Daytona Beach, Fla. – The snoozer turned sensational.
For those who fell asleep during the first half of Sunday’s Daytona 500, perhaps the three late multiple-car crashes woke you up in time for the sensational finish and the biggest wreck of them all in the 49th edition of the Great American Race.
Kevin Harvick, running sixth halfway through the final lap of a bunched overtime field, got a big aerodynamic push from behind by Matt Kenseth to close in on the outside of leader Mark Martin heading into turn four. Harvick nosed past Martin within 100 yards of the finish line to win the “Daytona 505” by .020 of a second, or less than 4 feet.
“It’s hard to put into words,” Harvick said of his biggest victory among 11 career trips to Victory Lane.
It was the closest Daytona 500 finish since the advent of electronic scoring in 1993, and eighth-closest in Nextel Cup history. The preceding 25 laps were similarly exciting, when three multicar wrecks tightened the field and promoted reckless driving and winning at all costs.
“It had to be the wildest Daytona 500 I’ve ever watched,” said winning car owner Richard Childress, who last won this race with the late Dale Earnhardt in 1998. “I had to shut my eyes during some parts.”
Harvick’s improbable victory in a two-lap overtime shootout was capped by carnage. Just before Harvick nipped Martin, hard-charger Kyle Busch triggered a seven-car accident that littered the frontstretch with destroyed cars.
“It was the wildest thing I’ve been a part of in a long time,” said Harvick, who performed victory doughnuts in the infield grass amid wrecked cars and emergency vehicles. “At the end, people were dragging the walls.”
Harvick led just four laps, tied for the fewest in race history, and his No. 34 starting position was deeper than any previous winner. Harvick also won Saturday’s Busch Series opener, becoming the fourth driver to sweep the two openers at Daytona.
Harvick wasn’t the only Childress driver to provide heart-pounding, last-second excitement. Teammate Clint Bowyer took the checkered flag while his car was sliding along on its roof, and with his engine on fire. He flipped after sliding through the infield grass, and spun across the finish line upside down.
“Certainly it was wild,” said rookie David Ragan, Martin’s Roush Racing successor who finished fifth after darting between the out-of-control cars in front of him. “The first part was too easy and too calm. In the end, everybody just went for it.”
Busch was the only driver to complete every lap while running in the top 10.
Martin, now driving part time for relatively obscure Ginn Racing, obtained his only lead on lap 176. Busch was sixth but quickly got up on Martin’s bumper.
On the final restart, Martin thought an elusive victory at NASCAR’s biggest race was finally his.
“I knew Kyle was behind me,” Martin said. “I knew he wasn’t going to get under me because I was on the yellow line. And I thought that Kyle’s car was really fast, and he was going to be pushing me coming off (turn) four.”
Instead, Harvick got the winning push from Kenseth, and Busch crashed.
“I knew when I got out of the car I wasn’t going to be the good guy,” Harvick said, noting traditional NASCAR fans likely wanted Martin to cap his illustrious career with a win here. “But that’s just the way it works.”
Martin is glad Harvick didn’t let him win.
“In this sport, no one ever races less,” he said. “But had that been the case, hypothetically, it would have broke me in half. That’s what I love about this sport. It’s what’s driven me for over 30 years.”
Daytona 500
KEYS TO VICTORY
Kevin Harvick got a big aerodynamic push from Matt Kenseth on the final lap to pass Mark Martin on the outside and win by about 4 feet.
TRAFFIC REPORT
The first of five late multiple-car wrecks eliminated Tony Stewart with 48 laps to go. Kurt Busch was in second behind Stewart when he tapped into Stewart, sending both vehicles into the turn four wall.
THE PITS
In the pit stall just in front of Stewart, polesitter David Gilliland crashed into Robby Gordon on lap 80. Stewart escaped contact, but was sent to the back of the longest line for speeding while exiting.
DID YOU MISS … ?
Rookie Juan Pablo Montoya of Colombia wasn’t a threat in his Daytona debut. The former Formula One driver battled a poor-handling car to finish 19th.
Pit stop
Motorsports reporter Mike Chambers breaks down the Daytona 500:
FANTASTIC FINISH: Slam-bam finish
Winning car owner Richard Childress said it might have been the most exciting finish in Daytona 500 history.
Besides watching Kevin Harvick make a last-lap pass and beat Mark Martin to the finish line by a few feet, fans witnessed a seven-car crash behind the two top finishers.
Clint Bowyer crossed the finish line with his vehicle spinning upside down and on fire.
“I saw the 5 (Kyle Busch) turn sideways and thought I cleared him,” said Bowyer, who escaped injury and finished 18th. “I thought I was out of the deal, got out of it unscathed, and someone clipped us in the rear and away she went.”
The fireworks went off as multicar wrecks on laps 175, 187 and 197 bunched the field.
“I couldn’t tell you how wild and aggressive those last 40 laps were,” said Jeff Burton, who finished third. “It was insane.”
BUSCH BROTHERS 1-2: Accident victims
Kurt Busch and younger brother Kyle were running first and second for two large segments of the race. Kurt led 95 of the first 150 laps, mostly with his brother on his tail.
After Kurt was eliminated in a crash after running second, Kyle had an excellent chance to win, running second behind Mark Martin on the final lap.
Kyle appeared to trigger the final-
lap wreck and finished 24th.
BESTS: Let it rip, Cal
Honorary pace-car driver Cal Ripken Jr. said driving around the Daytona course was “one of the coolest things I’ve ever had a chance to do.”
“Batting before 50,000 people facing Roger Clemens or Randy Johnson, I know what that feels like,” Ripken said before the race. “But I’m really looking forward to seeing the energy of 250,000 people. I’m a little nervous coming off (turn four). I’ve got to tell you, when I was told, ‘OK, you’ve got to keep a consistent pace up until this point, but then you got to get out of the way,’ that’s a little bit concerning. I hope that I can stay out of the way.”
Prerace ceremonies included a video tribute to the late Benny Parsons. The affable former Cup champion and television commentator succumbed to lung cancer last month at age 65.
WORSTS: What speed limit?
Dave Blaney caused a late multiple-car wreck after trying to avoid a turn-four wreck by driving through pit lane at full speed and into the turn-one entry area. His right tire was going flat, hindering his ability to turn left with the rest of the pack.
After causing the crash, Blaney was penalized five laps for exceeding the 55 mph pit-road speed limit by at least 100 mph. He finished 34th.
The first 140 laps had so little drama, they were like watching sod take root.
Staff writer Mike Chambers can be reached at 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com.
