Bouncing tires at the Daytona 500 and the 19 things you may have missed
.JPG "Austin Cindric celebrates on top of his car after winning the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)")
NASCAR Cup Series rookie Austin Cindric won the Daytona 500 on Sunday, but a lot else happened between Laps 1 and 200.
Here are 19 things you may have missed during the Great American Race.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Charles Woodson gave the command for drivers to start their engines; Trace Adkins sang the national anthem.
Bubba Wallace finished second and had the acceleration to win had he gotten his late push less than a quarter-mile earlier. He was emotional in his interview on Fox afterward, saying he was going to be upset about this second-place finish for a long time. It was the second time he’s finished second in the Daytona 500 (2018).
The first big wreck of the day came in Lap 63 and was highlighted by Harrison Burton’s No. 21 Ford flipping over. Also involved in the crash were Ross Chastain, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell, William Byron and Alex Bowman.
Cindric, a 23-year-old rookie, is the second-youngest driver to ever win the Daytona 500. Trevor Bayne, 20, won in 2011.
Cindric, in the No. 2 Ford for Team Penske, battled for the lead much of the race with No. 6 Ford driver Keselowski. Last season, Keselowski was driving the No. 2 Penske Ford Mustang.
Speaking of Keselowski, two larger crashes happened as a result of drivers losing control as he pushed them: Lap 63 when Burton flipped, and Lap 196, when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got sent head-first into the wall.
Martin Truex Jr. won Stage 1, which was finished under caution, and Stage 2. Truex had previously never won a stage in the Daytona 500.
The Next Gen car’s one-lugnut system caused problems early. In Stage 1 alone, Kaz Grala’s car lost a wheel, and Justin Haley lost a tire, both of which flew off the right rear of their cars and bounced uncontrollably about the track. Ryan Blaney’s team also had an issue removing his right-rear lugnut in order to change a tire.
Denny Hamlin has raced in 17 Daytona 500s. This was the first time he hasn’t finished the race.
Penske teammates Ryan Blaney and Cindric were running Nos. 1 and 2 at the midway point.
A close call on pit road in Lap 39: The pit crew of Cody Ware’s No. 51 Ford Mustang had to jump out of the way as Landon Cassill pulled out of his box, nearly clipping the Rick Ware Racing crew.
In Lap 109 (Stage 2), everyone except the Toyota Camrys made a pitstop. The Toyotas pitted a lap later. During that stop, Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Chevy stalled out and he lost position; meanwhile, Chase Briscoe missed his pit box due to heavy traffic on pit road. Pit strategy this year will be new with the Next Gen cars.
There wasn’t a single caution during Stage 2.
There were seven cautions total during the race.
Noah Gragson, a star of the Xfinity Series, was running in his first Daytona 500 in the No. 62 Chevrolet. He was in the top 10 early in Stage 3 and finished 31st — 11 laps behind — after getting caught up in a crash with nine laps remaining.
Wallace led for a good portion of laps 170-180 but a hard charge from Stenhouse Jr. took the lead spot with 19 laps remaining. Wallace got separated from the rest of the Toyotas and fell back in the pack.
The red flag came out in Lap 191.
Twenty-five out of the 40 cars in the field were involved in crashes before the final lap.
The race ended in overtime. Four of the last six Daytona 500s have ended in OT.
This story was originally published February 20, 2022 at 7:39 PM.
