The 2016 Daytona 500 Was the Closest Finish in Daytona History

Denny Hamlin (11) beats out Martin Truex Jr.

BAD DAY FOR THE FAVORITE: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his famed auto “Amelia” went for a spin off Turn 4 with 31 laps to go and went nose-first into the inside wall, ruining his day.

They sped to the line side by side and a photo finish showed Hamlin the victor by barely a fender. “Then to see them win and be that happy, get a chance to celebrate, it’s really a thrill for me”. The same way he did in 1993 – with a trip to the local Steak & Shake, a tradition at JGR after big wins that started with the Jarrett win 23 years ago. We had an excellent pusher during the race.

“He kept lunging more and more forward”. I knew it was close. “I think we have the wrong game plan here, it’s the 500′”. “Luckily the door didn’t close before we got in there”.

But what stuck with Hamlin 14 hours after winning the Great American Race was the selflessness of his teammates in the closing laps.

Kenseth dropped to eventually finish 14th.

Toyota Racing Development president David Wilson called it the biggest win in Toyota history, better than even an Indianapolis 500 victory in 2003. But he also acknowledged he couldn’t have done anything differently; Hamlin simply had a run and there was no way for Truex to position himself so that Hamlin couldn’t pull alongside.

The margin of victory was “both historic and microscopic”, says the New York Times. He returned to the track on Lap 60 after repairs were made. “I wasn’t sure we were all going to make it through there with as dicey as it got”.

Fellow JGR driver Kyle Busch finished third behind Hamlin and Truex. With a push from Kevin Harvick, Hamlin motored to the bumper of leader Matt Kenseth as the field headed into turn 3. Kenseth tried to throw a block but Hamlin wedged into the middle between Kenseth and Truex, and Kenseth had to save his vehicle from wrecking.

Elliott led the first three laps but dropped back toward the bottom of the top 10. It was really cool to see Joe Gibbs get an opportunity to go back to Victory Lane here in the Daytona 500.

“I don’t know where that came from, I don’t know what happened, I can’t even figure out what I did”, Hamlin continued.

“I heard people on the radio insane and excited and assumed we won at that point”.

“You never know what causes somebody to change”, Gibbs continued, “but he’s very smart and I think he’s gone through a lot”.

Now, with a Daytona 500 win, he’s earned his shining moment. Notable drivers, such as Chase Elliott, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Danica Patrick and Greg Biffle were involved in accidents throughout the course of the race.

Behind Elliott on the grid was Dale Earnhardt Jr., who used a power-move pass to win the first Can-Am Duel on Thursday. High-profile Red Bull Racing struggled to make races and left NASCAR after four full seasons.

“I did all I could do”, Truex said.

Kenseth was rolling in the No. 20 Toyota, leading 40 straight laps with only one more to go. In the past, I have talked about how the Daytona 500 has lost it’s importance, but the build up worked well this season.