After two weeks to start the season in Daytona, NASCAR has come away with two first-time winners. Last week it was Michael Mcdowell in a rain-delayed Daytona 500, but this week was a wild road course win by the second-year driver Christopher Bell. The Daytona Road Course did not disappoint as NASCAR put seven road course races on the schedule this year. Before we recap what happened on Sunday, Have you ever wondered what it would be like to race your street car at Daytona? Well, Clint Bowyer and Jeff Gordon had a little fun with that and filmed some of it. Enjoy this clip before you read on and get ready to laugh.
From the very first corner of the race, many drivers struggled to keep their cars on the track and out of trouble. On the front row, Michael Mcdowell missed the first corner and went from second to almost the back of the field. Kyle Busch had damage after trying to go four-wide and tore the left rear of his car up. Matt Dibenedetto also tore up his right rear after blowing a tire, while Brad Keselowski spun out multiple times throughout the race. Even though Kurt Busch was leading the race he still managed to run off the track, through the dirt, and spin out. The first two stages belonged to Chase Elliott who dominated the race by leading 44 of the 70 laps. Despite all of the troubles many cars had the whole race changed when NASCAR threw a caution for rain with 16 laps left. Some cars decided to stay out while others wanted four fresh Goodyear tires which bunched up the field. Despite many cars spinning out, wrecking, or having damage many were able to work their way back to the front with late-race cautions.
The three cars of Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, and Martin Truex Jr. showed the ability to win/lead the race and drive through the field if they were in traffic. With ten laps to go, Martin Truex Jr. spun out which eliminated him from the win contention. Kyle Larson also spun out trying to pass Kurt Busch for second place. Coming to seven to go Kyle Busch’s car finally gave out after wrecking on the front stretch which effectively ended his day. Joey Logano cruised out front while Christopher Bell and Chase Elliot tried to catch up with just 6 laps to go. Elliott tried to force the issue with Brad Keselowski but was spun out by Denny Hamlin after coming out of turn six. Coming to the white flag, Bell finally passed Logano and never looked back holding on to his first career win. It was an eventful race for sure and did not disappoint. Next week NASCAR will head down to Homestead, Miami for the third race of the season. Be sure to check in next week for the recap!
-CM
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