The final lap was the only one Dillon led the entire race.
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“Daytona has a way of making memories”, Dillon said.
Dillon went low to pass and Almirola responded, spinning off the bumper of Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet.
Dillon wrecked Aric Almirola on the final lap in overtime at Daytona International Speedway to drive the vehicle owned by his grandfather, Richard Childress, back into victory lane 17 years to the day that Dale Earnhardt was killed in an accident on the final lap of the season opener.
‘We are incredibly proud of Austin.
Though Dillon leaves town with the trophy, he doesn’t leave with all of the fanfare.
Behind the No. 3 vehicle in second place was Darrell Wallace Jr.in another historic NASCAR ride, the No. 43 auto.
Almirola started second to Denny Hamlin for the final restart. Coverage of last Thursday’s Duels was also down, scoring a 1.1 rating on FOX Sports 1 compared with a 1.5 previous year, SMW reports. There’s no telling how many championships and races he would have won if he had been in better equipment earlier in his career. Except it didn’t always take lightning, but just the right amount of breath, maybe a nudge, to send a helpless victim into a spin and out of the way.
It’s hard to top the one Dillon provided in the 60th running of the Great American Race, when he nudged Aric Almirola on the final lap and brought Earnhardt’s famed No. 3 back to glory at Daytona International Speedway.
Almirola pulled ahead on the backstretch and led at the white flag. “Being able to win with the 3 vehicle 20 years after Dale won in ’98, is so special”, Richard Childress said.
The allure and significance of the Daytona 500 would not be what it is today if Dale had not won that race 20 years ago. “The 24 got loose and spun out in front of us all and I got caught up in it”, the pre-race favorite said.
Thoughts immediately turned to the legendary racer who drove the No. 3 Chevy for the team owner Dillon knows as “Pop-Pop”. “This place just creates history”. Jimmie Johnson, Erik Jones and Charlotte native William Byron all got collected in it, but Byron was able to continue racing.
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.
With two laps left, a big crash knocked Ryan Blaney, Kurt Busch and others out of contention. Scott also was the last African American to run full time in NASCAR’s premier series, way back in 1971. The first person Dillon thanked when he got out of the auto was his “Pop Pop”.
“Wow, that makes you feel good”, he said. In fact, Almirola admitted to blocking the eventual victor. She ended her NASCAR career with a 35th-place finish.
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Also, 20 years ago this week, Dale took his No. 3 auto into victory lane for his one and only Daytona 500 victory in 1998.
