Chase Elliott wins on the Daytona road course

The redesign of the 2020 calendar Nascar Cup Series will have allowed competitors in the American series to face for the first time the famous Daytona road course, notably used for the 24-hour race in IMSA.

Accustomed to taking the Florida oval for the legendary Daytona 500, the drivers had to discover the infield track, directly in the race. Enough to encourage in a sense the most energetic on the road circuits, and which benefited Chase Elliott (Hendrick Motorsports – Chevrolet).

Winner of the last two road events at Watkins Glen (New York) and the Roval in Charlotte (North Carolina) in 2019, Elliott quickly put his stamp on the race, dominating the first segment, then building up a solid lead of ten seconds in view of the finish.

All before a final neutralization, consequence of contact with the wall of Kyle Busch (Joe Gibbs Racing – Toyota) which gave Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing) a chance to aim for victory, but Elliott will resist until the end to sign his second success in 2020 after Charlotte.

Martin Truex Jr (Joe Gibbs Racing) finished 3rd ahead of Jimmie Johnson (Hendrick Motorsports) and Chris Buescher, best Ford driver at the wheel of the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Mustang. Note the fine 7th place of Kaz Grala, who had replaced Austin Dillon at short notice within Richard Childress Racing.

In addition to the new setbacks of Kyle Busch, several favorites did not have success last night in Florida, including the passage on the grass and the spin of the championship leader Kevin Harvick (Stewart-Haas Racing – Ford).

Race ranking

Discover the report of the Roval de Daytona event, in AUTO issue 2274hebdo, available this evening in digital version, and this Wednesday on newsstands.