The 2016 Daytona 500 Review

The 2016 Folds of Honor Quik Trip Daytona 500 lived up to the hype. With a $400M upgrade and every seat filled, motor-sports enthusiasts witnessed NASCAR’s closest Daytona 500 ever. On the last lap, Denny Hamlin made a bold move to the outside on Matt Kenseth. When Kenseth went to block, he wiggled out of control and made it a two-car race with a quarter of a lap to go.

Denny Hamlin, who maintained his momentum after passing Kenseth, found himself side by side with Martin Truex Jr. The two Toyotas crossed the finish line in nearly a dead tie. After reviewing the photo finish, it was Hamlin that emerged first by a .001 second margin. The exhilarating finish was the smallest margin of victory in the 58-year history of NASCAR’s Daytona 500.

It was Denny Hamlin’s first win at the fabled track and was also the first Daytona 500 victory for the Joe Gibbs Racing team. Hamlin’s FedEx #11 was the strongest car all day. While cruising around the 2.5 mile oval on the bottom line for nearly half of the races 200 laps, it was obvious that it wasn’t going to be easy to deny Hamlin his bid for glory.

From the beginning, it looked as though it might not be a Hendrick Motorsports kind of day. Pole Position winner and NASCAR rookie Chase Elliott got loose in turn four early in the race and went sliding into the infield grass. The front of Elliott’s #24 NAPA Chevrolet was crushed by the turf and sent him to the garage for a better part of the race. He would end up returning for a 37th place finish.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. found himself mired in the middle of the field for the better part of the day because the outside lane was proving to be of no help. As the contest was nearing its conclusion, Dale Jr. made one too many bold moves and found himself spinning in turn four like his teammate Chase Elliott did earlier on. With little to no control over his sliding car, he careened head on into the infield wall. Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s day was over.

It was the four Joe Gibbs Racing teammates that controlled the front of the pack for 156 of the 200 laps. With the teammates running in single file on the bottom of the track, where the fastest line was for the entirety of the race, it didn’t leave the other drivers with any other option than to try to build momentum and pass from the top.

The #22 Pennzoil Ford Fusion driven by last year’s Daytona 500 winner Joey Logano found himself repeatedly trying to gain momentum in the upper lane with other competitors. On more than a few occasions, it appeared that Logano, with the #4 Freaky Fast Chevrolet of Kevin Harvick, could creep to the front on the right side of the four front runners. It was short lived. Every time he would get to the back bumper of the fourth car of the Joe Gibbs Racing quartet, they would lose their momentum and slide back two or three more car lengths. It was clear that the race would be dictated from the front.

The warm conditions proved to be tricky for most of NASCAR’s top teams. While most of all the previous qualifying races were held in the evening, the cars in the heat of the day were much harder to control. The highly-skilled NASCAR wheel handlers still managed to race three wide on several occasions without causing a massive pile-up of modern machinery.

The opening race of NASCAR’s 2016 season made for some enjoyable viewing and some competitive racing from the start to the finish. In the end, it was the four Joe Gibbs Racing teammates that decided the outcome, and Denny Hamlin’s first Daytona 500 triumph. It was a tremendous day of racing and the most successful racing weekend in the Daytona 500’s colorful history.

NASCAR’s 2016 Daytona 500 Race Results:

1. Denny Hamlin
2. Martin Truex Jr.
3. Kyle Busch
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Carl Edwards
6. Joey Logano
7. Kyle Larson
8. Regan Smith
9. Austin Dillon
10. Kurt Busch
11. Ryan Newman
12. Aric Almirola
13. Kasey Kahne
14. Matt Kenseth
15. Michael McDowell
16. Jimmie Johnson
17. Jamie McMurray
18. Paul Menard
19. Ryan Blaney
20. Brad Keselowski
21. A.J. Allmendinger
22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
23. Landon Cassill
24. Brian Scott
25. Ty Dillon
26. Brian Vickers
27. Michael Annett
28. Trevor Bayne
29. David Ragan
30. Michael Waltrip
31. Bobby Labonte
32. Casey Mears
33. Clint Bowyer
34. Greg Biffle
35. Danica Patrick
36. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
37. Chase Elliott
38. Robert Richardson
39. Chris Buescher
40. Matt DiBenedetto

NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Point Leaderboad: