Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR - Jamie McMurray celebrates winning the Daytona 500 in his first race with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. McMurray led two laps, the lowest total for a Daytona 500 winner.DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. -- What a storybook finish! Jamie McMurray won the 52nd annual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 but it took three green, white, checkered flag attempts and an unbelievable shove from the sport's most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., to pull the curtain down on one of the most exciting 500's in the sport's history.
After two red flags to repair a hole in the track's bumpy surface, McMurray wound up in the front pack when it came to the two-lap showdown for NASCAR's biggest prize. And Earnhardt provided the help he needed to hold off a snarling, hungry pack of professional stock car drivers trying to add their names to the Daytona 500 record book.
Earnhardt came from 10th to second in two laps to get the assist, and McMurray was overcome with emotion afterwards. McMurray was the odd-man-out at Roush Racing at the end of 2009 when that organization had to drop a team to comply with NASCAR's four-car ownership rule.
McMurray didn't know if he would have a ride for 2010 until his former car owner Chip Ganassi called and put him in a car for the second time.
Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR - Track services workers fix a pothole that developed in Turn 2 of Daytona International Speedway on Lap 123. The hole resulted in two red flag periods to get the track back in proper racing conditioMcMurray responded just like he did the first time he drove for Ganassi. He won his first race with the team, just like he did with Ganassi when he won his first race, the fall event at Charlotte.
The race took six hours and 10 minutes to complete because a huge pothole developed in the lower racing groove of turn one. The hole was patched and came undone and had to be patched again due to the unusually cold and rainy weather that settled over Daytona Beach for this year's Speedweeks.
Finishing third was Greg Biffle, who ran up front most of the day. He was followed by Clint Bowyer in a Richard Childress Chevrolet. David Reutimann was fifth, Martin Truex Jr. sixth, Kevin Harvick seventh, Matt Kenseth eighth, Carl Edwards ninth and Juan Pablo Montoya 10th.
The race produced a ton of leaders, including Mark Martin, Earnhardt, Kasey Kahne, who wrecked at the end, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Elliott Sadler, who was also eliminated from contention by an accident, Truex, AJ Allmendinger, also involved in an accident, Biffle, and Scott Speed, David Ragan, Jeff Gordon and Joey Logano.
The 21 different leaders was a Daytona 500 record, and McMurray established a record he could care less about. He led the fewest numbers of laps – two -- of any Daytona 500 winner. He wouldn't care if he had only led one lap, the last one.
Four-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson had a troublesome day, finishing 35th.
Ageless Martin, everybody's favorite, led the first lap from his pole position under a clear-blue sunny sky. The cars ran side by side, darting and bouncing around, before Brad Keselowski cut a tire in turn three and hit the wall, collecting Penske teammate Sam Hornish, Jr., and Regan Smith in the process. Gordon narrowly missed the smoke-filled accident.
On the restart at lap 13, Martin was still in front with Earnhardt Jr., Montoya and Harvick in tow. The first three cars chose not to pit since it was so early in the race.
Montoya led briefly before Earnhardt zipped past on the 14th lap. The cars were shuffling back and forth and Martin was bounced back to 23rd spot before he could get back in line.
The crowd of nearly 200,000 fans was still on its feet at 20 laps as 26 cars ran nose-to-tail and side-by-side over the tricky two-and-a-half-mile track.
Harvick took the lead at lap 21 and someone was passing someone just about every lap behind him.
At lap 30, Harvick led with Kurt Busch on his bumper. Sadler was third, Montoya fourth and Stewart fifth. Earnhardt was next, followed by Bowyer, Reutimann, Johnson, Kahne and Logano.
Busch moved into the lead at lap 32. At lap 38, Montoya, Martin and Earnhardt had to pit since they stayed out on the first caution.
At lap 42, Allmendinger, in a Petty Ford, had moved into second place ahead of Harvick. Kurt Busch continued to lead.
Allmendinger passed Kurt Busch for the lead on lap 46, proving this Daytona 500 was, indeed, anyone's race. Kurt Busch passed. Allmendinger back on lap 49.
Once the leaders had made pit stops around 50 laps, the leader was Kurt Busch again with Allmendinger second. Johnson was third. Kahne was fourth, followed by Harvick, Earnhardt Jr., Montoya, Kyle Busch, Sadler and Bowyer.
