytona 500, FS1

Saturday, February 24
5:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Classic: 1998 Daytona 500, FS1
6 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Atlanta (re-air), FS1
7:30 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying at Atlanta (re-air), FS1
9 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Qualifying at Atlanta, FS1 (Canada: TSN GO)
10:30 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Qualifying at Atlanta, FS1
Noon, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice at Atlanta, FS1 (Canada: TSN 2)
1:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Xfinity, FS1
2 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Rinnai 250 at Atlanta, FS1 (Canada: TSN 1, 3, 4)
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Active Pest Control 200 benefiting Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Atlanta, FS1
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Post-Race Show, FS1

Sunday, February 25
2 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Rinnai 250 at Atlanta (re-air), FS1
4 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Active Pest Control 200 benefiting Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Atlanta (re-air), FS1
Noon, NASCAR Race Day, FS1
12:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pre-Race Show, FOX
3:25 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series: Folds of Honor Quik Trip 500 at Atlanta, FOX and FOX Deportes (Canada: TSN 1, 3, 4, 5)

Posted on February 18, 2018February 25, 2018 by Staff Report

After taking on the high banks of Daytona to kick off the season, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series are off to Atlanta Motor Speedway for a tripleheader weekend. Check out the tentative full schedule below, subject to change.

Note: All times are ET

Sunday, Feb. 25

3:25 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (325 laps, 500.5 miles), FOX (Canada: TSN 1, 3, 4, 5) (Results)

PRESS PASS (Watch live)
7 p.m. (Approx.) Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series post-race

_____

Friday, Feb. 23
11:35 a.m.-12:55 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice, FS1 (Canada: TSN GO) (Results)
1:05 p.m.-1:55 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series first practice, FS1 (Canada: TSN GO) (Results)
2:05 p.m.-2:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series first practice, FS1 (Results)
3:05 p.m.-3:55 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, FS1 (Canada: TSN GO) (Results)
4:05 p.m.-4:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice, FS1 (Results)
5:15 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying, FS1 (Canada: TSN 1) (Results)

PRESS PASS (Watch live)
10 a.m.: Austin Dillon
10:45 a.m.: Darrell Wallace Jr.
11 a.m.: Brad Keselowski
1 p.m.: Jordan Anderson, Johnny Sauter and Ben Rhodes
1:20 p.m.: Chase Elliott
1:35 p.m.: Martin Truex Jr.
1:50 p.m.: Ryan Blaney
2 p.m.: Folds of Honor/QuikTrip
2:15 p.m.: Justin Allgaier, Kaz Grala, Brandon Jones, Tyler Reddick
6:30 p.m. (approx.): Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series post-qualifying

Saturday, Feb. 24
9:10 a.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying, FS1 (Canada: TSN GO) (Results)
10:35 a.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series qualifying, FS1 (Results)
12 p.m.-1:20 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, FS1 (Canada: TSN 2) (Results)
2 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Rinnai 250 (163 laps, 251.02 miles), FS1 (Canada: TSN 1, 3, 4) (Results)
4:30 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Active Pest Control 200 benefiting Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (130 laps, 200.2 miles), FS1 (Results)

PRESS PASS (Watch live)
4:15 p.m. (approx.): NASCAR Xfinity Series post-race
6:30 p.m. (approx.): NASCAR Camping World Truck Series post-race

Posted on February 18, 2018June 22, 2021 by @KESELOWSKI

RELATED: Full Daytona 500 results

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The ‘Big One’ at Daytona International Speedway arrived — and it took several big-story line drivers with it.

Chase Elliott triggered the seven-car accident at Lap 103 of Sunday’s Daytona 500, as his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet tapped Brad Keselowski’s No. 2 Ford while running second, which then made contact with Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 Ford.

The initial contact sent Elliott hard into the wall in Turn 3, his spinning Chevrolet collecting both Kasey Kahne and Danica Patrick. Martin Truex Jr. — who was able to continue the race — and David Ragan were also involved.

“I’m alright,” Elliott said following a trip to the infield care center. “I had such a fast Camaro ZL1 today, and I just wanted a shot there at the end. Tough circumstances. I was just trying to feel (Ryan) Blaney out and see what he was going to do, how aggressive he wanted to be. I had a big push and got light at the wrong time. Didn’t make the right move.”
RELATED: See all the scenes from Daytona

After starting from the outside pole, Elliott led four laps around the World Center of Racing and was up front for the majority of his run. The first half of the race played host to aggressive maneuvers with 15 lead changes and 11 leaders.

Keselowski noted the lack of patience. His No. 2 was considered one of the favorites throughout the weekend and after starting from the rear, he had climbed his way back toward the front when the wreck unfolded.

“It just really sucks,” he said after being scored 32nd. “We had a great car and were in a great position. I guess that’s the way it goes.”

Patrick’s involvement in the wreck may have represented a bit more than the rest; her early exit also marked an exit to her NASCAR career, as she hangs up her Monster Energy Series fire suit after Daytona.

Despite the unfortunate finale to her stock car career, she was in good spirits.

“(It was) just a superspeedway accident,” she said. “That is the way it goes. I’m proud that the car was a lot better handling today than it was in the Duel. I feel like we were competitive. We weren’t the fastest car out there, but the car was competitive. That was important. Not the fastest car, it was definitely lethargic getting up to speed on the starts and when we checked up, but other than that it ran really well. I’m just sad that it ended that way.

For Elliott, the long-awaited first win will come — just not in the Daytona 500 this year. For now, that stings for the young driver.

