2015 Daytona 500

Race details[1][2][3][4][5]
Race 1 of 36 in the2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Date	February 22, 2015 (2015-02-22)
Location	Daytona International Speedway inDaytona Beach, Florida
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4 km)
Distance	203 laps, 507.5 mi (812 km)
Scheduled distance	200 laps, 500 mi (800 km)
Weather	Sunny skies with a temperature of 79 °F (26 °C); wind out of the south/southeast at 9.2 mph (14.8 km/h)[6]
Average speed	161.938 mph (260.614 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Jeff Gordon(W)	Hendrick Motorsports
Time	44.711
Qualifying race winners
Duel 1 Winner	Dale Earnhardt Jr.(W)	Hendrick Motorsports
Duel 2 Winner	Jimmie Johnson(W)	Hendrick Motorsports
Most laps led
Driver	Jeff Gordon(W)	Hendrick Motorsports
Laps	87
Winner
No. 22	Joey Logano	Team Penske
Television in the United States
Network	Fox
Announcers	Mike Joy,Larry McReynolds andDarrell Waltrip
Nielsen ratings	7.3/16 (Overnight)[7] 7.7/17 (Final)[8] 13.4 Million viewers[8]
Radio in the United States
Radio	MRN
Booth announcers	Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle andRusty Wallace
Turn announcers	Dave Moody (1 & 2),Mike Bagley (Backstretch) and Kyle Rickey (3 & 4)

The2015 Daytona 500, the 57th running of theevent, was aNASCAR Sprint Cup Series race which was held on February 22, 2015 atDaytona International Speedway inDaytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 203 laps – extended from 200 laps due to agreen–white–checker finish – on the 2.5 mi (4.0 km) asphalt superspeedway, it was the first race of the2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.Joey Logano won the race, recording the second Daytona 500 win forTeam Penske, and his ninth career Sprint Cup victory.Kevin Harvick finished second whileDale Earnhardt Jr.,Denny Hamlin andJimmie Johnson rounded out the top–five.

Jeff Gordon won the pole for his 23rd and final career start in the Daytona 500.Hendrick Motorsports swept theBudweiser Duel races with Earnhardt Jr. winning the first Duel race and fourth career qualifying race and Johnson winning the second Duel race and second career qualifying race. Gordon led a race-high 87 laps and ran up front for most of the race. He was caught up in the backstretch multi-car wreck on the final lap of the race and finished 33rd. Logano took the lead with 10 laps to go in the scheduled 200 lap distance and was ahead of Kevin Harvick before the last caution flag ended the race in his favor. The race had 27 lead changes among 12 different drivers, as well as 7 caution flag periods for 26 laps. There was also a single red flag period that lasted for 6 minutes and 42 seconds.

Logano left Daytona with a five-point lead over Harvick in the points standings, whileFord left Daytona with a five-point lead overChevrolet in the manufacturer standings.

The 57th Daytona 500 was carried byFox Sports on the broadcastFox network for the American television audience. The radio broadcast for the race was carried by theMotor Racing Network andSirius XMNASCAR Radio.

BrothersKurt Busch andKyle Busch, mainstays in the Cup Series for over a decade, both missed the race for different reasons, making this event the first race without one of the two since the2001 NAPA 500.^[9] Kurt missed the race after being suspended during a trial for domestic violence, while Kyle suffered a broken right leg and a fractured left foot in a violent crash in theAlert Today Florida 300 the day prior.

This marks the final Daytona 500 starts forSam Hornish Jr.,Tony Stewart, andJohnny Sauter and the only for then two-timeNASCAR Truck Series championMatt Crafton.

Daytona International Speedway is arace track inDaytona Beach,Florida,United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of theDaytona 500, the most prestigious race inNASCAR.^[10] In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races ofARCA,AMA Superbike,USCC,SCCA, andMotocross. The track features multiple layouts including the primary 2.5 mi (4.0 km) high speedtri-oval,^[11] a 3.56 mi (5.73 km)sports car course, a 2.95 mi (4.75 km) motorcycle course, and a .25 mi (0.40 km) karting and motorcycle flat-track. The track's 180-acre (73 ha) infield includes the 29-acre (12 ha) Lake Lloyd, which has hostedpowerboat racing. The speedway is owned and operated byInternational Speedway Corporation.

The track was built to host racing that was being held by NASCAR founderBill France, Sr. at the formerDaytona Beach and Road Course and opened with thefirst Daytona 500 in 1959.^[12] The speedway has been renovated three times, with the infield renovated in 2004,^[13] and the track repaved in 1978 and 2010.^[14]

NASCAR implemented a new camera system to officiate pit road.^[15] Forty-five cameras monitor pit road and reduce the number of necessary officials on pit road from 24 to 10.^[15] The system was beta tested during the 10 race Chase for the Sprint Cup last season and "allegedly" detected a high number of infractions such as driving through more than three stalls to get into or exit one's pit stall. Eight officials monitor the system from a truck outside the track and have the final say on imposing a penalty.^[15] With only 10 officials monitoring pit road now, NASCAR no longer penalizes teams for missing or loose lug nuts. The responsibility for having those lug nuts on the car falls on the teams.^[15]

The entry list for the 57th running of the Daytona 500 was released on Thursday, February 12, 2015 at 9:22 a.m. Eastern time. Fifty drivers were entered for the race.Joe Nemechek and his No. 87 team later withdrew before qualifying after the team had problems preparing the car. With the Daytona 500 being the first race of the 2015 season, 13 drivers were entered for the race driving for a different team than they had raced for in the 2014 season.Trevor Bayne made his debut withRoush Fenway Racing after spending the last five seasons driving part-time forWood Brothers Racing.Alex Bowman, who drove forBK Racing in his 2014 rookie campaign, moved toTommy Baldwin Racing to drive the No. 7 Chevrolet.Sam Hornish Jr. returned to full time in the Sprint Cup Series – his first since 2010 – to drive in the No. 9Richard Petty Motorsports Ford. He replacedMarcos Ambrose who returned to his native Australia to race in the V8 Supercar Series.Carl Edwards, who drove the last 11 seasons for Roush Fenway Racing, moved toJoe Gibbs Racing to drive the No. 19 Toyota.Ryan Blaney replaced Trevor Bayne in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford on a part-time basis.J. J. Yeley moved to the No. 23 BK Racing Toyota that had been driven by Alex Bowman the previous season.Jeb Burton moved up from the Camping World Truck Series to drive the No. 26 BK Racing Toyota.Justin Marks was entered to make his first Sprint Cup Series start in the No. 29RAB Racing Toyota. Former Camping World Truck Series championRon Hornaday Jr. moved up to attempt to run his first full season in the Sprint Cup Series since 2001 in the No. 30 Chevrolet forThe Motorsports Group. The 2000 series championBobby Labonte took over the seat of the No. 32Go FAS Racing Ford for the four restrictor plate races. This was a role previously done by his brotherTerry Labonte who made his final career start in October 2014 atTalladega.Cole Whitt, who drove the No. 26 BK Racing Toyota in his 2014 rookie campaign, moved to the No. 35Front Row Motorsports Ford.Reed Sorenson drove the No. 44Team XTREME Racing Chevrolet.Michael Annett left Tommy Baldwin Racing after his 2014 rookie campaign and moved toHScott Motorsports to drive the No. 46 Chevrolet.Brian Scott was entered in a one race deal to drive the No. 62Premium Motorsports Chevrolet.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 44.413 and a speed of 202.643 mph (326.122 km/h).^[17]

*It was announced that the 87 of Joe Nemechek had withdrawn before practice

Michael McDowell was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 45.153 and a speed of 199.322 mph (320.778 km/h).^[19]Ryan Newman was forced to change engines after blowing one half an hour into the session.^[20] He had to start from the rear in one of the Duel races.^[20]Martin Truex Jr. also dealt with engine gremlins due to a crack in his car's oil pan, but did not change engines.^[20]

The pole qualifying took place at 1:35 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, February 15, a week prior to the Daytona 500 race itself. After the 2014 Daytona 500, NASCAR eliminated the traditional single car qualifying format for the pole qualifying and introduced a knockout qualifying format commonly used in many seriesat Phoenix the following week. The restrictor plate track rules, first implemented at thefall Talladega race, were used.