The second caution of the afternoon flew on lap 66 when Joe Nemechek's Toyota jumped sideways between turns three and four. All the leaders headed for pit road. Kyle Busch slid through his pit which cost him some valuable time, as much as six positions on the track.
The race resumed on lap 70, it was Kurt Busch, Allmendinger, Kahne, Harvick, Johnson, Truex, Edwards, Biffle, Bowyer and Kyle Busch.
Allmendinger quickly went to the front in his No. 43 Petty car, which made old-time race fans happy since it reminded them of the King's (Richard Petty) heyday.
Another caution flag, the third of the race, waved on lap 71 when Mike Bliss spun in turn two and hit the inside retaining wall. All the frontrunners pitted once again.
Hamlin was the leader for the first time in the event when the race was green-flagged again. Kurt Busch was behind Hamlin. Busch was trailed by Biffle, Kyle Busch, Bowyer, Gordon, McMurray, Newman, Sadler and Menard.
At the 100-lap halfway mark, Jeff Gordon took the lead with Bowyer close behind. Gordon's move past Kyle Busch was the 25th official lead change of the race. Trailing Gordon and Bowyer were Biffle, Kyle Busch and Sadler, but Bowyer took the top spot a few laps later with Richard Childress teammate Harvick shoving him forward. At 110 laps of the 200-lap distance, it was still anybody's race.
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Unofficial Race Results for the Daytona 500 (52Nd Running) - Sunday, February 14, 2010
Daytona International Speedway - Daytona Beach, FL - 2.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 208 Laps - 520 Miles - Purse: $18,549,893
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Driver Rating Winnings Status Tms Laps
1 13 1 Jamie McMurray Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevrolet 208 190 5 100.2 $1,514,649 Running 1 2
2 2 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMP Energy / National Guard Chevrolet 208 175 5 92.1 $1,090,795 Running 1 4
3 23 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford 208 170 5 111.0 $793,370 Running 7 27
4 9 33 Clint Bowyer Cheerios / Hamburger Helper Chevrolet 208 165 5 119.4 $648,545 Running 8 37
5 20 00 David Reutimann Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota 208 155 80.5 $533,726 Running
6 14 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 208 155 5 111.0 $403,545 Running 1 3
7 5 29 Kevin Harvick Shell / Pennzoil Chevrolet 208 156 10 125.0 $421,796 Running 7 41
8 24 17 Matt Kenseth Crown Royal Ford 208 142 66.7 $375,521 Running
9 27 99 Carl Edwards Aflac Ford 208 138 93.2 $355,143 Running
10 8 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet 208 139 5 94.8 $362,676 Running 2 2
11 39 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet 208 130 72.8 $335,160 Running
12 1 5 Mark Martin GoDaddy.com Chevrolet 208 132 5 67.9 $318,220 Running 2 11
13 32 98 Paul Menard Peak / Menards Ford 208 124 66.0 $294,895 Running
14 7 18 Kyle Busch M&M's Toyota 208 126 5 96.3 $340,176 Running 1 3
15 22 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 208 118 71.3 $319,068 Running
16 19 6 David Ragan UPS Ford 208 120 5 76.7 $289,695 Running 1 2
17 25 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota 208 117 5 68.0 $295,545 Running 1 1
18 43 51 Michael Waltrip NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 208 109 66.8 $274,895 Running
19 30 82 Scott Speed Red Bull Toyota 208 111 5 73.8 $296,893 Running 2 12
20 16 20 Joey Logano Home Depot Toyota 208 108 5 61.1 $316,960 Running 1 1
21 42 71 Bobby Labonte TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet 208 100 60.5 $277,220 Running
22 6 14 Tony Stewart Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet 208 97 67.6 $329,918 Running
