Joey Logano wins Daytona 500
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Joey Logano, the kid who's had greatness predicted for him since he was 15, won the 57th running of the Daytona 500.
A frenetic final few laps as most of the 43-car field barrelled around the 2.5-mile superspeedway three-wide, injecting some life into what had been a snoozer for most of the first three-quarters of the race.
Justin Allgaier wrecked with three laps to go, setting up a two-lap sprint to the finish. They restarted with Logano in the lead, followed by Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson. Logano got a great restart, held off a charge from Kevin Harvick (2nd) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (3rd) before a wreck on the final lap brought out a caution, ending the race.
For the 24-year-old Logano, it marked his first Daytona 500 win.
Sunday’s race marked the end of one of the most chaotic Speedweeks in recent memory. Consider that in just the last few days, NASCAR, its fans, and drivers have dealt with:
• The indefinite suspension of Kurt Busch for an incident of alleged domestic violence, along with the subsequent rejection of two appeals. The second appeal rejection came just 15 hours before Daytona’s green flag.
• A vicious wreck in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race that left Kurt’s brother Kyle Busch with a broken right leg and broken left foot, an accident that set off a new round of debates over the need for SAFER barriers at all walls around the track.
• The pending retirement of NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon. Although Gordon hasn’t revealed the extent of his post-racing plans, he’s been adamant that this was his final Daytona 500.
• An epic anti-NASCAR rant from Clint Bowyer complaining about the qualifying format.
• A desperate pair of Budweiser Duels as drivers sought to punch their ticket for the world’s most lucrative race, an event that included Danica Patrick unloading on Denny Hamlin after very nearly missing the Daytona 500.
Still, the 57th running of the Great American Race began rolling under the best weather, and before one of the largest crowds, in recent race history. Gordon, on the pole, led the first lap, and from there he and his fellow Hendrick drivers Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. led the majority of the way.
Johnson held control of the race early on until a pit-road penalty forced him deep into the field. NASCAR’s new computerized pit road penalty system ruled that the 48’s crew had leaped over the wall too early, incensing crew chief Chad Knaus. It was one of a surprisingly large number of pit road penalties as a result of the computerized penalty system.
The earliest big-name drama came on lap 43, when Tony Stewart got loose coming out of Turn 4 and caught Matt Kenseth. Stewart, who is still seeking his first Daytona 500 win in a two-decade career, suffered damage to his hood and attempted to return to the race 64 laps down, but eventually surrendered and left Daytona early.
The rest of the race was a relatively calm affair until the closing laps, with only Brad Keselowski exiting the festivities early due to a blown engine. That still left more than a dozen of NASCAR's best all in position to win the season's biggest race.
source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/daytona-500-tk-210803630.html
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Joey Logano, the kid who's had greatness predicted for him since he was 15, won the 57th running of the Daytona 500.
A frenetic final few laps as most of the 43-car field barrelled around the 2.5-mile superspeedway three-wide, injecting some life into what had been a snoozer for most of the first three-quarters of the race.
Justin Allgaier wrecked with three laps to go, setting up a two-lap sprint to the finish. They restarted with Logano in the lead, followed by Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson. Logano got a great restart, held off a charge from Kevin Harvick (2nd) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (3rd) before a wreck on the final lap brought out a caution, ending the race.
For the 24-year-old Logano, it marked his first Daytona 500 win.
Sunday’s race marked the end of one of the most chaotic Speedweeks in recent memory. Consider that in just the last few days, NASCAR, its fans, and drivers have dealt with:
• The indefinite suspension of Kurt Busch for an incident of alleged domestic violence, along with the subsequent rejection of two appeals. The second appeal rejection came just 15 hours before Daytona’s green flag.
• A vicious wreck in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race that left Kurt’s brother Kyle Busch with a broken right leg and broken left foot, an accident that set off a new round of debates over the need for SAFER barriers at all walls around the track.
• The pending retirement of NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon. Although Gordon hasn’t revealed the extent of his post-racing plans, he’s been adamant that this was his final Daytona 500.
• An epic anti-NASCAR rant from Clint Bowyer complaining about the qualifying format.
• A desperate pair of Budweiser Duels as drivers sought to punch their ticket for the world’s most lucrative race, an event that included Danica Patrick unloading on Denny Hamlin after very nearly missing the Daytona 500.
Still, the 57th running of the Great American Race began rolling under the best weather, and before one of the largest crowds, in recent race history. Gordon, on the pole, led the first lap, and from there he and his fellow Hendrick drivers Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. led the majority of the way.
Johnson held control of the race early on until a pit-road penalty forced him deep into the field. NASCAR’s new computerized pit road penalty system ruled that the 48’s crew had leaped over the wall too early, incensing crew chief Chad Knaus. It was one of a surprisingly large number of pit road penalties as a result of the computerized penalty system.
The earliest big-name drama came on lap 43, when Tony Stewart got loose coming out of Turn 4 and caught Matt Kenseth. Stewart, who is still seeking his first Daytona 500 win in a two-decade career, suffered damage to his hood and attempted to return to the race 64 laps down, but eventually surrendered and left Daytona early.
The rest of the race was a relatively calm affair until the closing laps, with only Brad Keselowski exiting the festivities early due to a blown engine. That still left more than a dozen of NASCAR's best all in position to win the season's biggest race.
source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/daytona-500-tk-210803630.html