DAYTONA BEACH FL- Denny Hamlin snapped a 23 year Daytona 500 drought for Joe Gibbs Racing Sunday winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 in a thrilling finish over Martin Truex Jr. Hamlin, who won last week’s Sprint Unlimited led the most laps but lost ground in the closing laps and was forced to make a furious charge to the front and win by the closest finish in Daytona 500 history. Here’s how it went down Sunday in the Daytona 500.
Pole sitter Chase Elliott led the field to the green and held it for the first lap despite pressure from Dale Earnhardt Jr., who started second after Matt Kenseth was forced to the rear of the field. Joey Logano and Kyle Busch were two by two behind.
Earnhardt who was one of the favorites all week, took the lead on lap 3 on the backstretch.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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