The victory of emotion for Denny Hamlin and Joe Gibbs at Daytona

Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing – Toyota) signed a second career success in the event of Daytona 500 (Florida) last night, at the end of a race which ended under overtime.

Hamlin managed to get ahead of his teammate Kyle Busch after a final restart in overtime, following the accident notably involving Clint Bowyer (Stewart-Haas Racing – Ford), Michael McDowell (Front Row Motorsports – Ford) and several other competitors.

On the restart, on the top line, Hamlin controlled Busch to win and take a Joe Gibbs Racing hat-trick completed by Erik Jones, and inevitably filled with emotion for the Joe Gibbs team. The boss had in fact lost his son J.D. last January, following a long illness.

A tribute had already been paid by the American structure on the 11th lap of the race, such as the number of the car of Denny Hamlin, who yesterday signed his second victory in the legendary opening round of the Nascar after 2016.

The top 5 is completed by the Ford Mustangs of Joey Logano (Team Penske) and Michael McDowell. Ty Dillon (Germain Racing) is the best representative of the Chevrolet clan in sixth position.

The event was marked by a Big One in the second part of the event, after contact between Paul Menard (Wood Brothers Racing – Ford) and Matt DiBenedetto (Leavine Family Racing – Toyota). 21 cars were involved in the incident.

Race ranking

Discover the full report of the Daytona 500, in issue 2204 of AUTOhebdo, available tomorrow evening in digital version and this Thursday on newsstands.