In a true David vs. Goliath story, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. was right where he needed to be to score the win in Sunday’s 65th running of the Daytona 500 in double overtime.
Half a lap into the final circuit of the “Great American Race”, Stenhouse was racing for the lead with Joey Logano when a multi-car crash broke out behind the leaders.
With the caution flag flying at the flagstand, NASCAR officials determined that Stenhouse was the leader when the yellow came out. That gave him and his JTG Daugherty Racing team the win in the biggest race of the year.
“I think this whole off-season Mike (Kelly, Crew Chief) just preached how much we all believed in each other,” Stenhouse said. “They left me a note in the car that said they believe in me and to go get the job done tonight. I made a few mistakes. We were able to battle back.
“This Kroger Continental team worked really, really hard in off-season, great pit stops, Hendrick engines. Glad a Chevy won.”
It’s Stenhouse’s first Daytona 500 win, the third NASCAR Cup Series victory of his career, and his first since July of 2017 at Daytona International Speedway.
“Man, this is unbelievable,” said Stenhouse. “This was the site of my last win back in 2017. We’ve worked really hard. We had a couple shots last year to get a win and fell short. It was a tough season, but man, we got it done, Daytona 500.”
It’s just the second series win for JTG Daugherty, a single car team without the same resources as some of the high dollar behemoths of the sport. The first came in 2014 at on the road course at Watkins Glen with A.J. Allmendinger behind the wheel.
Stenhouse almost saw his bid for the win go away with a pit road speeding penalty with 21 laps left to go. But fate swung back his way when a spin by Daniel Suarez with two laps to go sent the race into overtime. With Kyle Busch and Logano fighting for the lead, Stenhouse took a run on the inside, coming away with the top spot.
Moments later, a multi car crash broke out behind the leaders when Austin Dillon spun off the front bumper of William Byron on the backstretch, setting off a melee in turn 3 that gathered up some 12 other cars in the process. Defending race winner Austin Cindric was among those collected in the crash, along with Harrison Burton, Ross Chastain, Noah Gragson, Todd Gilliland, Riley Herbst, pole sitter Alex Bowman, Zane Smith, Denny Hamlin, and Justin Haley.
That sent the race into a second overtime, with Stenhouse getting shoved out to the lead off the front bumper of Logano.
With the white flag in the air, Stenhouse and Logano were squaring off to battle for the win when another multi-car crash broke out behind them after contact between Aric Almirola, Travis Pastrana, and Kyle Larson gathered up several other cars on the in turn 2.
With the yellow flag out, NASCAR determined that Stenhouse was the leader over Logano when the crash occurred, making him the winner.
“Yeah, when the 8 (Busch) went to the bottom there I was able to push the 22 (Logano) and the 5 (Larson). We had a huge run. I was hoping we were going to get to the white there, and we didn’t, so I knew I was going to take the top. I was hoping the 22 was going to follow, and he did. He was able to push us out.
“I went to the bottom, the 8 and the 22 got a huge run. The 5 split me in the middle, but another fellow dirt racer with (Christopher) Bell gave me a good shot down the little short chute into 1, and we were out front when the caution came out. We were out of fuel so the fuel light was going crazy.”
In all, Stenhouse paced the field for 10 laps – the final 10.
“I hope y’all had fun,” Stenhouse said to the fans in the stands. “That was a heck of a race.”
Logano was fighting for the lead at the end, but had to settle for second place.
“You think you’re racing to the checkered flag and you put yourself in the best position to try to win at the start-finish line, and just caution came out – you wish you could race to the end,” said Logano. “Obviously you can’t when they wreck that much. Congratulations to Ricky. There’s nothing like winning the Daytona 500. That’s why it stings so much finishing second.”
Christopher Bell followed in third.
“If you would have told me pre-race that I was going to run third, I would have jumped up and down and been smiling ear-to-ear,” Bell said. “I’m very happy. I’m very, very thankful that I could get this Rheem and DeWalt Toyota Camry a good solid finish, but just so close to a crown jewel. I feel like if it would have stayed green, I would have been on offense – but who knows. I’m very proud and thankful to be here at Joe Gibbs Racing. I’m happy for Ricky. That’s really cool. I’m very happy for him.”
