Ricky Stenhouse Jr. outruns Joey Logano to win the Daytona 500 under caution on the final lap

A wreck on the final lap of the Daytona 500 gave 35-year-old Ricky Stenhouse Jr. his first victory since 2017 after 199 starts. 

With one lap to go in NASCAR’s second ‘overtime’, Aric Almirola got rookie driver Travis Pastrana loose, causing him to hit Kyle Larson and cause a wreck.

Stenhouse pulled ahead of Joey Logano just before the caution flags dropped – giving him the victory in Daytona.

Incidentally, Stenhouse’s last win also came at the Daytona International Speedway in the 2017 running of the track’s July race – then known as the Coke Zero 400.

It’s the third victory of Stenhouse’s career – having also previously won back in 2017 at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. 

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. claimed his first Daytona 500 win and his first NASCAR victory since 2017

The two overtimes pushed the 65th running of the race to a record 212 laps – a dozen laps beyond the scheduled distance and a whopping 530 miles.

Stenhouse’s win in a Chevrolet for JTG Daugherty Racing – a single-car team partly owned by former NBA player Brad Daugherty – was the third of his career. 

JTG is the first single-car team to win the Daytona 500 since The Wood Brothers Racing did it with Trevor Bayne in 2011.

Stenhouse’s only other victories came in 2017 – at Talladega and the summer race at Daytona.

Now the 35-year-old from Olive Branch, Mississippi, has a repeat win at Daytona in NASCAR’s biggest race of the season. 

And it came in his first race reunited with crew chief Mike Kelly, who guided Stenhouse to a pair of Xfinity Series championships earlier in his career.

‘I think this whole offseason Mike just preached how much we all believed in each other,’ Stenhouse said. ‘They left me a note in the car that said they believe in me and to go get the job done.

‘Man, this is unbelievable. This was the site of my last win back in 2017. We’ve worked really hard. We had a couple shots last year to get a win and fell short. It was a tough season, but man, we got it done, Daytona 500.’

Aric Almirola (10) loosened Travis Pastrana (67), who clipped Kyle Larson (5) causing the wreck

Stenhouse got just ahead of Logano to claim victory for the first time in 199 race starts

Reigning Cup champion Joey Logano finished second in a Ford for Team Penske, which won the race last year with Austin Cindric.

‘Second is the worst, man,’ Logano said. ‘Congratulations to Ricky. There´s nothing like winning the Daytona 500. That´s why it stings so much finishing second.’

Christopher Bell was third in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing and followed by Chris Buescher in a Ford for RFK Racing and pole-sitter Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports in a Chevrolet. It marked the first time the pole-sitter has finished in the top five since Bill Elliott in 2001.

AJ Allmendinger was sixth for Kaulig Racing, Daniel Suarez seventh for Trackhouse Racing, and Ryan Blaney eighth for Team Penske. Ross Chastain of Trackhouse and Riley Herbst of Rick Ware Racing rounded out the top 10.

Action sports star Travis Pastrana finished 11th in his Daytona 500 debut, and Kevin Harvick was 12th in his final Daytona 500. Harvick is retiring at the end of the year.

Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano finished the Daytona 500 in second

Kyle Busch dropped to 0 for 18 in the Daytona 500, but contended for his new Richard Childress Racing team. 

He was the leader ahead of teammate Austin Dillon with three laps remaining in regulation when a spin by Daniel Suarez brought out the caution and sent the race to overtime.

‘Back in 1998, that would be the win, boys,’ Busch radioed his team in deliberate reference to how the late Dale Earnhardt won his only Daytona 500. There was no overtime then and Earnhardt won under caution.

Busch wound up 19th after the race-ending crash in second overtime.

‘I think this is the first time I led lap 200, so I wish it was 1998 rules. But, no, it’s just par for the course, just used to it and come down here every year to just find out when and where I’m going to crash and what lap I come out of the care center,’ Busch said. ‘Who won? I don’t even know who lucked into it.’

Kyle Busch (8) led on lap 200, but wrecked with two laps to go in the first overtime session

Busch was told Stenhouse was the victor. ‘There you have it,’ he replied.

Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson made his return to the series and ran inside the top 15 for most of the race. He was collected in one of the crashes in overtime and finished 31st. 

Johnson has returned from two years racing in the IndyCar Series as part owner of Legacy Motor Club and he plans to enter a handful of races.

Brad Keselowski led a race-high 42 laps, but finished 22nd to drop to 0 for 14 in the race he desperately wants to win. He declined to speak to reporters after the race.