NASCAR: From the last row to a 1-2 Daytona 500 finish
By Asher Fair
Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney started the 62nd annual Daytona 500 in the back. They then finished 1-2 to open up the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Prior to the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, the #11 Toyota of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin failed inspection twice, which resulted in a penalty that sent him to the rear of the field after he had qualified in 21st place in the first of two Bluegreen Vacations Duels on Thursday evening.
Several other cars were also set to the rear of the field, and one of them was the #12 Ford of Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney.
The #12 Ford was set to the rear of the field as a result of the fact that it was a backup car. Blaney was involved in a wreck in the first Bluegreen Vacations Duel with Gaunt Brothers Racing’s Daniel Suarez, and the damage sustained by his car was enough to warrant him being sent to a backup machine.
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But when the field took the green flag on Sunday, the #11 Toyota and the #12 Ford were the two cars lined up behind the rest of the pack. Hamlin was lined up on the inside of the final row, while Blaney was lined up slightly behind him in dead last.
Skip ahead to Monday, after the race resumed following the postponement caused by rain after 20 laps were contested on Sunday. The 200-lap ended up being a 209-lap race as a result of several late caution flag periods.
On lap 209, the checkered flag was being displayed. Roush Fenway Racing’s Ryan Newman led the race, just ahead of Blaney in second place. The pair of Ford drivers had just slingshot past Hamlin, who took the white flag, on the back straightaway of the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) superspeedway oval in Daytona Beach, Florida. Hamlin now ran third.
Blaney made slight contact with Newman, sending his #6 Ford spinning. A massive crash ensued, as his car spun just in front of Hamlin’s before crashing into the SAFER barrier.
Hamlin avoided Newman’s car, but it flipped over when it hit the wall, and the oncoming #32 Ford of Go Fas Racing’s Corey LaJoie was unable to avoid it. That led to the scary moment when the #32 Ford drove right into to driver’s side of the #6 Ford.
Meanwhile, the battle for the win had not yet been decided. Blaney still had the lead. But the contact with Newman slowed his car down just enough and allowed Hamlin to get back around him and win the race by just 0.014 seconds, marking the second closest finish in the 62-year history of the Daytona 500.
From second to last and last, to first and second place — it had never happened before in Daytona 500 history.
Fortunately, on a separate note, Newman’s injuries have been reported as not life threatening, although he remains in serious condition following this incident, which ended after his car continued to slide on its roof for several hundred yards. He was immediately transported to Halifax Medical Center after the safety team turned his car back over and extracted him from it.
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If there has even been a NASCAR Cup Series race that perfectly exemplifies the old saying that “it’s not where you start; it’s where you finish”, the 62nd annual Daytona 500 was that race, with the two drivers who started on the 20th and final row finishing in the top two, side by side.