DAYTONA BEACH | For the third straight year, an unexpected winner took home the prestigious Daytona 500, the opening event of the 2023 NASCAR Cup season, on Sunday.
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Ricky Stenhouse was able to withstand the threat of Joey Logano and especially Kyle Larson during the second overtime to sign a first-ever win at this annual classic every driver dreams of.
“I hope you had as much fun as I did. What an incredible race,” he exclaimed as he got out of the car.
This is only his third win in 365 starts in the premier class of American stock cars. His first since 2017.
A small stable
Stenhouse is considered the underdog among bettors, following in the footsteps of Michael McDowell (2021) and Austin Cendric (2022), who also surprised by the winners’ circle in the previous two presentations.
His achievement is all the more remarkable as he is part of a team [JTG Daugherty] which only has one rider in its ranks, leaving leading teams benefiting from virtually unlimited funds unable to lower the curtain.
This is especially true for Logano (Penske) and Christopher Bell (Joe Gibbs), who finished second and third, respectively.
Stenhouse, 35, was quick to thank his team manager, who he has worked with again this year. He won his two consecutive titles (2011 and 2012) in the Nationwide series (ex-Xfinity) with Mike Kelly.
“I owe him a debt of gratitude,” Stenhouse admitted.
The longest in history
This 65th edition of the Daytona 500 will have been the longest in history. The result was only known after a second overtime.
The leaders had to complete 212 laps before the checkered flag, breaking the record set in 2020 (209). Chris Buescher and Alex Bowman, who started from number one on the grid, completed the top 5.
Bowman, a member of the Hendrick team, was attempting to become the first driver in 23 years to claim victory after taking the lead in qualifying.
A second extension
As usual at Daytona, the last part of the race was the scene of a pile-up [impliquant 13 voitures]which would disturb the order at the end.
Kyle Busch was then two laps away from winning a first Daytona 500. After relaunching a first overtime caused by Daniel Suarez going off the track, he was leading ahead of teammate Austin Dillon.
In the second overtime, he was set off by the peloton on a particularly lively final lap. The two-time NASCAR Cup Champion made his first outing behind the wheel of a Richard Childress team racer after a long association with Joe Gibbs.