On the eve of the Daytona 500, reports surfaced that the “Great American Race” was officially sold out for the 61st annual running. This news came after a thrilling truck race on Friday night and a not so thrilling Xfinity race. The attending fans and viewers at home were left wondering which on track product would they be receiving that very next day.
At 3:01 PM the entry field rolled off pit road ready to get the season officially kicked off with a bang. Your front row were Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Alex Bowman. Those two cars were greatly outnumbered and everyone knew it after the duels. Analyst all over this race only talked about the Ford camp. I mean, rightfully so, those guys filled up six out of the top ten starting spots after the duels were finished.
Stage One
Early on, Byron was able to lead a few laps but then the lead was shuffled to Matt DiBenedetto. Once Matt took the lead, everyone else started green flag pit stops. Corey LaJoie – in his new ride – blew a right front tire causing the first caution flag to drop. Corey after the race posted on Twitter that he had flat spotted the right front on his green flag attempt a lap earlier. The rest of stage one would be all about the man who was making his way to the top.
Driver messed up and flat spotted a RF on a green flag stop. It blew out and made our day tough. We rallied for a p18 finish in my first race with @GoFasRacing32 guys. On to Atlanta.
— Corey LaJoie (@CoreyLaJoie) February 18, 2019
Kyle Busch who started thirty first, was now taking the lead just as the second caution was thrown. Kurt Busch got loose, causing Bubba Wallace and Jamie McMurray to make contact with around ten laps left in the stage. The first stage would end with Kyle Busch getting his first stage win of the 2019 season.
Stage Two
The next stage was shaping up to be a good one. After some strategic pitting, the field was led back to green by none other than the 2018 champion, Joey Logano. His leadership would only last around ten or so laps before another set of green flag pit stops. Matt DiBenedetto got the lead back when Logano decided to pit with a group of Fords. After grabbing the lead, Matt set sail with a group who were on the same pit strategy as he and his team. A late stage caution would allow the group of Blaney, Keselowski, Preece and Larson to stay out and get into the top five.
When the green flag dropped again, the Penske teammates were able to stay in the top ten to finish the stage but the others didn’t fare as well. The difference in pit strategy would allow Ryan Blaney to get the stage two win. Stage two was over and the final stage was about to be upon the drivers.
Stage Three Finale
William Byron would lead the field to the green to start the stage, which he obtained by not pitting at stage end. Byron was still leading with around sixty to go but green flag stops were quickly approaching. The laps ticked off and with forty to go, things got real ugly when the teammates of Cody Ware and Bj Mcleod collected a few innocent cars.
After that mishap, the next three caution flags would pale in comparison as to what was coming our way. Paul Menard went into the corner and hit DiBenedetto collecting around nineteen cars with varying damage with ten to go in the race. After a lengthy red flag delay, Kyle Busch would lead the field back to green with around six to go left in the race.
That green flag would be short lived due to the Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s attempting to put his nose in a spot where there wasn’t room. That caused another wreck that collected five cars with again varying damage. I would have loved to had said at this point the leaders started back to green and raced passionately to the finish. We all know that’s not the case though.
Clint Bowyer had a run started on Michael McDowell. Once Bowyer got around McDowell, he pulled back in front without being clear which caused another pile up – taking out some fast cars once again. After the red flag delay, the green was back out. The real question here was, could the remaining field go two laps without a caution? The answer was yes. Denny Hamlin was able to hold off the field to bring home his second career Daytona 500 trophy.
Conclusion
So, here’s my way too late conclusion of the Daytona 500. I was very optimistic going into this race as a NASCAR fan. After watching both races over the weekend, there were two totally different products were on the track. The cups guys did not disappoint. Stage two was the most I had seen of the field in single car action and a lot of that was due to pit strategy.
Over all, drivers were racing hard, dipping to the bottom of the track. Those guys wanted to give the sold out crowd a show. Also, whether you are or aren’t a Joe Gibbs racing fan, it was pretty cool to see them finish first, second and third in the first race after JD’s passing in January. It’s almost like it was kind of “meant to be” in a way.
Seeing the stands packed as a lifelong fan has me very optimistic for the season and a hopeful future. Especially considering all the talk last year by the “fair weather” fans. As for me, this is farewell for now. I’ll see all ya filthy race loving animals after Atlanta!
