Denny Hamlin Wins Second Chaotic Daytona 500 in a Row
By Kent Whitaker:
Denny Hamlin started the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season by winning the Daytona 500 and he repeated that feat for the second straight year.
Hamlin went back-to-back for Joe Gibbs Racing by grabbing the checkered flag in what turned out to be yet another chaotic finish at Daytona International Speedway for the Great American Race.
Last year saw several cars crashing which brought out the red flag before Hamlin crossed the finish line with teammates Kyle Busch and Erik Jones trailing behind him for a JGR 1,2,3 finish.
This year the “crash fest” continued but the storied “big one” came during the final lap as Ryan Newman’s No. 6 neared the finish line for the win.
Ford driver Ryan Blaney tucked in behind Newman but caught Newman’s bumper wrong sending the No. 6 car, and its driver, into the wall before tumbling across the finish line and making contact with other cars.
“Everything kind of just worked out like I hoped – except for the Newman crash, obviously,” Hamlin said hours after the end of the race once the status of Ryan Newman was known.
Stage One Recap
Stage One of the 2020 Daytona 500 consisted of 65 laps. Rickie Stenhouse Jr. won the pole for the Daytona 500 and lead the 20 laps ran on Sunday before heavy rain set in and pushed the event to Monday afternoon.
When Stenhouse Jr, the Busch Pole Award winner, resumed the race on Monday he would lead a few more laps before ending the first stage in seventh place.
Brad Keselowski and Ryan Newman would spend much of the stage swapping positions for the front spot. Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman took over the front towards the end of the 65-lap stage following a caution after William Byron spun out towards the inside wall.
Byron was coming out of turn three following a push from Stenhouse on lap 59 when the incident happened.
Stage One Winners
- Chase Elliott
- Alex Bowman
- Aric Almirola
- Joey Logano
- Jimmie Johnson
- Ryan Blaney
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr
- Matt DiBenedetto
- Chris Buescher
- Ty Dillon
Stage Two Recap
Stage Two of the Great American Race also consisted of 65 laps. The stage played out perfectly for three of the four cars from Joe Gibbs Racing.
Hamlin was joined by teammates Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr in collecting stage win points. The JGR teams used pit strategy and speed to stay out front during the second stage in order to collect the valuable points needed for the postseason.
The second stage consisted of long green flag runs with several lead changes and planned pit stops. The most action happened on the final laps where Hamlin and Stenhouse battled for the stage win.
Stenhouse was able to move Hamlin slightly before Kyle Busch powered his way past to grab the second spot when the checkered flag flew.
Stage Two Winners
- Denny Hamlin
- Kyle Busch
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr
- Martin Truex Jr
- Ross Chastain
- Jimmie Johnson
- Chase Elliott
- Ryan Blaney
- Joey Logano
- Chris Buescher
Final Stage – AKA Crash Fest 2020
Things started off relatively calm during the final stage and things stayed that way for most of the late afternoon. The final stage consisted of 70 laps not including the ones ran during the overtime finish.
That 70 lap mark meant that teams would probably play the same pit schedules they ran during the first and second stages.
When the green waved for the final stage only three cars had exited the race. William Byron, B.J. McLeod and Quin Houff were all behind the wall due to various wrecks.
Cole Custer would join them following a minor incident which damaged his rear end. Seven-Time Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson took the lead with a band of fellow Chevrolet drivers behind him as they all stayed out during pitstops.
That’s when things started to go wrong for many drivers in the race. A few laps later the pole winner, Stenhouse Jr, would have to make a pass-through penalty as he completed a pass below the yellow line.
Chase Elliott was penalized for leaving his pit stall with the gas can leaving the pits. Moments later, Stenhouse and Erik Jones would make contact sending Stenhouse into a spin.
With 25 laps to go Kyle Busch cycled to the lead with Joey Logano chasing him. It looked as if Busch would make a run to the Checkerd flag and his first Daytona 500 win but what appeared to be smoke from a tire rub suddenly dropped him to the tenth spot.
Before long it was obvious that Busch as suffering from a blown engine forcing him out of the race. As Busch moved toward the pits and ran along the bottom of the track the first big wreck happened.
Joey Logano and Arik Almirola were making a run towards the front and Brad Keselowski when the two cars made contact collecting Keselowski and wrecking several cars.
The wreck brought out the red flag to clean the debris from the track and ended the day for Keselowski.
When the race restarted the pack went three and four wide almost instantly and with eight laps to go Reed Sorenson has lost a tire probably from rubbing another car or debris on the track.
Sorenson shot up the step banking ramming Timmy Hill which brought out the caution. Several damaged cars took the opportunity to dive into the pits when they opened but the leaders mostly stayed in position for the final four laps.
With four laps to go, it was a battle up front as Logano, Hamlin, and Newman battled for the lead. Kevin Harvick and Chris Buescher made several runs sending Harvick behind Hamlin for second place.
Buescher slid back as the cars in the pack behind the leaders began to wreck.
Ryan Preece and Ross Chastain collided sending Chastain onto the apron before he crossed back towards the track collecting multiple cars and once again bringing out the red flag which stopped the race and set up the first overtime.
Overtime No. One
The first overtime saw several damaged cars head towards pit lane for repairs in order to finish the race. Among them were Elliott, Kyle Larson, and Bubba Wallace.
