“This is the last lap of the Daytona 500”, Hamlin said. “This is obviously the biggest win for myself”, Hamlin said. (78) at the finish line to win the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016, in Daytona Beach, Fla.
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“It hurts a little bit”, Truex said. I don’t know where that came from. My spotter was going ballistic on the radio. But I realize the position I’m in, the opportunities I’m going to have this year.
His biggest victory until now was in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
“I knew it was really close”, he said.
But it was never like what happened on Sunday thanks to the narrowest of margins of victory.
Nobody quite went through a gut-wrenching range of emotions at the finish like Gibbs. At the same time, Hamlin’s win on the No. 11 also marks the first ever Daytona 500 win for auto manufacturer Toyota.
“We’re going to take a few hours to try and soak this in and live in the moment”, Wilson said. I don’t know where that came from. He was not upset.
Fellow JGR driver Kyle Busch finished third behind Hamlin and Truex.
Hamlin’s average speed over the 800km (500 miles) today was 157.549 mph – or 253.55kmh – and there were 20 lead changes among 15 drivers.
“It’s hard enough to get two cars to go together, and you need five or six of them to go”. “You wind up with Denny, you’re so happy”. I looked up and actually where I was looking to the broadcast [in the pit box], the cars were coming at me. If I had been rubbing him up the track a little earlier on, I think we would have been OK. So I went through that emotion. And then lap 41 happened. “Congrats to Denny. He beat me by a couple of feet”.
“He’s grateful”, Joe Gibbs said of his son, via Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel. “The pit crew nailed a great stop to get us out there quick”. We all just kind of worked together and developed a plan and it seemed to work. After losing the lead, Elliott slipped back to the back half of the top 10 before spinning into the infield grass and damaging the front end of his vehicle on lap 19. He finished in the 37 position, 40 laps behind.
POLE-SITTER: Rookie Chase Elliott, taking over for Jeff Gordon in the No. 24 auto, started from the pole and led the first three laps before he was passed by Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kenseth was holding the point as the laps whittled away, and because of the intricacies of restrictor-plate racing, he was seemingly in control because of how the leader can cut off the momentum of someone attempting to pass by moving in front as they approach.
Truex finished second, followed by defending Sprint Cup champ Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards in fifth.
“I had no anticipations of winning this race on the white flag lap”, said Hamlin, a Virginia native and lifelong Redskins fan.
You couldnt have written a better ending, Hamlin said.
“Now with the big show behind them, Hamlin and the rest of the NASCAR guys hunker down for the bulk of their season beginning next weekend in Atlanta”. “This is a great birthday present for J.D”.
If it meant having to go through the brief torture of not knowing who won or lost, at least it was a result worth the wait.
So maybe it was fitting that Gibbs has now won both of his Super Bowl of NASCAR titles in pulsating fashion.
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HOW HAMLIN WON: The driver of the No. 11 Toyota was running fourth when the final lap began. Sunday, Hamlin was able to grant a personal wish of his seven-year-old self, when he wrote a story in his elementary school class, entitled “The Daytona 500”, where he declared “My wish is to win the Daytona 500”.
