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Daytona 500: Joey Logano wins under yellow flags

Joey Logano claimed his first Daytona 500 victory on Sunday, crossing the line to win under yellow flags after a multi-car crash on the back straight

The Penske Ford driver ran with the leaders for much of the NASCAR Cup season opener, taking command of the race by moving into the lead during the penultimate spell of green-flag running thanks to a bump from Clint Bowyer.

A late caution, triggered by Justin Allgaier crashing after a damaged tyre blew, then set up a green-white-chequered finish.

The field was brought to a standstill under the red flag while the debris was cleared up from the shunt, with Logano taking the restart ahead of Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr.

During the lap-and-a-half of racing that decided the race, Logano held the lead with Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr charging from sixth and eighth respectively to threaten for the lead heading down the back straight on the last lap.

Logano was spared an attack when a caution was thrown for an accident in the pack, triggered when Austin Dillon tipped Jeff Gordon, who was starting his final Daytona 500, into a spin.

That allowed Logano to take victory under caution ahead of Harvick and Earnhardt, with Denny Hamlin finishing fourth.

For much of the race, it seemed likely one of the four Hendrick Motorsports cars would win, with Gordon leading the most laps before dropping into the pack after suffering a poor restart.

Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne were also factors up front, meaning that Earnhardt's third place was a relatively disappointing result for the team.

Earnhardt believed he had the strongest car in the race, but at an earlier restart a misjudgement led to him losing momentum in the middle lane and dropping to the lower reaches of the top 20.

His recovery was impressive, but the late yellow meant that he ran out of time to get back into the lead fight.

Much of the race ran under green-flag conditions, although early on two leading contenders were eliminated from contention.

Tony Stewart got loose and slid into the wall, spinning back down the track and collecting Matt Kenseth.

Stewart did not finish, while Kenseth returned to the track after repairs, finishing a lap down in 35th.

RESULTS - 203 LAPS:

Pos Driver Team Car Gap
1 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 3h08m02.s
2 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 1.006s
3 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1.193s
4 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1.761s
5 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 2.102s
6 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 2.578s
7 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 2.779s
8 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 3.167s
9 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 3.340s
10 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 3.373s
11 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 3.573s
12 Sam Hornish Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 3.765s
13 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 4.141s
14 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4.239s
15 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 4.646s
16 Regan Smith Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 8.236s
17 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 8.317s
18 Matt Crafton Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 8.612s
19 Johnny Sauter BK Racing Toyota 9.992s
20 A.J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 12.213s
21 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 12.471s
22 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 13.696s
23 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 17.234s
24 Bobby Labonte Go FAS Racing Ford 17.301s
25 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 17.430s
26 Michael Waltrip Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 17.410s
27 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 19.941s
28 Ty Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 23.167s
29 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 23.632s
30 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 30.003s
31 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 32.673s
32 Reed Sorenson Team Xtreme Racing Chevrolet 50.105s
33 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1m08.921s
34 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Accident
35 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1 Lap
36 Mike Wallace Premium Motorsports Toyota 4 Laps
37 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet Accident
38 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 19 Laps
39 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford Engine
40 J.J. Yeley BK Racing Toyota 42 Laps
41 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford Engine
42 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet Accident
43 Landon Cassill Hillman Smith Motorsports Chevrolet Engine
- Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet Withdrawn
- Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Withdrawn


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