Two 'Big Ones' in short span reshape Daytona 500
Kurt Busch wins first Daytona 500 with last-lap pass
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- His car damaged in a wreck on the backstretch and held together with tape, Kurt Busch grabbed the lead on the final lap of the 59th Daytona 500 on Sunday and took the checkered flag in the Great American Race as a capstone to a checkered career that has trended upward since Busch joined Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014.
RELATED: Full results | Standings
Contact from Trevor Bayne sent Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet spinning on Lap 127 in Sunday's Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. The 'Big One' also collected Danica Patrick, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Joey Gase, Chris Buescher and Landon Cassill, among others.
Johnson was running third when the wreck unfolded. He was ruled out of the race, along with Patrick, due to extensive damage that was not fixed in the five-minute window on pit road. The wreck involved 17 cars in total.
Less than 15 laps later, a wiggle from Chase Elliott's No. 24 Chevrolet caused a multi-car pile-up that involved Brad Keselowski, Jamie McMurray, Daniel Suarez, Ty Dillon and Ryan Newman, and brought out the eighth caution flag at Lap 141. All told, 11 cars were involved. Together, the two wrecks reshaped the running of the 59th annual Daytona 500.
WATCH: Wreck collects Suarez, Keselowski, others
"The Fords were really fast today," Patrick said. "We got organized and we were gone! It was the (most fun) 500 I've ever had. Well, probably not 500, more like 300 or 250. It is a real shame. I feel like we could have been a contender at the end, for sure we could have been an influencer."
Johnson was running third when the wreck unfolded. He was ruled out of the race, along with Patrick, due to extensive damage that was not fixed in the five-minute window on pit road. The wreck involved 17 cars in total.
Less than 15 laps later, a wiggle from Chase Elliott's No. 24 Chevrolet caused a multi-car pile-up that involved Brad Keselowski, Jamie McMurray, Daniel Suarez, Ty Dillon and Ryan Newman, and brought out the eighth caution flag at Lap 141. All told, 11 cars were involved. Together, the two wrecks reshaped the running of the 59th annual Daytona 500.
WATCH: Wreck collects Suarez, Keselowski, others
"The Fords were really fast today," Patrick said. "We got organized and we were gone! It was the (most fun) 500 I've ever had. Well, probably not 500, more like 300 or 250. It is a real shame. I feel like we could have been a contender at the end, for sure we could have been an influencer."
Austin Dillon and Kasey Kahne were running 1-2 as cleanup for the wrecks commenced, although Kurt Busch -- involved in the first of these wrecks -- rallied for victory.
All told, 15 cars finished more than 10 laps back largely due to these incidents.
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