• NASCAR randomly split the field into two groups for session 1 (one group had 25 cars, the other had 24). Each group had its own five minutes of track time. The fastest 24 cars overall from either group advanced to session 2.
• After a 10–minute break, these 24 cars got five minutes of track time for session 2. The qualifying times from session 1 were reset prior to the start of session 2. The fastest twelve cars in session 2 advanced to session 3.
• Following a seven–minute break, these 12 cars competed for the top two guaranteed spots in the final five–minute session. Again, the qualifying times from session 2 were reset prior to the start of session 3.

The top two times in the final qualifying session were locked in the front row of the Daytona 500 starting grid, while the other 41 starting spots were determined by the twoBudweiser Duel races the following Thursday. If a driver failed to make the Top 15 in the Duels, the time that was used to calculate the four drivers that would qualify based on time – and to grid the seven drivers that took provisional starting positions was based solely on the fastest time they set – regardless of qualifying session.

In what would be his final Daytona 500 start,Jeff Gordon won the pole with a time of 44.711 and a speed of 201.293 mph (323.950 km/h).^[23] Gordon felt that in the new qualifying format, "the driver finally gets to play a role". He also stated that he had "a fast race car" and that the pole position was "one of the most gratifying poles I've had, not just because it's my final Daytona".^[23] His teammateJimmie Johnson started right alongside in second. In the first round of qualifying,Clint Bowyer tried to go underReed Sorenson when he got hit in the rear byJeb Burton and turned right into Sorenson. Both cars hit the wall and collectedBobby Labonte andJ. J. Yeley.Denny Hamlin also took some damage. The session was red flagged with a minute and 22 seconds left. After the red flag was lifted, no one was able to make it back to the line before time expired. Upon exiting his car, Bowyer vented his frustrations at the Daytona qualifying procedure. Other drivers likeRyan Newman andKurt Busch also expressed their dislike of the qualifying procedure.^[22]

The cars ofDale Earnhardt Jr. andDenny Hamlin failed post-qualifying inspection and started from the rear of the field in their respective Duel races.^[24] Earnhardt's car was found to be too low on the left front – a rule implemented only for restrictor plate tracks^[24] – while thepanhard rod on Hamlin's car was found to be 3–3.75 inches (76–95 mm) beyond the maximum allowed.^[24] Both drivers expressed thoughts on Twitter post-penalties, with both looking forward to moving up the order in the Duels.^[24] Both drivers had no time listed, meaning if either driver did not make the top 15 in the Duels, they would have to start 42nd or 43rd as they would be forced take a provisional and be placed behind all drivers with a legal time.

Kyle Busch was the fastest in the third practice session with a time of 44.826 and a speed of 200.776 mph (323.118 km/h).^[26] During this session, there was a four car wreck on the backstretch that involvedMichael Annett,Jeb Burton,Denny Hamlin andDanica Patrick.^[27] It started when Hamlin pulled out of line and Patrick tried to follow him, but made contact with the right-front corner of Hamlin's car when she over-corrected and hit the wall. Michael Annett tried to go high around Patrick on the outside when he got turned by Jeb Burton. Patrick, Annett and Burton all switched to backup cars.^[27] After the incident, Patrick stated that her car "sort of just started turning toward the right, the back end was coming around and it swapped ends" and that Hamlin was trying to "make a third lane in the middle and it felt like it must have caught my bumper".^[27] Hamlin felt that Patrick had intended to block his path, stating that a driver has "to give a little bit of extra room in practice" and that if he "had to guess, she probably saw in her mirror that I was going down there and tried to stay in front of me".^[27]

Alex Bowman was the fastest in the fourth practice session with a time of 44.889 and a speed of 200.495 mph (322.665 km/h).^[29]

Kyle Larson was the fastest in the fifth practice session with a time of 46.705 and a speed of 192.699 mph (310.119 km/h).^[31] This session had only five drivers take part in it doing single car runs.

TheBudweiser Duels were held on Thursday, February 19. They consisted of two races, 150 miles (240 kilometers) in length, which served as the qualifying races for the Daytona 500. The first race involved the drivers that qualified in the odd numbered positions in pole qualifying. The second race involved the drivers that qualified in the even numbered positions and the five drivers that failed to make the race. The results of the two Budweiser Duels determined the starting lineup, behind the front row pre-determined by pole qualifying, for the weekend's Daytona 500 race.