Chris Buescher finished in fourth, with Bowman in fifth.
With two laps to go in regulation, it looked like it might be a magical day for Richard Childress Racing. Kyle Busch, in his first points paying race for the team, surged to the point after leader Brad Keselowski and second place Chris Buescher were hung out to dry.
With a push from his RCR teammate Austin Dillon, Busch held the lead, with Byron in tow as the field came to lap 198. But that went away moments later when Suarez spun in turn four off the front bumper of Jimmie Johnson.
On the first overtime restart, Busch and Dillon tried a teammate restart, but were both overhauled by Stenhouse and Logano. Moments later, Dillon spun after contact from Byron, taking away Busch’s wingman.
In the final overtime, Busch was collected in the final lap crash, and finished 19th.
“I don’t know,” Busch said. “I just tried to keep it straight as much as I can and wait for when it’s going to happen and eventually it does, and it did again today. So, I tried, and I don’t know what else to do. Come up short. Led lap 200 and wish it was still 1998 rules.”
A.J. Allmendinger, Suarez, Ryan Blaney, Chastain, and Herbst rounded out the top 10.
While the first half of the race ran incident free, the second half saw a number of multi-car crashes eliminate several of the pre-race favorites.
The first occurred on lap 118, moments after a round of green flag pit stops, when the car of Tyler Reddick got loose off the front bumper of Kevin Harvick. Several other cars, including Ryan Blaney, Erik Jones, Larson, Suarez, and Chase Elliott were collected.
Blaney’s car was left with a lot of damage, but he was able to soldier on to a top 10 finish.
Elliott, a perennial favorite in the Daytona 500, was eliminated and was credited with a 38th place finish.
“It looked like some guys got tangled up, up front. Those of us in the back were just scattering to kind of miss it,” Elliott said. “It looked like the No. 5 (Larson) and the No. 43 (Jones) kind of went to the apron. By the time we got slowed up, they were coming back across the track and I was the lucky winner to get there first. It’s a bummer…long ways to go. Hate to end the day, but it is what it is.”
Another multi-car shunt occurred on lap 181, when the cars of Michael McDowell and Ryan Preece made contact in turn one, gathering up Martin Truex, Jr., Harvick, Chase Briscoe, Ty Gibbs, and Jimmie Johnson in the process.
The other two multi-car incidents occurred in overtime. In all, the race was slowed six times for on-track incidents. In all, there were 52 lead changes among 21 drivers on the day.
With the double overtime, the race ran a total of 212 laps, making it the longest Daytona 500 in the 65 year history of the race.
NASCAR Cup Series
Daytona International Speedway – Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona 500 – February 19, 2023
1. (31) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Chevrolet, 212.
2. (3) Joey Logano, Ford, 212.
3. (5) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 212.
4. (9) Chris Buescher, Ford, 212.
5. (1) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 212.
6. (29) A.J. Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 212.
7. (24) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 212.
8. (7) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 212.
9. (23) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 212.
10. (38) Riley Herbst(i), Ford, 212.
11. (40) Travis Pastrana, Toyota, 212.
12. (13) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 212.
13. (17) Zane Smith(i), Ford, 212.
14. (35) Cody Ware, Ford, 212.
15. (16) Martin Truex, Jr., Toyota, 212.
16. (12) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 212.
17. (18) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 212.
18. (2) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, Accident, 211.
19. (36) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, Accident, 211.
20. (15) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, Accident, 211.
21. (4) Aric Almirola, Ford, Accident, 211.
22. (10) Brad Keselowski, Ford, Accident, 211.
23. (6) Austin Cindric, Ford, Accident, 210.
24. (22) Noah Gragson #, Chevrolet, 210.
25. (33) Ty Gibbs #, Toyota, 210.
26. (19) Harrison Burton, Ford, 210.
27. (14) Todd Gilliland, Ford, Accident, 208.
28. (11) Michael McDowell, Ford, 208.
29. (34) Conor Daly(i), Chevrolet, 206.
30. (32) B.J. McLeod, Chevrolet, 204.
31. (39) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, Accident, 203.
32. (28) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, Accident, 203.
33. (27) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, Accident, 202.
34. (21) William Byron, Chevrolet, Accident, 202.
35. (30) Chase Briscoe, Ford, Accident, 182.
36. (20) Ryan Preece, Ford, Accident, 181.
37. (25) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, Accident, 118.
38. (8) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, Accident, 118.
39. (26) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, Accident, 117.
40. (37) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, Engine, 26.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 145.283 mph.
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 38 Mins, 53 Secs. Margin of Victory: Under Caution.
Caution Flags: 8 for 38 laps.
Lead Changes: 52 among 21 drivers.
Lap Leaders: A. Bowman 0;K. Larson 1;A. Bowman 2-10;K. Larson 11-12;C. Bell 13-20;K. Larson 21-23;C. Bell 24-34;A. Almirola 35;A. Bowman 36-37;C. Bell 38;*. Pastrana 39-40;D. Hamlin 41;C. Briscoe 42;D. Hamlin 43-47;C. Briscoe 48-51;M. Truex Jr. 52-64;B. Keselowski 65-67;R. Preece 68-71;B. Keselowski 72;A. Almirola 73;B. Keselowski 74-76;A. Almirola 77-79;B. Keselowski 80;A. Almirola 81;B. Keselowski 82-108;K. Harvick 109;J. Logano 110;R. Blaney 111;J. Logano 112-115;C. Buescher 116;J. Logano 117;C. Buescher 118-121;J. Logano 122-125;R. Chastain 126;J. Logano 127;R. Chastain 128-132;A. Bowman 133;B. Wallace 134-137;A. Almirola 138-142;B. Wallace 143;A. Almirola 144-145;C. Buescher 146;A. Almirola 147-148;C. Buescher 149-153;A. Almirola 154;C. Buescher 155-175;D. Suarez 176-178;H. Burton 179-187;J. Logano 188;A. Allmendinger 189;B. Keselowski 190-196;K. Busch 197-202;R. Stenhouse Jr. 203-212.
Leaders Summary: (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led) Brad Keselowski 6 times for 42 laps; Chris Buescher 5 times for 32 laps; Christopher Bell 3 times for 20 laps; Aric Almirola 8 times for 16 laps; Martin Truex Jr. 1 time for 13 laps; Alex Bowman 3 times for 12 laps; Joey Logano 6 times for 12 laps; Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 1 time for 10 laps; Harrison Burton 1 time for 9 laps; Denny Hamlin 2 times for 6 laps; Ross Chastain 2 times for 6 laps; Kyle Larson 3 times for 6 laps; Kyle Busch 1 time for 6 laps; Bubba Wallace 2 times for 5 laps; Chase Briscoe 2 times for 5 laps; Ryan Preece 1 time for 4 laps; Daniel Suarez 1 time for 3 laps; * Travis Pastrana 1 time for 2 laps; Kevin Harvick 1 time for 1 lap; AJ Allmendinger 1 time for 1 lap; Ryan Blaney 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 6,41,17,4,34,54,84,10,19,38
Stage #2 Top Ten: 1,48,47,22,2,19,24,16,17,20
Playoff Standings: 1. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. – 48 (1 Win); 2. Joey Logano – 52; 3. Chris Buescher – 50; 4. Christopher Bell – 44; 5. Alex Bowman – 41; 6. Ross Chastain – 39; 7. Ryan Blaney – 37; 8. Kevin Harvick – 37; 9. A.J. Allmendinger – 34; 10. Martin Truex, Jr. – 32; 11. Brad Keselowski – 32; 12. Daniel Suarez – 30; 13. Aric Almirola – 29; 14. Austin Cindric – 29; 15. Corey LaJoie – 27; 16. Travis Pastrana – 26.
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
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