“I hate it,” he said. “I just wanted to make it to the end and give ourselves a chance, so I hate that we didn’t have that opportunity. …

“Disappointing way to end the 500 this afternoon, but we will move on down the road and try to get ‘em in Atlanta.”

Posted on February 18, 2018February 18, 2018 by Staff Report

Stage 1 results

Defending Daytona 500 champion Kurt Busch won Stage 1 in Sunday’s Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, but not before a major wreck unfolded at end of the stage. When the smoke cleared, Busch was on top for his first stage win since NASCAR went to the new format. Alex Bowman, Ryan Blaney, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top five.

Blaney and Stenhouse were among the cars trying to block when a nine-car wreck broke out at the end of the stage. Cars involved included the No. 24 of William Byron, the No. 20 of Erik Jones, the No. 13 of Ty Dillon, the No. 19 of Daniel Suarez, the No. 48 of Jimmie Johnson, the No. 17 of Stenhouse, the No. 12 of Blaney, the No. 78 of Truex and the No. 42 of Kyle Larson.

Johnson, Dillon and Suarez saw their races come to an end.

“There was some great racing throughout,” Johnson said. “But unfortunately, many thought it was the black and white checkered flag and not the green and white checkered flag. On Lap 59 to be throwing blocks like that just … a lot of wrecked race cars.”

Two more Joe Gibbs Racing drivers were involved in dramatic moments in Stage 1. First, Denny Hamlin missed his pit stall and incurred a one-lap penalty for pitting outside the box. The gas man was caught fueling the car before Hamlin completely backed up into his pit box. This stopped Hamlin on an early charge after he passed pole-sitter Bowman and led the first 10 laps.

Then, Kyle Busch was involved in an accident in Turn 3 on Lap 50 that also collected Jamie McMurray and DJ Kennington. Busch’s No. 18 Toyota sustained significant damage, and he had to come to pit road to get the back of the car worked on. Busch fell three laps down after the incident, which was caused by a cut tire.

Finish	Driver	Team	Race points
1.	Kurt Busch	Stewart-Haas Racing	10
2.	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	9
3.	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	8
4.	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Roush Fenway Racing	7
5.	Martin Truex Jr.	Furniture Row Racing	6
6.	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	5
7.	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	4
8.	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	3
9.	Paul Menard	Wood Brothers Racing	2
10.	Trevor Bayne	Roush Fenway Racing	1

Stage 2 results

Ryan Blaney won Stage 2 in a much calmer ending than what took place at the end of Stage 1. Paul Menard finished second, with Joey Logano, Aric Almirola and Michael McDowell completed an all-Ford top five.

However, Stage 2 wasn’t without its own dramatic moment.

A seven-car wreck on Lap 101 erupted with Chase Elliott’s No. 24 Chevrolet heading up the track in Turn 3. Danica Patrick’s No. 10 Chevrolet plowed into Elliott’s vehicle, with Kevin Harvick, David Ragan, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski and Kasey Kahne also becoming involved.

The wreck ended the day for Elliott, Harvick, Keselowski and Patrick, who was making her final start in the Monster Energy Series.

Finish	Driver	Team	Race points
1.	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	10
2.	Paul Menard	Wood Brothers Racing	9
3.	Joey Logano	Team Penske	8
4.	Aric Almriola	Stewart-Haas Racing	7
5.	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	6
6.	Martin Truex Jr.	Furniture Row Racing	5
7.	Bubba Wallace	Richard Petty Motorsports	4
8.	Trevor Bayne	Roush Fenway Racing	3
9.	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	2
10.	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	1

Posted on February 18, 2018February 18, 2018 by Staff Report

RELATED: Full Daytona 500 results

The ‘Big One’ hit early in Sunday’s 60th annual running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

Closing in on the end of Stage 1, major players in the race were taken out in a multi-car wreck on Lap 60.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. began to get loose, fishtailing toward the outside wall before saving his No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford. Drivers reacted behind him, however, and began wrecking. Jimmie Johnson, Daniel Suarez and Erik Jones all sustained significant damage.

Johnson, the seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion, felt that the early stage aggression was a bit premature in the race.

“Unfortunately, many thought it was the black and white checkered flag and not the green and white checkered flag,” Johnson said after the incident. “On Lap 59 to be throwing blocks like that just … a lot of wrecked race cars.”

Suarez echoed similar thoughts on what happened regarding the early aggression of certain drivers.

“I was just trying to stay out of trouble either in the front or in the back and at that point we were at one lap to go to the end of the stage and 60 laps into the race and everyone was blocking very, very close,” Suarez said. “Everyone was being aggressive and it was a little bit too early and somebody turned my teammate the 20 (Erik Jones) and then he hit the 42 (Kyle Larson) and the 42 hit me and after that it was pretty much nothing I could do.”

Jones finished 36th in the race, while Suarez and Johnson were scored right behind him, 37th and 38th, respectively.

William Byron, Kyle Larson, Trevor Bayne, Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr. were also listed as being part of the nine-car incident on the backstretch, according to NASCAR timing and scoring.

Posted on February 18, 2018February 18, 2018 by Staff Report

RELATED: Full Daytona 500 results

Kyle Busch’s pursuit of a win in the “Great American Race” took a big hit in Stage 1 of the 2018 Daytona 500.

A cut tire sent the 2015 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion up into the No. 96 Toyota of DJ Kennington in Turn 3 on Lap 49 of Sunday’s 60th annual event. The incident was the second cut tire of the day for Busch, who had an incident that brought him down to the apron and pit road under the green on Lap 29.

The incident also left him with major damage to the rear of his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

Jamie McMurray was also caught up in the accident, which brought out the second caution of the day.

Busch wound up finishing 25th, seven laps down.