Daytona 500 2021 results: Michael McDowell wins after avoiding last lap crash | Launderer report

Michael McDowell won the first Daytona 500 of his career and prevented history in the process.

It looked like Denny Hamlin would become the first NASCAR driver in the history of the sport to win the Daytona 500 three years in a row when he won the first two stages and held a lead before the stretch race, but Joey Logano and others overtook him 25 laps from the end to set up a spectacular finish.

Hamlin joined Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough and Sterling Marlin as consecutive champions at Daytona International Speedway who failed to triumph in the Great American Race.

McDowell won the checkered flag at the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season opener on Sunday in an amazing way, as it looked like Logano was going to win on the final lap. However, Logano and Brad Keselowski collided in the last push, which led to a stack of several cars.

NASCAR looked at the situation and determined McDowell to be the winner, which was the first Cup Series victory of his career.

Here’s a look at the top five, by NASCAR.com:

1. Michael McDowell

2. Chase Elliott

3. Austin Dillon

4. Kevin harvick

5. Denny Hamlin

It was a finish that turned heads, but it didn’t take long for chaos to reign in this year’s edition of the famous race.

Christopher Bell pushed Aric Almirola on lap 15, which sparked a massive 16-car crowd that knocked out a number of contenders, including poleman Alex Bowman. Martin Truex Jr., Jamie McMurray, William Byron, Matt Dibenedetto, Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick and Ryan Newman were among those involved in the wreckage.

In addition, a weather delay that lasted nearly six hours followed soon after.

Once the weather delay was over, Almirola, Bowman, Blaney, Newman, Derrike Cope, Daniel Suarez, David Ragan and Erik Jones were all outside of the race. Chris Buescher, DiBenedetto and Anthony Alfredo were also ruled at the start of the race, Quin Houff encountered problems during stage 1 and was eliminated.

Despite all the drama, the status quo prevailed early on when Hamlin won the first leg and got the corresponding playoff point.

It was fitting given that he was directly involved in two of the biggest scenarios to come in the race. Not only was he going for a hat-trick, but he and Michael Jordan are also co-owners of 23XI Racing with Bubba Wallace at the wheel.

Wallace, who is the only full-time black driver at the sport’s highest level and sparked progress by successfully calling on NASCAR to ban the display of Confederate flags at racetracks last year, was also in the top 10 after the first step.

Wallace came close to winning Stage 2 in a battle with Hamlin and Kevin Harvick, but the No.11 car held him back and earned another point in the playoffs. It was a testament to Hamlin’s ability, especially at Daytona, that he maneuvered to get back to the top of the field on the last lap of the stage.

The stage was defined by concerns about visibility in fog; a wreck involving Bell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Larson; and Kaz Grala’s right rear tire catches fire. Larson’s car sustained damage to the right side and a flat tire, while Grala’s car needed fire extinguishers.

There wasn’t much drama in the first part of Stage 3 with Hamlin cruising so much that he asked his team how many laps he had led.

However, he lost that lead to Logano and others with 25 laps to go and was never able to close the gap. McDowell was the ultimate benefactor and claimed the first Cup Series victory of his career.