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Chris Graythen | Getty Images
Chase Elliott scored a historic triumph on Sunday, winning his third straight road race to win the first race of the NASCAR Cup Series at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course.
Elliott led 34 of 65 laps in the inaugural Go Bowling 235 race on the 3.61 mile road course. He drove the No.9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevolet to his second win of the season and the eighth of his Cup Series career.
RELATED: Unofficial Race Results | Stage points 2020
Denny Hamlin clinched second in the No. 11 Toyota Joe Gibbs Racing, just a car’s length behind at the checkered flag. Martin Truex Jr. took third place with Jimmie Johnson fourth and Chris Buescher completing the top five.
Elliott won the first stage and Hamlin won in the second stage.
SHOP: Outfit for winner Chase Elliott
Kevin Harvick, leader in points and pole position, moved out of fifth place after the start of stage three when his # 4 Ford Stewart-Haas Racing was knocked down from behind by the rookie’s # 95 Toyota Leavine Family Racing Christopher Bell. Harvick slipped to a stop on Turn 3 and continued, but in 37th place – last in the lead lap.
He turned again on lap 43, continuing after wrapping car # 4 in turn 6. Harvick rallied to finish 17th, ending a streak of 10 straight results in the top 10.
Kyle Busch has had an adventurous day, even before a brake issue sent his # 18 Toyota Joe Gibbs Racing behind the wall for lengthy repairs. He locked the brakes on entering the frontstretch chicane on lap two, forcing an unscheduled pit stop to change the tires. He also turned into Turn 6, and the brief off-road excursion brought him down to 13th on Lap 25. When his brakes gave up with 17 laps to go, Busch steered No.18 to the garage of the Cup Series, where he lost six. laps to forerunners while his crew worked. His return to the track was brief and he retired after blowouts from both rear tires forced him to crash with five laps to go in regulation time. Busch ranked 37th, his fifth place outside the top 30 this year.
RELATED: Problem for Late Kyle Busch
Kaz Grala finished impressively seventh in his Cup Series debut, leading three laps in a pit stop cycle in the finals. He was chosen by Richard Childress Racing as a late replacement in the No.3 Chevrolet for Austin Dillon, which was sidelined after reporting a positive COVID-19 test on Saturday.
The race was interrupted by a delay of about 30 minutes due to a lightning strike in the late afternoon near the expressway.
The NASCAR Cup Series returns to action next weekend for two races, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at Dover International Speedway. Both events are scheduled for 4 p.m. ET, both races will be broadcast on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
This story will be updated.
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