Denny Hamlin Wins Daytona 500

Truex was on the losing end of the closest Daytona 500 in race history Sunday, coming up just a few inches short in a photo finish with Denny Hamlin.

Even though Busch produced a phenomenal comeback in order to win his first-ever Sprint Cup title, he said the challenges he faced didn’t mean he cherished it more than he would have had he claimed it in 2008 when he had his best season.

“Denny cut inside (of Kenseth), made it three wide”, said Truex, whose Furniture Row team switched from Chevrolet to Toyota this year.

The Daytona 500 win puts Hamlin at the pinnacle of the sport he fell in love with, which is still a surreal feeling for him.

“I’ve had a lot of them but, yeah, it ranks right up there”, the dejected driver told FOXSports.com after crossing the finish line in 14 place after giving up the lead on the final lap. That had been the closest finish in Daytona 500 history – until now.

“I just went with it and we ended up with a victory”, Hamlin said.

“I had no anticipations of winning this race on the white-flag [penultimate] lap”, Hamlin said.

I also want to thank our FRR crew both at the track and back at the shop in Denver. “I didn’t know if he was really upset”.

“I wouldn’t trade that position for anybody in the whole field”, Kenseth said. “I think it was a polarising issue, Toyota being here in the sport”, Wilson said. Somehow, (Hamlin) just got a massive run.

HOW HAMLIN WON: The driver of the No. 11 Toyota was running fourth when the final lap began. “It all just came together.

Fans can stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube for the latest speedway news throughout the season. In 2004, Hamlin’s dream of driving for Coach Joe Gibbs finally came true.

But as J.D. had to step away from the day-to-day operations of the race team, his father took back over, making Hamlin’s win a chance for them to celebrate together, joking about a trip to Steak N Shake, as they did after their first Daytona 500 win in 1993. By that. 011 second margin, Truex Jr. finished in second, and not far behind was Kyle Busch, who led 19 laps of the race. “Two to go, if it wasn’t my teammates, I’d make a move right now”. “This is the biggest win of my life”. That was it. You can’t think that long and not make the move at a the same time.

Gibbs joked that “someone should be fired” in the organization considering it took 23 years to win a second Daytona 500 and that with four cars suffering significant damage during Daytona Speedweeks, he’s still in the hole from an overall budget standpoint for the week. It appeared he would remain a driver whose biggest victories were a Southern 500 and a Sprint All-Star win.

POLE-SITTER: Rookie Chase Elliott, taking over for Jeff Gordon in the No. 24 auto, started from the pole and led the first three laps before he was passed by Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. “I tried to get stopped and got into Bobby and he got loose”. “Matt was in (the infield care center) with us and he apologized, and I appreciate that”.

“I was thinking the worst”, said team owner Joe Gibbs. But, as video replays confirmed, Hamlin had got enough side-draft along the way to narrowly pull ahead by the time they crossed the start/finish line. It was fun getting on and off pit road; I passed five guys coming in on the first pit stop.

Dale Earnhardt Junior, a two-time victor of the classic and son of “The Intimidator”, who died on the last lap of the 2001 race, led twice in his Chev but crashed mid-pack on lap 170.