DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — Kurt Busch claimed his first Daytona 500 victory in 17 tries on Sunday, taking the lead from Kyle Larson on the final lap of the 2017 season opener for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona International Speedway.
It was the only lap Busch led.
“There is nothing predictable about this race anymore, and the more years that have gone by that I didn’t win, I kept trying to go back to patterns that I had seen in the past,” said Busch, 38. “My mirror fell off with 30 laps to go, and I couldn’t even see out the back. And I thought that was an omen; throw caution to the win.
“The more unpredictability that keeps unfolding at the Daytona 500, I predicted it. It just got crazy and wild, and I am so proud of all the drivers at the end. We put on a show for a full fuel run and nobody took each other out, and it was one of the smartest chess games I have seen out there.”
Ryan Blaney took runner-up honors, while AJ Allmendinger, Aric Almirola and Paul Menard rounded out the top five.
Pole-sitter Chase Elliott took the lead for the final time with 24 laps to go but ran out of fuel within three laps of the checkered flag, handing the lead over to Martin Truex Jr. Larson then got by Truex, but his lead was short-lived, as he gave way to Busch.
The final stage of the race, an 80-lap third stage, was attrition-filled. Hendrick Motorsports drivers Elliott, Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne were front-runners early in the final stage before a 16-car wreck on lap 128 began with contact between Johnson and Jamie McMurray and turned Johnson around, ultimately ending his race.
“They started running into the back of me off of turn two and didn’t stop until I crashed and took out the field,” Johnson said. “I don’t know what was going on with the pack behind me, but the whole back straightaway, I had, I think the No. 6 (Trevor Bayne) into the back of me. I was just praying that they would let me go and let me get my rear tires back on the ground, and it never happened. Just a lot of aggression way too early, in my opinion.”
Two more wrecks came in close succession, collecting more than 10 cars. With only 50 laps remaining, only five cars of the 40 that started the race hadn’t sustained at least minor crash damage — the No. 3 of Austin Dillon, the No. 5 of Kahne, the No. 15 of Michael Waltrip, the No. 43 of Almirola and the No. 47 of Allmendinger.
Kyle Busch became the first stage winner in the Cup Series under NASCAR’s new race format, utilizing a strategy of pitting early in the stage. He took the lead from Kevin Harvick on lap 42 and stayed in front most of the laps through the remainder of the opening 60-lap stage.
After Elliott and Dale Earnhardt Jr. started on the front row and McMurray also led laps, Harvick took the lead on lap 18. Elliott returned to the front on lap 24.
Harvick and his Stewart-Haas Racing teammates were on pit road when Corey LaJoie brought out the caution with difficulty getting on pit road on lap 28. As a result, Harvick was up front when the race restarted.
In the second stage, the Toyota strategy of pitting early that propelled Busch to the lead in the first stage put Busch and fellow Toyota drivers Matt Kenseth and rookie Erik Jones in a three-car draft on the end of the lead lap ahead of leader Earnhardt, awaiting Chevrolet pit stops. A cut right rear tire on Kyle Busch’s No. 18 sent him into a spin on lap 105 and collected Kenseth, Jones, Earnhardt and Ty Dillon. As a result, Kyle Busch and Earnhardt retired from the race, and the red flag was displayed.
“I wished I would’ve (had any indication of a tire issue),” Kyle Busch said. “If I would’ve, I would’ve tried to wave off as many guys behind me as I could, but it happened just as soon as we started picking up load into turn three. Just spun around, and you know, it actually felt like I hung onto it for a long ways and then finally went.
“I don’t know if it was a left rear that went down or the right that went down but, man, tore up three JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) cars in one hit and also Jr. So I feel bad, horrible, for those guys, but, man, nothing that we did wrong. You know, obviously, Goodyear tires just aren’t very good at holding air. It’s very frustrating when we have that down here every single year we’ve been here. Last year, we had it as well, too.”
The race restarted with Ford occupying nine of the top 10 positions in the running order, led by Harvick. He held off Logano to claim the second stage win.
Finishing sixth through 10th were Logano, Kahne, Waltrip, Matt DiBenedetto and Trevor Bayne.
“It’s going to be a great memory, you know, to have a top 10,” Waltrip said at the end of his final race. “I had so many times I was in the middle of a crash and just missed it. So, you do a good job and you get lucky, both. At the end, I just lost the draft and that is unfortunate, because I was able to weave my way past people.
“I had a really, really good-handling car. I’m thankful that I survived, and I’m thankful for being able to run up front, and I’m happy about the finish. I’m ready for it to be my last one, so it’s going to be a good one to remember it by.”
NOTES: Joey Logano, Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin already were winners during 2017 NASCAR Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway, with Logano taking the Advance Auto Parts Clash on Feb. 19 and Elliott and Hamlin claiming victories in the Can-Am Duels on Thursday. … Elliott’s pole was his second straight Daytona 500 pole and the third consecutive for the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team. … Martin Truex Jr., AJ Allmendinger and Chris Buescher started in the back, despite their Can-Am Duel finishes, because their cars failed to meet NASCAR’s minimum height requirement after the Duel. … Hamlin won last year’s Daytona 500. … The 2017 Daytona 500 was the first official race for Dale Earnhardt Jr. since the 2016 Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway last July. He is a two-time Daytona 500 winner.