Rookie Austin Cindric wins the Daytona 500

Before this feat by Austin Cindric, the last victory of a rookie at the Daytona 500 dated back to 2011 with the success of Trevor Bayne.

While the most famous phrase in motorsport rang out: “Drivers, start your engines!” ", many unknowns and uncertainties remained to be resolved before the first official race contested by the 7th generation cars, in particular the behavior of these Next Gen in the draft with the aerodynamic disturbances caused by 40 cars driving in a pack at more than 300 km/h!

The Great American Race delivered on its promises © Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

The start of the race confirmed the impression of the tests with a clear domination of the Fords and Brad Keselowski. For his part, Jacques Villeneuve took a very cautious start, losing 2 seconds per lap on the leaders and ultimately one lap on the 16th lap. If a driver of Villeneuve's caliber knows anything, it's that a race ends at the checkered flag and the driver of the Hezeberg team finally found his rhythm and his place in the peloton despite a nice free figure at the entrance to the stands during the first round of stops.

Immediately after this stop sequence, Kaz Grala lost a wheel on track before Justin Haley saw a rim break and Ryan Blaney found himself stuck in the pits due to a wheel nut locking problem. The new 18-inch riser with central nut seems to continue to stir up conversations.

A central nut in NASCAR, you'll have to get used to it © Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Let the fans rest assured, if the cars have changed, some drivers have lost none of their good habits and 4 laps from the end of the first segment Brad Keselowski, who for several laps seemed to be angry with Harrison Burton, pressed one last once in a corner on the unfortunate Rookie whom he rolled over causing William Byron and a Joe Gibbs Racing duo composed of Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin, the most successful active driver with 3 victories at Daytona who remains this evening far from the 10 successes of Richard Petty.

Take a look at the incident that brought out the yellow shortly before the end of Stage 1. #DAYTONA500 pic.twitter.com/Rjq6Cn61wu

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 20, 2022

No damage for Keselowski who completed the first section in second position behind Martin Truex Jr. With the benefit of two yellow flags Jacques Villeneuve managed to return to the leader's lap and complete the first segment in 23rd position. The experience we tell you…

The number 27 brought luck to Jacques Villeneuve © Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Unsurprising scenario at the start of the second segment with a clear domination by Ford but a peloton much more cautious than at the start of the race contenting itself with a single racing line. Victory seemed promised to the Mustangs of Logano or Keselowski but in the final laps Matin Truex Jr. emerged from the pack like a devil from his box to win another segment victory at the wheel of his Toyota.

Martin Truex Jr. leader of Joe Gibbs Racing © Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

The race then resumed wisely for the last 75 laps when Tyler Reddick lost control of his car following a mechanical breakdown and started a chain reaction involving big favorites Joey Logano, Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr. The race was racing away. then for good and the tensions multiplied on the track when at 10 laps Kyle Larson punished himself by crossing the Ford of Kevin Harvick on which he had run aground. The red flag was out to clean the track and as night fell on the Florida track, the race was restarted for 6 laps but only one lap was enough for Brad Keselowski to eliminate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. with another push that was too strong and cause the 7th yellow flag of the race.

The race was restarted under Overtime by Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney who fought until the final meters. Blaney launched a final attack but was blocked against the wall by the 2020 Xfinity champion who resisted a final attack from Bubba Wallace to win at the wheel of… Keselowski's old car.

A historic first victory for Austin Cindric © Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

This 2022 season is off to a flying start and offers us a total redistribution of the cards with the strong return of Ford and the emergence of new talents including an exceptionally mature Austin Cindric. Despite very sharp behavior and some teething problems, the Next Gen succeeded in their entry onto the track both aesthetically and in terms of spectacle.

A PHOTO FINISH IN THE #DAYTONA500!

AUSTIN CINDRIC WINS! pic.twitter.com/abobUxgbRa

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 20, 2022

Ranking for the 500 Daytona 2022: