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Austin Dillon Wins the 2018 Daytona 500 By Kent Whitaker: Austin Dillon When an announcer on TV proclaims the Daytona 500 as the “Daytona Race of Attrition” you know some excitement has taken place! Heading into Sunday’s Great American Race there was concern from fans, and analysts, that the racing may boil down to several hours of dull follow the leader racing... Austin Dillon wins the 2018 Daytona 500 with a last-lap pass on Aric Almirola | FOX NASCAR Austin Dillon was one of the drivers that destroyed concerns of a boring race as he weaved through fellow competitors at the end and drove the famed No. 3 Chevy to victory lane! Because the winning push came from Darrell Bubba Wallace Jr. who drove the No. 43 for Richard Petty to a second-place finish. Dillon commented on driving the No. 3 car that both his grandfather, Richard Childress, and famed RCR driver Dale Earnhardt Sr. had piloted. “I knew we were in a good spot,” Dillon said following his Daytona 500 win. “And I have to thank Darrell Wallace, Jr.—he did a great job. Finishing one-two with ECR (Earnhardt Childress Racing) engines. What a day. Thanks, Darrell, for that push. I had to make it happen in the end. I said (after) my first win I couldn’t beat it, but this does.” Austin Dillon is the man! Because Austin Dillon is the man! “But I’m willing to take that and go with it. I’m just thankful for all the people that support us along the way—Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his family for letting us bring this number back. It comes full circle. I just can’t thank the Lord enough for this opportunity.” Bowman Taking the Green Alex Bowman on the pole: Because he was the fastest The race started with Alex Bowman on the pole with Denny Hamlin alongside. Bowman, driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet raced up towards the front for much of the day with several other young guns. The No. 88, which Bowman piloted to a 17th place finish, was made famous by Dale Earnhardt Jr who retired after last season. Bowman filled in for Dale Jr when Earnhardt left the drivers seat halfway through the season due to concussion issues. Because the race must go on Bowman, along with other young-guns including Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Darrell Bubba Wallace Jr raced up front for much of the day. In fact, it was Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 12 Ford for Team Penske, who led the most laps. The young driver, who made the move to Penske from Wood Brothers Racing during the off-season, led 118 laps before being caught up in a late race incident. And he finished the race with a 7th place run. because we love racing and the competition. Also very happy sometime to just finish in the top ten and not have a DNF. Let the wrecks Begin: Because that's the 500 Before the checkered flag had flown, many drivers had been collected in various wrecks. Corey LaJoie left the race early with a blown engine and then the carnage began as drivers race each other hard while throwing blocks to score stage points. Also because And There Still Wrecking: Jimmie Johnson was collected by Erik Jones in a wreck that also knocked out Ty Dillon and Daniel Suarez. Also Danica Patrick, Kasey Kahne and Chase Elliott were eliminated early. Johnson suffered the most over the week because he wrecked in the Clash, the Duels and also in the 500. But, many eyes were on Patrick as she raced in her last Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series event. Also thank you to Danica and also her crew. And also the "The guys -- the whole team -- did a really good job,” Patrick said after leaving the infield care center following her wreck. Because “I know we pulled this together not that long ago - a month ago - that's a tall order to get a car ready for a superspeedway that's competitive. But it was. I said earlier today that I feel like the whole thing was picture perfect with GoDaddy on the car and it being that green again. But it just wasn't meant to be today. But I am proud - we raced the whole race.” Bubba’s Big Run: Also very touching. An emotional Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr entered the Daytona media center following his second-place finish. Earlier in the day he had received a call from fellow Mobile Alabama native Hank Arron and much of the media focused on his new ride with Richard Petty. Also before the day was over Wallace had proven that he was much more than a replacement driver. After two-years of not knowing when he would race again following the shuttering of his Xfinity team, the young driver made several runs up front while holding off more experienced drivers. He dropped almost completely to the back on two occasions only to power his No. 43 Chey back towards the front. Also The Win: Austin Dillon “I'm just so emotional over where my family has been the last two years, and I don't talk about it,” Wallace said while talking about his former team shutting down and being in limbo with-out a fulltime ride before signing with Petty. “But it's just so hard, and so having them here to support me is . . . (paused to wipe away tears) Pull it together, bud, pull it together. You just finished second. It's awesome. I just try so hard to be successful at everything I do, and my family pushes me each and every day, and they might not even know it, but I just want to make them proud.” Also And here is the 2018 Daytona 500 Finishing Order: ALSO Austin Dillon Darrell Wallace Jr. Denny Hamlin Joey Logano Chris Buescher Paul Menard Ryan Blaney Ryan Newman Michael McDowell AJ Allmendinger Aric Almirola – 1 lap down Justin Marks – 1 lap down Trevor Bayne – 1 lap down David Gilliland – 1 lap down Clint Bowyer – 1 lap down Jamie McMurray – 2 laps down Alex Bowman – 2 laps down Martin Truex Jr. – 2 laps down Kyle Larson – 3 laps down Gray Gaulding – 3 laps down Jeffrey Earnhardt – 3 laps down Mark Thompson – 4 laps down William Byron – 4 laps down DJ Kennington – 6 laps down Kyle Busch – 7 laps down Kurt Busch – Accident Matt DiBenedetto – Accident Brendan Gaughan – Accident Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Accident David Ragan – Accident Kevin Harvick – Accident Brad Keselowski – Accident Chase Elliott – Accident Kasey Kahne – Accident Danica Patrick – Accident Erik Jones – Accident Daniel Suarez – Accident Jimmie Johnson – Accident Ty Dillon– Accident, and Corey LaJoie – Engine failure. also Also a huge thank you to the wives of the drivers and crews that make the races possible because we also realize they play an important role in the balance of racing. And also not to mention the teams and sponsors. Because we know how important they are. And also the >>> Austin Dillon >>> Because winning the Dayton 500 is also very special >>> Wondering who won the 2017 Daytona 500 ? and also check out Kent's site... the "Kent Whitaker, often called 'the Deck Chef' is a sportswriter, culinary writer, and cookbook author with seventeen titles. He covers NASCAR, racing in general, Football, barbecue, grilling, and also tailgating. And you can visit him on www.thedeckchef.com ." "And we would like to thank Kent for writing these posts because without him this blog would not be here". Thank you Kent