NASCAR: Winners and Losers At Daytona

NASCAR: Winners And Losers At Daytona

Feb 21, 2016; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Carl Edwards (19), Kevin Harvick (4), Jaime McMurray (1), Ryan Blaney (21), Brad Keselowski (2) and Kyle Larson (42) during the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports /

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Feb 21, 2016; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson (48) and Matt Kenseth (20) during the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports /

Winner: Back-up Cars

On Thursday night, a late wreck ended the second duel, meaning that Jimmie Johnson, Martin Truex Jr., Matt Kenseth and A.J. Allmendinger would be using back-up cars for the biggest race of the season.

That ended up being a smaller deal than it was originally made out to be as the four drivers led a total of 60 laps. Kenseth and Truex Jr. both had late chances at the win while Johnson would’ve been in the conversation had he not been hit with a penalty. Allmendinger finished in 21st but stayed in the middle of things all day long.

Obviously anything can happen at Daytona but using a back-up car sometimes comes with questions as to how the performance of the car will be compared to the original that was wrecked.

That was certainly not a problem for the drivers as they went on to have fairly successful days with cars that held up well in the draft.

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