23 10 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge 208 99 5 95.1 $325,268 Running 5 33
24 12 19 Elliott Sadler Stanley Ford 208 96 5 85.0 $288,820 Running 4 9
25 38 26 Boris Said Window World Cares Ford 208 93 5 49.2 $282,470 Running 1 1
26 21 24 Jeff Gordon Dupont Chevrolet 208 90 5 88.2 $318,171 Running 1 2
27 40 21 Bill Elliott Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford 208 82 51.1 $270,070 Running
28 34 7 Robby Gordon Monster Energy Toyota 207 84 5 52.1 $288,593 Running 1 1
29 35 37 Travis Kvapil Extenze Ford 205 81 5 55.5 $286,993 Running 1 1
30 4 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Ford 202 78 5 91.0 $348,395 Accident 2 4
31 37 38 Robert Richardson Mahindra USA Tractors Ford 202 70 50.8 $289,505 Accident
32 15 43 A J Allmendinger Best Buy Ford 198 72 5 84.9 $305,546 Running 3 11
33 29 55 Michael McDowell PRISM Motorsports Toyota 195 64 33.5 $267,495 Drive Shaft
34 17 39 Ryan Newman US Army Chevrolet 193 61 50.2 $295,049 Accident
35 3 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's Chevrolet 185 58 67.0 $351,858 Rear Axle
36 26 12 Brad Keselowski Penske Dodge 174 55 46.0 $291,830 Running
37 36 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Mobil 1 Dodge 160 52 39.4 $272,145 Running
38 33 34 John Andretti Window World Cares Ford 117 49 44.6 $263,970 Accident
39 11 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 90 46 29.0 $276,170 Running
40 31 13 Max Papis GEICO Toyota 89 43 26.8 $262,995 Engine
41 18 47 Marcos Ambrose Kroger Floral Toyota 79 40 51.7 $282,743 Engine
42 28 36 Mike Bliss Wave Energy Drink Chevrolet 76 37 30.5 $262,545 Accident
43 41 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 64 34 41.9 $261,424 Accident
Race Comments: Before an estimated crowd of 175,000, Jamie McMurray won the Daytona 500, his fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. To start the race, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field for the reasons indicated: Nos. 24, 31, 51 (backup cars); Nos. 43, 99 (engine change).
Failed to Qualify: (11) 90, 27, 49, 46, 75, 09, 66, 32, 92, 57, 97.
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 47 Mins, 16 Secs. Average Speed: 137.284 MPH Margin of Victory: 0.119 Seconds
Caution Flags: 9 for 40 laps: Laps: 9-12 (#12, 13, 26, 36, 77, 78 accident turn 2 [None]); 67-70 (#87 accident turn 3 [26]); 79-81 (#36 accident backstretch [None]); 118-125 (#34 accident turn 2 [Red Flag: Lap 123, 1:40:45] [55]); 144-146 (#43 spun backstretch [55]); 161-168 (Competition [Red Flag: Lap 162, 44:35] [55]); 195-198 (#19, 37, 39 accident backstretch [43]); 200-202 (#20, 21, 26 accident turn 3 [43]); 204-206 (#9, 14, 24, 38 accident backstretch [21]).
Lead Changes: 52 among 21 drivers: M. Martin 1-4; K. Kahne 5; M. Martin 6-12; J. Montoya 13; D. Earnhardt Jr. 14-17; K. Harvick 18-21; E. Sadler 22; K. Harvick 23-34; Kurt Busch 35-44; A. Allmendinger 45-47; Kurt Busch 48-49; J. Logano 50; R. Gordon 51; Kurt Busch 52-70; A. Allmendinger 71; K. Harvick 72; A. Allmendinger 73-79; D. Hamlin 80; Kurt Busch 81; G. Biffle 82-83; Kurt Busch 84; G. Biffle 85-94; Kyle Busch 95-97; J. Gordon 98-99; C. Bowyer 100-106; G. Biffle 107; C. Bowyer 108-109; G. Biffle 110; C. Bowyer 111-112; D. Ragan 113-114; C. Bowyer 115-118; T. Kvapil 119; B. Said 120; C. Bowyer 121-126; K. Kahne 127-129; E. Sadler 130; C. Bowyer 131; E. Sadler 132-135; C. Bowyer 136-137; K. Harvick 138-144; E. Sadler 145-147; M. Truex Jr. 148-150; K. Harvick 151-153; J. Montoya 154; K. Harvick 155-164; S. Speed 165-168; G. Biffle 169-175; S. Speed 176-183; G. Biffle 184-185; C. Bowyer 186-198; G. Biffle 199-202; K. Harvick 203-206; J. McMurray 207-208.
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