The first race started at 7:19 p.m. Eastern time whenJeff Gordon led the field to the green.Matt Kenseth took the lead with the bottom lane to lead the first lap. The first caution of the race flew on lap 17 afterCasey Mears blew an engine in turn 1. Kenseth and Gordon swapped the lead on pit road, and Gordon exited as the leader for the restart on lap 24.Michael Annett was forced to restart the race from the tail-end of the longest line, as his pit crew went over the wall too soon.^[33]

Kenseth used the bottom line and jumped in front of Gordon to take back the lead on lap 26, just ahead of the race's second caution whenJohnny Sauter crashed in the tri-oval, following contact withA. J. Allmendinger, whileAric Almirola also picked up some damage to his car.^[34]

Sauter stated that he was "just riding along" and that he was "trying to mind my business" before the contact with Allmendinger, with the point of impact being "in the left rear quarter panel". He also stated that it was "a bummer deal" for himself and hisBK Racing team.^[34] Sauter did, however, make the starting lineup for the race, on his qualifying speeds, while Allmendinger took a provisional. Allmendinger apologised for the contact with Sauter, while stating that hisJTG Daugherty Racing car was fast, while also criticizing the racing that was occurring, stating that he "was trying to stay out of trouble and got put in the middle and I was trying to bail out of the middle".^[34]Michael McDowell dropped to the end of the longest line, for the restart on lap 33, after his crew was over the wall too soon.^[33]

Dale Earnhardt Jr. used a slight push from the bottom line to take the lead on lap 35. Kenseth drove past Earnhardt on the bottom to take back the lead on lap 39. On lap 43, Earnhardt used a slingshot move to overtake Kenseth for good. The third caution of the race flew on lap 51 whenTrevor Bayne got loose, came down onKyle Larson and hit the wall in turn 1. During this period,Ty Dillon broke his gear shifter. The race restarted with five laps to go and Earnhardt. held off Jeff Gordon to win race one.^[35]

Earnhardt praised the work of his spotter T. J. Majors in victory lane, stating that he "gave me the information I needed to make the moves I needed" and that he was "looking forward to getting to Sunday and trying to get another Daytona 500 win".^[35] Dillon, finished 16th after the gearshift issues, and was able to make the field. He described the result as "hard to explain" and that he had "been coming here since I was a kid watching my grandfather's cars race".^[35]Ron Hornaday Jr. andJustin Marks failed to make the race.^[36]

Before the start,Josh Wise stalled at the entrance of pit road and took his car to the garage. This ultimately eliminated him from racing in the Daytona 500. The second race started 18 minutes late at 9:19 p.m. withJimmie Johnson leading the field to the green flag.Kyle Busch took the lead on the first lap. The first caution of the race flew on lap 19 for a spin byDavid Ragan, exiting turn 4. Ragan had cut across the nose ofJustin Allgaier and got turned down onto the apron, making contact with the inside wall. Kyle Busch was first off pit road, but he was caught speeding on pit road and was forced to drop to the end of the line, allowing Johnson to retake the lead for the restart, on lap 25. Allgaier was also sent to the rear, as his pit crew came across the wall too soon.^[33]

The second caution of the race flew on lap 37 for a multi-car wreck in the tri-oval. It started exiting turn 4 whenJeb Burton turned down intoSam Hornish Jr. who turned intoAlex Bowman.Austin Dillon destroyed his splitter driving through the grass trying to avoid the wreck, which caused the race to be red flagged for five minutes. The race restarted with 20 laps to go. With 14 laps to go,Kurt Busch was given a drive-through penalty for passing below the double yellow line. The third caution of the race flew with three laps to go for a four car wreck in turn 3.Denny Hamlin gaveDanica Patrick a push which turned her around and collectedBrian Scott andBobby Labonte.^[33]

In agreen–white–checker finish, Johnson held off a last lap charge by Kyle Busch andCarl Edwards to win the race.^[38] Johnson defined the Speedweeks at Daytona as "awesome" for hisHendrick Motorsports team, sweeping the Duels and the front row for the Daytona 500. Johnson also called his car as "mad fast".^[38]

