Daytona 500: Joey Logano wins under yellow flags

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: