On the plus side, last Sunday’s Daytona 500 drew an estimated audience of almost 12 million viewers on FOX, with a peak level of 14 million – a 5 percent increase over last year’s race and the most-watched sporting event on television since Super Bowl LI on February 5. Waltrip won the Daytona 500 in 2001, the same day his vehicle owner, Dale Earnhardt, was killed on the final lap, and again two years later in a rain-shortened race.
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Having pushed other drivers to victory in the 500 on three previous occasions, Busch took the prize himself this time, finishing.228 seconds ahead of Ryan Blaney, who came from the rear of the lead pack on the final two laps. Throw caution to the wind.
In some sense, Busch’s Daytona run was, much like his career as a whole, a battle for survival.
With his victory Sunday on NASCAR’s grandest stage, Kurt Busch helped team owner Tony Stewart fill one of the biggest voids in his illustrious career. 43; Kyle Busch 44-48; R. Blaney 49-50; Kyle Busch 51-62; A. Allmendinger 63-64; K. Larson 65-68; K. Harvick 69-72; K. Larson 73; K. Harvick 74-89; J. Johnson 90-96; D. Earnhardt Jr.
Kurt Busch celebrating with teammates on the Daytona grass after winning the 2017 Daytona 500. “To watch Kurt was an awesome job those last couple of laps you really didn’t know what was going to happen because guys were trying different things. It’ll be a work in progress, but all in all, if you look at the number of caution laps in comparison with the other races here, were felt that was a fairly normal in terms of the number of cautions we had”. But while rooted in tradition, new rules will come into play for this year’s “Great American Race”. There are points on the line for each segment, giving drivers incentive to race hard for the entire race, and one final long push to the checkered flag.
“It just got insane and wild, and I am so proud of all the drivers at the end”.
Concerning his fuel supply, he added, “I nearly forgot to drive the line I was supposed to drive because I was shutting off all my switches, going to reserve fuel and saying a Hail Mary”.
The new face of NASCAR ran out of gas.
Joplin’s Jamie McMurray was running strongly midway through the race when he was caught up in one of the multi-car crashes and finished 28 in the 40-car field. Elliott added a win in a qualifying race, and Earnhardt led 53 of 60 laps in a second qualifying race before he was passed at the end.
“What a great win to start off a partnership”, said Raj Nair, Ford’s chief technical officer.
If it’s possible for a retired driver to win the Daytona 500, then Tony Stewart defied time by helping to get his SHR team to the Harley J. Earl trophy for the first time.
Gronkowski celebrated with Busch and the famed Monster girls in victory lane. “You don’t ever want to get out of it, I still want to be involved but you just want to take a break a little bit”.
Stewart-Haas won a championship in 2011 with Stewart and another three years later with Harvick. “You’re leading the race”.
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The good news for race fans was that, after missing the second half of the season due to recurring concussion related symptoms, Dale Earnhardt Jr. appeared to make it through Daytona in good shape, health-wise, to continue forward despite an accident that ended his day early when Kyle Busch spun out in front of him. I was kind of anxious it was just going to end that way.
