{"id":20743,"date":"2020-02-18T07:55:08","date_gmt":"2020-02-18T12:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maineracing.com\/wp\/?p=20743"},"modified":"2020-02-18T04:59:48","modified_gmt":"2020-02-18T09:59:48","slug":"denny-hamlin-defends-daytona-500-championship-in-nascar-double-overtime-finish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/2020\/02\/denny-hamlin-defends-daytona-500-championship-in-nascar-double-overtime-finish\/","title":{"rendered":"Denny Hamlin Defends DAYTONA 500 Championship in NASCAR Double-Overtime Finish"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Denny Hamlin Defends DAYTONA 500 Championship in NASCAR Double-Overtime Finish<\/strong>
\u00b7       Becomes Fourth Driver to Win Consecutive DAYTONA 500s<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 17, 2020) \u2013<\/strong> Denny Hamlin became the fourth driver to win back-to-back DAYTONA 500s on Monday night, winning the 62nd running of \u201cThe Great American Race\u201d in a NASCAR Overtime finish at Daytona International Speedway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The race resumed Monday afternoon after it was halted on Sunday night with 20 laps completed. It was only the second postponement in DAYTONA 500 history \u2013 2012 was the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Hamlin, driving the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, joined Richard Petty (1973-74), Cale Yarborough (1983-84) and Sterling Marlin (1994-95) as consecutive DAYTONA 500 champions. Hamlin also became only the sixth driver to win NASCAR\u2019s premier event at least three times; he also won in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hamlin edged Ryan Blaney (No. 12 Menards\/Peak Ford) by 0.014 seconds while Chris Buescher (No. 17 Fastenal Ford) finished third. The race was extended to 209 laps, nine past the scheduled 200-lap\/500-mile distance, via two \u201cNASCAR Overtimes\u201d caused by late-race incidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Hamlin, the victory continued his emergence as the latest NASCAR Cup Series driver to dominate at Daytona.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just feel like I\u2019m a student of the game,\u201d Hamlin said. \u201cI never stop learning and trying to figure out where I need to put myself at the right time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t always work [but] we\u2019ve defied the odds here in the DAYTONA 500. I just trust my instincts and so far they\u2019ve been good for me. I can\u2019t do it without the car. That\u2019s [enabling me] to make those race-winning moves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The race also ended with an incident. On the last lap, Ryan Newman (No. 6 Koch Industries Ford) led on the inside coming to the stripe, getting a push from Blaney. Hamlin was running third on the inside. Suddenly, Newman\u2019s car turned right, into the wall. Seconds later, Newman was hit by Corey LaJoie\u2019s car (No. 32 RagingBull.com Ford). Newman was transported to a local hospital afterward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRyan Newman is being treated at Halifax Medical Center,\u201d Roush Fenway Racing said via a statement. \u201cHe is in serious condition, but doctors have indicated his injuries are not life threatening. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers and ask that you respect the privacy of Ryan and his family during this time. We appreciate your patience and cooperation and we will provide more information as it becomes available.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Hamlin, the \u201cweekend\u201d continues Tuesday, with the traditional DAYTONA 500 champion\u2019s media tour in New York, a full slate of appearances and interviews that include visits to LIVE! with Kelly & Ryan, FOX New York \u201cThe Noon,\u201d the Jim Rome Show, Barstool Breakfast, SiriusXM Radio, CBS Sports Radio and the New York Stock Exchange. Hamlin will also take part in a special satellite media tour on Friday from Las Vegas Motor Speedway, site of next week\u2019s NASCAR Cup Series race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M\u2019s Toyota) failed to win his sport\u2019s biggest race for the 15th time. Busch was leading on Lap 183 when his ride developed engine problems. He finished 34th.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really hate it for my guys and I really hate it for Joe Gibbs Racing,\u201d Busch said. We\u2019ll just keep figuring out ways to lose [the DAYTONA 500].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Ally Chevrolet) raced in the DAYTONA 500 for what could be for the final time, finishing 35th; he is retiring from the NASCAR Cup Series after this season. The two-time DAYTONA 500 champion started sixth after a strong run in one of last week\u2019s two qualifying races. Johnson shares the all-time record of seven NASCAR Cup Series championship with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Racing resumes at Daytona International Speedway on March 6-15 with another longstanding motorsports tradition \u2013 the 79th annual Bike Week At DAYTONA. The bike week schedule is headlined by the 50th annual DAYTONA Supercross on March 7 and the 79th annual DAYTONA 200 on March 14. New this year: pairing the DAYTONA 200 with the popular DAYTONA TT flat-track race for a unique day-night doubleheader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang – Finished 2nd<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe pushed Newman there to the lead and then we got a push from the 11. I kind of went low and he blocked that and so I was committed to pushing him to the win and have a Ford win it. I don\u2019t know. We just got the bumpers hooked up wrong and I turned him. I hope he is alright. It looked pretty bad. I was trying to push him to the win. I don\u2019t like saying that things just happen because I feel really bad about it. It was a close one. I just hope Ryan is alright.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DAVID RAGAN, No. 36 Select Blinds Ford Mustang – Finished 4th<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat was the ugliest fourth place finish I have ever had. I wasn\u2019t disciplined enough in my strategy there with about 15 to go. I felt like things were getting a little hairy and we were 16th<\/sup> or 18th<\/sup> and that is no man\u2019s land here at Daytona. I keyed the radio up going down the back straightaway and said I was going to back off a little. That is when they wrecked. I was pretty mad at myself for not seeing that earlier and getting that damage. Our Front Row Motorsports team with Rick Ware did a good job getting it fixed up. Those last few laps were exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLINT BOWYER, No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Ford Mustang – Finished 6th <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat was my opportunity to win, being on the outside in fourth. I don\u2019t know. It is just disappointing. I am frustrated because I felt like I should have been on the outside and not on the inside. That was a game winning decision there, or losing decision on our behalf, and unfortunately it didn\u2019t transpire.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang – Finished 5th<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe did exactly what we wanted to do. We just got a little bit of bumper damage and abandoned stage points to be around at the end to have a chance. We did at the end; we just ran out of pushers. I knew we needed to be fourth on that restart. The bottom wasn\u2019t where we needed to be. We didn\u2019t get a good shove and then everything jumbled up and we were able to get back close to the front. It was a solid night for the Busch Light Ford.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WERE YOU SURPRISED HAMLIN WAS ABLE TO WIN WITH ALL THE FORDS UP THERE OR WERE THEY JUST NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO GANG UP ON HIM?<\/strong> \u201cWe were plenty strong. It is all about timing of the pushes and things like that. In the end, it looked like the 12 wrecked the 6 and that is why the 11 won.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

COREY LAJOIE, No. 32 RagingBull.com Ford Mustang \u2013 Finished 8th<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 WHAT DID YOU SEE THE LAST LAP?  \u201cThe narrative kind of changed a little bit.  I heard he (Newman) went straight to the hospital.  That\u2019s obviously scary.  I got a big push there that last coming to the white.  I don\u2019t know who was pushing me and I kind of stalled out and I don\u2019t know who hooked Newman.  I was hoping he would kind of bounce off the fence to the left, but he didn\u2019t and I hit him.  I don\u2019t know exactly where I hit him.  I haven\u2019t seen a replay.  It was some scary stuff.  Don\u2019t\u2019 get me wrong.  My car was on fire.  My seat belts grabbed all sorts of areas, but it was a good day for us.  I hope Ryan is OK.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

COLE CUSTER, No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Mustang – Finished 37th<\/strong> \u2013 \u201cIt looks like we had a problem with a gear.  Those things are usually pretty bulletproof.  I don\u2019t know.  It\u2019s tough because we just rode around all day to position ourselves for the end and it just didn\u2019t work out.  We had a good car.  I think we probably were gonna be in contention for a top 10 there, but it just doesn\u2019t always work out sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Denny Hamlin Defends DAYTONA 500 Championship in NASCAR Double-Overtime Finish\u00b7       Becomes Fourth Driver to Win Consecutive DAYTONA 500s DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 17, 2020) \u2013 Denny Hamlin became the fourth driver to win back-to-back DAYTONA 500s on Monday night, winning the 62nd running of \u201cThe Great American Race\u201d in a NASCAR Overtime finish at Daytona International Speedway. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nascar-sprint-cup","category-latest-touring-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20743"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20745,"href":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20743\/revisions\/20745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}