Michael Waltrip wins tragic Daytona 500

After a 19-car accident had brought out the red flags, a 15-lap dash to the flag saw Waltrip hold off Dale Earnhardt Jr for a Dale Earnhardt Inc one-two, with Rusty Wallace, Ricky Rudd and Bill Elliott completing the top five.

"It's a great honour to finally take my first Winston Cup race win," said Waltrip, "but I can tell you I'd rather be anywhere else but here right now."

Earnhardt was involved in a fight for third place, but crashed between Turn 3 and Turn 4 of the Florida tri-oval (see separate story).


Daytona (USA), February 18
200 laps, 500 miles


1 Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet, 3h05m26s, 161.783mph
2 Dale Earnhardt Jr, Chevrolet, +0.124s
3 Rusty Wallace, Ford, 200 laps
4 Ricky Rudd, Ford, 200
5 Bill Elliott, Dodge, 200
6 Mike Wallace, Ford, 200
7 Sterling Marlin, Dodge, 200
8 Bobby Hamilton, Chevrolet, 200
9 Jeremy Mayfield, Ford, 200
10 Stacy Compton, Dodge, 200

For full results of the Daytona 500 click here.