Patrick confronted Hamlin on pit road after the race.^[38] After the confrontation, Patrick told reporters that she had "no explanation for that", while also stating Hamlin was in the wrong by believing "that he's taking the air and getting it off the spoiler, and he's not squared up either".^[38]Michael Annett,Ryan Blaney,Landon Cassill,Ty Dillon,Michael McDowell,Reed Sorenson,Mike Wallace,Cole Whitt andJ. J. Yeley raced their way into the Daytona 500.^[39]Bobby Labonte also made the race, via the provisional for past series champions.Alex Bowman, Burton,Ron Hornaday Jr.,Justin Marks, Scott and Wise all failed to make the race.^[33]

Kurt Busch was suspended byNASCAR on February 20, 2015 due to his then ongoing legal battle with possible domestic violence charges.^[42] NASCAR released an official statement, which was later confirmed at a press briefing with executive vice president Steve O'Donnell.Regan Smith replaced Busch for the Daytona 500 and, per NASCAR's rules regarding post-qualifying driver changes, was required to start at the rear of the field.^[42]

On Saturday, the day after the suspension was announced, Kurt Busch appealed the suspension to the National Motorsports Appeals Panel. The panelists selected were IndyCar driverLyn St. James, Kevin Whitaker, and Paul Brooks. The panel denied Busch's appeal after a 3-hour hearing. So did National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer, Bryan Moss.

Jeff Gordon was the fastest in the sixth practice session with a time of 46.613 and a speed of 193.079 mph (310.731 km/h).^[44]

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the fastest in the seventh practice session with a time of 46.295 and a speed of 194.405 mph (312.865 km/h).^[46]

Denny Hamlin was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 44.531 and a speed of 202.106 mph (325.258 km/h).^[48]

With nine laps to go in theAlert Today Florida 300Xfinity Series race on the day before the Daytona 500,Kyle Busch crashed into the inside retaining wall between the tri-oval and turn 1.^[50] He was taken to the nearbyHalifax Health Medical Center after sustaining a compound fracture to his right leg,^[50] ruling him out of the Daytona 500.^[50] The wall he hit lacked aSAFER barrier, drawing much criticism from different drivers.^[50]Ty Dillon, who finished third, was unaware of Busch's injury at the end of the race, while also adding that it was coming "to the point now in NASCAR we should have SAFER barriers at a place like this".^[50] Runner-upChris Buescher echoed Dillon's comments, stating that the sport "needs to be as safe as possible" and that if "it means lining the inside walls as well, it's probably a good idea".^[50]

With the sidelining of Kyle Busch, the Daytona 500 was the first race since the 2001 NAPA 500 at Atlanta – whereKurt Busch failed to qualify – not to feature a Busch brother in the starting lineup.Matt Crafton replaced Kyle Busch for the Daytona 500, whileDavid Ragan andErik Jones replaced him thereafter.^[41]

Ronnie Barton of the First Baptist Church of South Daytona began the pre-race festivities with theinvocation. Singer/songwriterPhillip Phillips performed theUnited States National Anthem. The flyover was performed by theUnited States Air Force Thunderbirds.Vince Vaughn gave the command for the drivers to start their engines, while Paralympics bronze medalistAmy Purdy was the honorary pace car driver for the pre-race pace laps.

With members of theUnited States women's national soccer team waving the green flag, pole sitterJeff Gordon led the field to the start of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season under clear skies at 1:31 p.m. Eastern time. He led the first lap in his final Daytona 500, but was quickly passed by his teammateJimmie Johnson on the second lap. Johnson then maintained control of the lead until lap 14 when he was shuffled up to the outside lane and Gordon took back the lead. The first caution flag of the race flew on lap 19 whenLandon Cassill blew an engine exiting turn 2.Michael Annett,J. J. Yeley andCasey Mears all stayed out to lead a lap when Gordon and the others pitted.Cole Whitt was forced to restart the race from the rear of the field, as he was serviced by too many members at his pit stop.^[51]

The race restarted on lap 25 with Gordon in the lead. The second caution of the race flew on lap 41 whenTony Stewart andMatt Kenseth got into the wall exiting turn 4; Stewart's car was loose exiting the turn and got turned byRyan Blaney into the wall. Kenseth, braking to avoid contact with Blaney, got turned into the wall byMichael Waltrip. Kenseth pitted and lost two laps, while Stewart was forced to go to the garage.^[52] Stewart took responsibility for the incident, stating that "when it got three-wide that particular lap, it got away from me", and that when he had decelerated, he "couldn't even get the front end caught up".^[53]

The race restarted on lap 46 andJoey Logano used the high line to overtake Gordon for the lead on lap 47 with Johnson and Earnhardt Jr. close behind. On lap 53, Gordon took back the lead from Logano. Gordon, Earnhardt.,Martin Truex Jr. andKasey Kahne broke away from the pack single file, remaining that way for the next 15 laps. Thereafter, the field became largely a single-file train running up next to the wall. Nearing the end of the fuel run, the field began to bunch up and two lines of cars formed up behind Gordon. Earnhardt Jr., Kahne and Truex. moved side-by-side behind Gordon, allowing the pack to catch up to the leaders again. Gordon continued to maintain the lead until the next green flag pit-stop sequence that began on lap 85; he surrendered the lead on lap 87 to make his stop andCarl Edwards assumed the lead.Denny Hamlin took the lead after driving past teammate Edwards on pit road the next lap. Johnson was forced to serve a drive-through penalty for his crew being over the wall too soon. Edwards,Bobby Labonte,Kyle Larson, Truex. andMike Wallace all served drive-through penalties for speeding. After stops were complete, Gordon reassumed the lead on lap 90.^[51]

Debris in the tri-oval brought out the third caution of the race on lap 105, as a hose-piece was seen near the start-finish line. After pit stops, Gordon continued to lead over Hamlin,Casey Mears and Kahne.A. J. Allmendinger stayed out to lead a lap before pitting.Justin Allgaier dropped to the rear for an uncontrolled tire andAric Almirola dropped to the rear for too many men over the wall.

The race restarted with 90 laps to go with Gordon leading. Hamlin took the lead from Gordon with 88 laps to go, but he was passed one lap later by Logano who drove under him on the inside line. Three laps later, Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the lead and remained at the head of the train until Logano drove under him for the lead with 55 laps to go. Green flag stops began with 49 laps to go, and Logano surrendered the lead to pit with 47 laps to go andGreg Biffle assumed the lead. Larson locked up his brakes entering pit road and plowed some of the infield grass getting down to pit road speed. After the pit stop sequence, Logano reassumed the lead, as Yeley was caught speeding on pit road and was forced to serve a drive-through penalty.^[51]

Jimmie Johnson took back the lead with 42 laps to go.Brad Keselowski's engine expired with 40 laps to go, causingJamie McMurray andRyan Newman to collide, and this brought out the fourth caution of the race.^[54] Keselowski told reporters that the blown engine was caused by "something in the oil pan, broke something important", while stating that he was "starting to get position," ahead of the final 100 miles of the race.^[54] Roughly half of the field pitted for fuel under the caution, with the other half staying out for track position, but without assurance that they had enough fuel to make it to the end of the race.Reed Sorenson was caught speeding on pit road and was forced to restart the race from the rear of the field.^[51]

The race restarted with 35 laps to go. Johnson had the lead, but was quickly passed by Edwards. Two laps later, Johnson retook the lead from Edwards on the outside. With 32 laps to go, the field was racing three-wide multiple rows back. The fifth caution of the race flew with 25 laps to go when Blaney's car blew an engine on the back straight. A number of the drivers who did not pit under the previous caution pitted under this caution.^[51]

The race restarted with 19 laps to go. Two laps later, the field was racing three-wide multiple rows from the lead to the tail. Denny Hamlin drove underneath Jimmie Johnson for the lead, but was immediately passed by Truex. Hamlin took the lead with 11 laps to go, using the middle lane. Logano took the lead on the following lap, leading the next seven laps until Allgaier andTy Dillon wrecked in the tri-oval, which brought out the sixth caution and forced agreen–white–checker finish. The red flag was displayed for 6 minutes and 42 seconds, as Allgaier's car had spilled a large amount of oil on the race track.^[51]

The race restarted with two laps to go with Logano leading. On the final lap, a huge pileup occurred on the back straight involving Jeff Gordon, Kyle Larson,Ricky Stenhouse Jr., A. J. Allmendinger,Trevor Bayne and Reed Sorenson. As the leaders entered turn 3, the caution was displayed. Logano coasted across the finish line to score his first Daytona 500 victory and the second for car ownerRoger Penske. At the age of 24, Logano was the second youngest winner of the Daytona 500, with only Bayne – aged 20, in the2011 race – winning at a younger age.^[56]

• 27 lead changes among 12 different drivers
• 7 cautions for 26 laps; 1 red flag for 6 minutes 42 seconds
• Time of race: 3 hours, 8 minutes, 2 seconds
• Average speed: 161.938 mph (260.614 km/h)
• Joey Logano took home $1,586,503 in winnings

• Coors Light Pole Award:Jeff Gordon (44.711 secs., 201.293 mph (323.950 km/h))
• 3M Lap Leader: Jeff Gordon (87 Laps)
• Get Bioethanol Green Flag Restart Award:Sam Hornish Jr.
• Duralast Brakes "Brake in The Race" Award: Jeff Gordon
• Freescale "Wide Open":Joey Logano
• Ingersoll Rand Power Move:Michael Annett (16 positions)
• MAHLE Clevite Engine Builder of The Race: Roush-Yates Engines (#22)
• Mobil 1 Driver of The Race:Joey Logano (driver rating of 125.3)
• Moog Steering and Suspension Problem Solver of The Race:Casey Mears (crew chiefRobert "Bootie" Barker, 0.112 seconds)
• NASCARSprint Cup Leader Bonus: No winner: rolls over to $20,000 at next event
• Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap Award:Carl Edwards (Lap 133, 44.399, 202.707 mph (326.225 km/h))

Since2001 – with the exception of2002,2004 and2006 – theDaytona 500 has been carried byFox in the United States. The booth crew of longtimeNASCAR lap-by-lap announcerMike Joy,two-time Daytona 500 winning crew chiefLarry McReynolds and1989 race winnerDarrell Waltrip has remained the same since the 2001 race. Pit road was manned byJamie Little,Chris Neville,Vince Welch andMatt Yocum.

The race was broadcast on radio by theMotor Racing Network and simulcasted onSirius XM NASCAR Radio. MRN Radio has covered the Daytona 500 since1970. Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle andRusty Wallace covered the race from the booth. Longtime turn announcer – and prodigy of MRN co-founderKen Squier –Dave Moody was the lead turn announcer. He called the Daytona 500 from atop the Sunoco tower outside the exit of turn 2 when the field was racing through turns 1 and 2.Mike Bagley worked the backstretch for the Daytona 500 from a spotter's stand on the inside of the track. Kyle Rickey called the Daytona 500 when the field was racing through turns 3 and 4 from the Sunoco tower outside the exit of turn 4. On pit road, MRN was manned by lead pit reporter andNASCAR Hall of Fame executive director Winston Kelley. He was joined on pit road by Steve Post and Alex Hayden.

Drivers' Championship standings

	Pos	Driver	Points
	1	Joey Logano	47
	2	Kevin Harvick	42 (−5)
	3	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	42 (−5)
	4	Denny Hamlin	41 (−6)
	5	Jimmie Johnson	40 (−7)
	6	Casey Mears	39 (−8)
	7	Clint Bowyer	37 (−10)
	8	Martin Truex Jr.	37 (−10)
	9	Kasey Kahne	35 (−12)
	10	Greg Biffle	35 (−12)
	11	David Gilliland	33 (−14)
	12	Sam Hornish Jr.	32 (−15)
	13	Michael Annett	32 (−15)
	14	Austin Dillon	30 (−17)
	15	Aric Almirola	29 (−18)
	16	David Ragan	27 (−20)

Manufacturers' Championship standings

	Pos	Manufacturer	Points
	1	Ford	47
	2	Chevrolet	42 (−5)
	3	Toyota	41 (−6)

• Note: Only the first sixteen positions are included for the driver standings.

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