As the checkered flag flew for the green-white-checkered overtime finish it was Hamlin jumping to the front from the outside. Seconds later Clint Bowyer took a wild spin as Michael McDowell tagged him from behind.
The incident also involved Justin Haley. Damage was minor to all three of the cars but the wreck caused another caution which set up overtime number two.
Overtime No. Two – The Newman Wreck
The second overtime started under yellow much like the first. Several damaged cars headed to pit lane for repairs including Bowyer who managed a sixth-place finish.
When the green flag was waved it was once again Hamlin and Newman in a battle for the lead. Hamlin jumped towards the front by four to five car lengths with Newman, Ryan Blaney, and the pack making a run.
Chase Elliott spun out as the leaders barreled towards the final turns but the caution did not come out as Elliott moved off the racing groove and out of the way.
As Hamlin was throwing a block Blaney was pushing Newman towards the front for a possible Newman Blaney one-two finish. Instead, Blaney caught the right side of Newman’s bumper sending him headfirst into the wall only a few yards from the finish line.
Newman flipped over and was hit hard on the side by Corey Lajoie sending Newman’s car on a wild tumble across the hood and windshield of Lajoie’s car.
Newman tumbled through the air and skidded roof first down the track as flames exploded from underneath the hood of Lajoie’s ride and across the underside of Newman’s vehicle.
Multiple cars were collected in the wreck to end the race.
It would be Denny Hamlin’s third Daytona 500.
Ryan Blaney came in second and Ryan Newman was credited with a ninth-place finish. Newman was extracted from his car and taken to a nearby hospital and released a few days later.
Comments Following the Newman Wreck.
Denny Hamlin: “Things really worked out perfectly there for me at the end. I’m very fortunate to be in this place, but we all have to bow our heads and pray for Ryan Newman.
That’s the number one thing we should all be thinking about right now.”
“I think we take for granted sometimes how safe these cars are”.
We’re Praying For Ryan
Ryan Blaney: “Yeah, we pushed Newman there to the lead and then we got a push from the 11 and made a move. Newman blocked it, I kind of went low and he blocked that.
I was committed to pushing him to the win, try to have a ford win it and I don’t know, we got bumpers hooked up wrong and turned him.”
“I hope he’s all right. That looked pretty bad. I feel really bad about it. Close one but I hope Ryan’s all right.”
Corie Lajoie: “The narrative kind of changed a little bit. I heard he (Newman) went straight to the hospital. That’s obviously scary. I got a big push there that last coming to the white.
I don’t know who was pushing me and I kind of stalled out and I don’t know who hooked Newman. I was hoping he would kind of bounce off the fence to the left, but he didn’t and I hit him.
I don’t know exactly where I hit him. I haven’t seen a replay. It was some scary stuff. Don’t get me wrong. My car was on fire. My seat belts grabbed all sorts of areas, but it was a good day for us. I hope Ryan is OK.”
Official Finishing Order 2020 Daytona 500
- Denny Hamlin Toyota Running
- Ryan Blaney Ford Running
- Chris Buescher Ford Running
- David Ragan Ford Running
- Kevin Harvick Ford Running
- Clint Bowyer Ford Running
- Brendan Gaughan Chevrolet Running
- Corey LaJoie Ford Running
- Ryan Newman Ford Running
- Kyle Larson Chevrolet Running
- John Hunter Nemechek Ford Running
- Austin Dillon Chevrolet Running
- Justin Haley Chevrolet Running
- Michael McDowell Ford Running
- Bubba Wallace Chevrolet Running
- Brennan Poole Chevrolet Running
- Chase Elliott Chevrolet Running
- Erik Jones Toyota Running
- Matt DiBenedetto Ford Running
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Chevrolet Running
- Christopher Bell Toyota Accident
- Aric Almirola Ford Running
- Joey Gase Chevrolet Running
- Alex Bowman Chevrolet Running
- Ross Chastain Chevrolet Accident
- Joey Logano Ford Accident
- Timmy Hill Ford Accident
- Tyler Reddick Chevrolet Accident
- Ryan Preece Chevrolet Accident
- Ty Dillon Chevrolet Accident
- Reed Sorenson Chevrolet Accident
- Martin Truex Jr. Toyota Accident
- Kurt Busch Chevrolet Accident
- Kyle Busch Toyota Blown Engine
- Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Accident
- Brad Keselowski Ford Accident
- Cole Custer Ford Rear End Damage
- B.J. McLeod Ford Accident
- Quin Houff Chevrolet Accident
- William Byron Chevrolet Accident
2020 Daytona 500 Stats
Time of race: 3:42:10
Average speed: 141.11 mph
Pole speed: 194.582 mph
Cautions: 9 for 39 laps
Lead changes: 24
Green flag passes: 6,720 (39.5 per green flag lap)
Wondering who won the 2019 Daytona 500?
- Source: NASCAR
“Kent Whitaker, often called ‘the Deck Chef‘ is a sportswriter, culinary writer, and cookbook author with seventeen-book titles to his credit. He covers NASCAR, the PGA, racing in general, Football, barbecue, grilling, and tailgating. You can visit him on www.thedeckchef.com .”