Denny Hamlin Wins Chaos Filled 2019 Daytona 500
By Kent Whitaker:
Denny Hamlin started the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 2019 season by giving Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) its first win of the year. And, it was an emotional one. The driver of the No. 11 Toyota for JGR won the Daytona 500 with teammates filling in the next two spots giving Coach Gibbs a one-two-three finish at the Great American Race. Also behind Hamlin was Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Toyota and Erik Jones in the No. 20 Toyota.
The win came only five weeks after the death of JD Gibbs, son of Joe Gibbs, who is credited for discovering Hamlin and kicking off his Cup Series career. Hamlin spoke immediately about winning the chaos-filled 500 for his team and for JD also.
“The whole (Gibbs) family,” Hamlin said emotionally following the race. “They did so much for me over the course of my career. Because This one is for J.D. We’re desperately going to miss him the rest of our lives. His legacy still lives on through Joe Gibbs Racing and I’m proud to do this for them.”
The Crash Fest 2019
William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports, sat on the pole for the 500 with last year’s pole winner Alex Bowman alongside. Byron would go on to lead 44 laps of the race which started off with a long green flag run. That’s until the first signs of what the day would bring coming on lap 50 when Bubba Wallace and several other drivers swapped paint in turn two. However, because it would be Casey Mears to be the first driver out following his wreck on lap 104. Also because of the way plate racing is.
Before the day was over only 19 of the 40 cars that started the race would still be running when the final two-lap sprint for the finish took the green flag. Half the field was eliminated when Paul Menard popped the back corner of Matt DiBenedetto’s No. 95 Toyota. The two cars collected each other sending Dibenedetto into the wall with almost every car behind them being collected in the mess because of the way plate racing is, also because of the close racing.
Taking The Blame: also
Menard took the blame for ending the day for so many drivers including an amazing run that DiBenedetto was having with his new team Leavine Family Racing. Also…
“I’ll take the blame for that one, I guess,” Menard said after he exited the infield care center following the wreck. “We (all) had really fast Fords. I sped on pit road and got us behind. We had to play catch-up. We had a shot there at the end though. It was time to go. It’s frustrating that we have to put ourselves in that position to race this way. I tried backing off but wrecked a lot of cars. Ended up hooking the 95. I was trying to get to his outside, and he was kind of in the middle and he went to the outside and was going back and forth. The 12 (Ryan Blaney) had a big run, so I jumped up in front of him and hooked the 95.”
That massive wreck brought out the Red Flag because things had to be cleaned up.
Also the Two Lap shootout for the Win
One of the few drivers that escaped the carnage of the closing laps was Hamlin. He would start second with Kyle Busch as the race leader. Busch picked the inside lane with Hamlin on the outside. When the green flag dropped he moved to the front of the pack for a few seconds but Hamlin quickly overtook him for the lead. That’s when another caution came out as Ford drivers Clint Bowyer and Michael McDowell wrecked causing a nine-car pileup.
Hamlin, now being the scored the leader, choose the outside lane keeping Busch to the inside. Hamlin was proven to have made the right choice as the restart scenario repeated itself. The driver of the No. 18 made a good start but Hamlin took the lead only a few seconds later. Once he cleared Busch he dropped the No. 11 Toyota in front of his teammate and didn’t surrender the front spot. The two cars stretched their lead with Jones sliding in behind them for third.
Hamlin took the checkered flag for his second Daytona 500 win and 32nd of his Cup Series career overall. Busch stated that he was happy for his teammate and team while noting he has yet to win a Daytona 500.
“Overall, it’s certainly bittersweet,” Busch said following the race. “It’s awesome to see a JGR car in Victory Lane with Joe and J.D. and everything that’s gone on this offseason with all that. But it’s very, very bittersweet for all those that support us and all my team guys that work so hard to try to get to Victory Lane and get our Daytona 500 victory. He’s got two. I’ve got none. We just have to move on and go to the next time.”
Hamlin told reporters that he had a good idea on how things would play out once Busch restarted on the inside because he wanted the top also
“When he gave me the top I was literally doing a little cheer in my mind,” Hamlin said because the first restart prior to the final one following the second red flag. Also “Thinking my playbook said, ‘Always choose the top no matter who’s behind you — it doesn’t matter.’ I’ve been on the front row for so many restarts and lost ‘em because I’ve been on the bottom.”
