Record Daytona 500 Win for Hamlin

Hamlin, Kenseth, Busch and Carl Edwards stuck close together for most of the race, and they got assistance from Truex, who became a de facto JGR teammate this year when Furniture Row Racing moved to Toyota.

Hamlin gave Toyota its first Daytona 500 victory and owner Joe Gibbs his first win in “The Great American Race” since 1993.

The gold standard had been – at least since Lee Petty’s controversial photo-finish over Johnny Beauchamp in the inaugural Daytona 500 in 1959 – Kevin Harvick’s 0.020-second margin against Mark Martin in 2007.

Hamlin, just a few months removed from ACL surgery, had what most considered the second-fastest auto during Speedweeks behind Earnhardt. (78) to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 21, 2016 in Daytona Beach, Fla. Denny Hamlin inched past Truex door-to-door at the checkered flag.

Matt Kenseth, who started 39th, was leading after the white flag but as the field came into Turn 4, the No. 20 went high to block Hamlin, got loose and lost the lead. Busch felt it was clear in the closing laps that a Toyota was likely going to win, but waited too long to make his move.

Fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. also crashed, his was with 31 laps to go. According to ESPN on their report on the finish, it looks like race officials had to confirm Denny’s win as it was one of the closest finishes in NASCAR history. That forced him to take four tires instead of two and cost him track position and, it seemed, a shot at winning his first Daytona 500.

Pack racing, many have said, has made the Daytona 500 about little more than luck and a strong auto.

“He got me by a couple feet”. “I lost momentum and then I got loose and out of the groove”, Kenseth said.

“I don’t know what to say”, Hamlin said over the radio.

With a Hail Mary move, Denny Hamlin ended Joe Gibbs’ 23-year drought at the Daytona 500.

Pole-sitter Chase Elliott led the first three laps but watched his hopes end early.

He crashed in the Sprint Unlimited non-points race, did not take a qualifying lap after a roof flap issue found during that session, and then came that wreck in the qualifying race that put him in the rear on Sunday. And he liked his chances in the auto nicknamed “Amelia”.

“I wish we could have gotten that big trophy today”, Truex said.