Michael McDowell completes the upset at the Daytona 500

Daytona- After a long and and uncanny week, the start of the NASCAR season was bound to have some twist and turns.

Going into the first 14 laps, there were two crashes that resulted in two cautions in the first stage. Their was 16 cars involved in the crash. After the crash, the 500 had to be delayed because of the weather. After a four hour delay, the race resumed.

There were not that many big crash after the restart until the last lap of the 500. Brad Keselowski tried to nudge Joey Logano around turn three and Lagano ended up spinning out and hitting the wall. Other drivers to avoid the crash, but could not stop, which ended up being a ten car pile up.

Michael McDowell crossed the finish line first before the caution was thrown out and was excited at the shocking victory. “I can’t believe it,” McDowell said. “I’ve got to thank God. So many years of just grinding it out, hoping for an opportunity like this. I’ve got to thank (team owner) Bob Jenkins for giving me this opportunity. I’m so thankful. “What a great way to get a first victory—in the DAYTONA 500!”

This was the first 500 victory for McDowell, who only led for the final lap. Despite the crash behind him, Chase Elliott finished in second. Elliott had this to say about the race.

“I saw the lights come on (for the caution), and I knew it was over right then,” Elliott said. “We had a fast car. We weren’t as good as I thought we were on Thursday (in the Duel 150-mile qualifying race). I thought we did a really good job of executing today, staying out of trouble.