Coach Gibbs Emotions & Steak and Shake:
Coach Joe Gibbs is known for being a personable person that is always giving back. Following the race, his emotions overflowed as he overlooked the No. 11 car resting in victory lane. Hamlin is from Chesterfield, Virginia and had stickers on his car commemorating both J.D. Gibbs and Glen Wood of the iconic Wood Brothers Racing team who passed away only a few weeks prior. Wood Brother’s Racing was formed in Hamlin’s home state of Virginia and is the longest running team in NASCAR.
“J.D.’s name is on that car,”
Gibbs said holding back what appeared to be a combination of joy and sadness. “That’s his number. J.D. found him (Hamlin). What happened here is really unreal. I just thank the Lord for letting us be a part of this.”
The next step was to celebrate. The team decided to make a tradition of something that happened in 1993. When JGR won the 1993 Daytona 500 they really didn’t have a plan in mind as to what would happen following the media interviews and all of the packing up a team does following a race. So, they decided to just grab a bite to eat at the local Steak and Shake restaurant.
The same thing happened in 2019
Coach Gibbs and several others entered the restaurant first shortly after they left the track around 10:30 that evening. The sparse crowd clapped and offered congratulations. Then, the winning driver, his crew, and the Harley J. Earl Trophy entered. Hamlin noted how much fun it was to celebrate with customers and the Steak and Shake crew.
“It was cool because by the time we got there, Joe had already had his group there,” Hamlin said at the champion’s breakfast event. “And you walk in there to an applause, and then the team guys come in there later. So it was cool to have your own little spot.”
According to the team, around 50 JGR members celebrated with about 50 guests who were just stopping in for a burger. Speaking of Burgers, Coach Gibb’s reportedly ate a triple burger and picked up the tab for everyone following the celebration. Also the best car and crew.
Official Finishing Order for the 2019 Daytona 500
1 Denny Hamlin Toyota Running
2 Kyle Busch Toyota Running
3 Erik Jones Toyota Running
4 Joey Logano Ford Running
5 Michael McDowell Ford Running
6 Ty Dillon Chevrolet Running
7 Kyle Larson Chevrolet Running
8 Ryan Preece Chevrolet Running
9 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Running
10 Ross Chastain Chevrolet Running
11 Alex Bowman Chevrolet Running
12 Brad Keselowski Ford Running
13 Ricky Stenhouse Jr Ford Running
14 Ryan Newman Ford Running
15 Parker Kligerman Toyota Running
16 Austin Dillon Chevrolet Running
17 Chase Elliott Chevrolet Accident
18 Corey Lajoie Ford Running
19 BJ McLeod Chevrolet Running
Top 20
20 Clint Bowyer Ford Accident
21 William Byron Chevrolet Accident
22 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet Accident
23 Brendan Gaughan Chevrolet Accident
24 Landon Cassill Chevrolet Accident
25 Kurt Busch Chevrolet Running
26 Kevin Harvick Ford Accident
27 Tyler Reddick Chevrolet Accident
28 Matt DiBenedetto Toyota Accident
29 Paul Menard Ford Accident
30 David Ragan Ford Accident
31 Ryan Blaney Ford Accident
32 Aric Almirola Ford Accident
33 Daniel Suarez Ford Accident
34 Daniel Hemric Chevrolet Accident
35 Martin Truex Jr Toyota Accident
36 Matt Tifft Ford Accident
37 Chris Buescher Chevrolet Accident
38 Bubba Wallace Chevrolet Accident
39 Cody Ware Chevrolet Accident
40 Casey Mears Chevrolet Accident
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 45 Mins, 55 Secs.
Average Speed: 137.44 MPH
Margin of Victory: .138 Seconds
Failed to Qualify: 71 Ryan Truex, 66 Joey Gase
Caution Flags: 12 for 47 laps
Red Flags: 2
Lead Changes: 15 among 9 drivers
NASCAR
“Kent Whitaker, often called ‘the Deck Chef’ is a sportswriter, culinary writer, and cookbook author with fourteen titles. He covers NASCAR, racing in general, Football, barbecue, grilling, and tailgating. You can visit him on www.thedeckchef.com .”