Bass Pro vehicle loses Daytona 500 by inches

The first Daytona 500 took place in 1959, and it took three days for NASCAR to review newsreel footage before declaring Lee Petty the victor.

Three of the top five finishers at Daytona race for Joe Gibbs.

Hamlin led a race-high 34 laps.

Kenseth was out front and leading Martin Truex Jr. until the final lap.

It was Hamlin’s first Daytona 500 victory in his 11th try. It just all came together, and I got a great push from Kevin Harvick.

“Congratulations to Matt”, Truex said.

By the time it came to the end of the race, numerous pre-race favorites had raced themselves out of contention – including Dale Earnhardt Jr., who wrecked with 30 laps to go while struggling to get back up front.

“He got me by a couple feet”.

After getting crashed late in his Can-Am Duel on Thursday, Truex joined four other drivers in starting at the rear of the field in a backup vehicle. Hamlin was in the lead on Lap 55 when the second caution came out, this time for an accident involving Tony Stewart, Edwards, and former 500 victor Trevor Bayne.

Truex, who spun the loss as a positive in that he proved to JGR that he and Furniture Row Racing will be strong partners, wasn’t sure what he could have done differently. Kyle Busch, the defending Sprint Cup champion, took third.

Said Kenseth: “They don’t get much more crushing than that”. Earnhardt had led early but lost his track position during pit stops and had to fight all race to regain it. Just when Earnhardt was making moves – he had just sailed past Hamlin and Joey Logano – Earnhardt got loose and lost control of his auto. Somehow, (Hamlin) just got a massive run.

“I had the lead until the start of the Daytona [written] on the wall”, Truex said. “And I did until those last couple feet”.

“The margin of victory of one-one-hundredth of a second is the closest in Daytona 500 history”. His Chevrolet hit an interior wall and then ricocheted into the grass, where Earnhardt found himself stuck.

“Just gonna have to watch that on the highlight reel for the rest of my career, I suppose, rest of my life”, he said with a chuckle.