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The 2016 Daytona 500 Review

The 2016 Folds of Honor Quik Trip Daytona 500 lived up to the hype. With a $400M upgrade and every seat filled, motor-sports enthusiasts witnessed NASCAR’s closest Daytona 500 ever. On the last lap, Denny Hamlin made a bold move to the outside on Matt Kenseth. When Kenseth went to block, he wiggled out of control and made it a two-car race with a quarter of a lap to go.

Denny Hamlin, who maintained his momentum after passing Kenseth, found himself side by side with Martin Truex Jr. The two Toyotas crossed the finish line in nearly a dead tie. After reviewing the photo finish, it was Hamlin that emerged first by a .001 second margin. The exhilarating finish was the smallest margin of victory in the 58-year history of NASCAR’s Daytona 500.

It was Denny Hamlin’s first win at the fabled track and was also the first Daytona 500 victory for the Joe Gibbs Racing team. Hamlin’s FedEx #11 was the strongest car all day. While cruising around the 2.5 mile oval on the bottom line for nearly half of the races 200 laps, it was obvious that it wasn’t going to be easy to deny Hamlin his bid for glory.

From the beginning, it looked as though it might not be a Hendrick Motorsports kind of day. Pole Position winner and NASCAR rookie Chase Elliott got loose in turn four early in the race and went sliding into the infield grass. The front of Elliott’s #24 NAPA Chevrolet was crushed by the turf and sent him to the garage for a better part of the race. He would end up returning for a 37th place finish.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. found himself mired in the middle of the field for the better part of the day because the outside lane was proving to be of no help. As the contest was nearing its conclusion, Dale Jr. made one too many bold moves and found himself spinning in turn four like his teammate Chase Elliott did earlier on. With little to no control over his sliding car, he careened head on into the infield wall. Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s day was over.

It was the four Joe Gibbs Racing teammates that controlled the front of the pack for 156 of the 200 laps. With the teammates running in single file on the bottom of the track, where the fastest line was for the entirety of the race, it didn’t leave the other drivers with any other option than to try to build momentum and pass from the top.

The #22 Pennzoil Ford Fusion driven by last year’s Daytona 500 winner Joey Logano found himself repeatedly trying to gain momentum in the upper lane with other competitors. On more than a few occasions, it appeared that Logano, with the #4 Freaky Fast Chevrolet of Kevin Harvick, could creep to the front on the right side of the four front runners. It was short lived. Every time he would get to the back bumper of the fourth car of the Joe Gibbs Racing quartet, they would lose their momentum and slide back two or three more car lengths. It was clear that the race would be dictated from the front.

The warm conditions proved to be tricky for most of NASCAR’s top teams. While most of all the previous qualifying races were held in the evening, the cars in the heat of the day were much harder to control. The highly-skilled NASCAR wheel handlers still managed to race three wide on several occasions without causing a massive pile-up of modern machinery.

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The opening race of NASCAR’s 2016 season made for some enjoyable viewing and some competitive racing from the start to the finish. In the end, it was the four Joe Gibbs Racing teammates that decided the outcome, and Denny Hamlin’s first Daytona 500 triumph. It was a tremendous day of racing and the most successful racing weekend in the Daytona 500’s colorful history.

NASCAR’s 2016 Daytona 500 Race Results:

  1. Denny Hamlin
  2. Martin Truex Jr.
  3. Kyle Busch
  4. Kevin Harvick
  5. Carl Edwards
  6. Joey Logano
  7. Kyle Larson
  8. Regan Smith
  9. Austin Dillon
  10. Kurt Busch
  11. Ryan Newman
  12. Aric Almirola
  13. Kasey Kahne
  14. Matt Kenseth
  15. Michael McDowell
  16. Jimmie Johnson
  17. Jamie McMurray
  18. Paul Menard
  19. Ryan Blaney
  20. Brad Keselowski
  21. A.J. Allmendinger
  22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
  23. Landon Cassill
  24. Brian Scott
  25. Ty Dillon
  26. Brian Vickers
  27. Michael Annett
  28. Trevor Bayne
  29. David Ragan
  30. Michael Waltrip
  31. Bobby Labonte
  32. Casey Mears
  33. Clint Bowyer
  34. Greg Biffle
  35. Danica Patrick
  36. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
  37. Chase Elliott
  38. Robert Richardson
  39. Chris Buescher
  40. Matt DiBenedetto

NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Point Leaderboad:

Rank
Driver:
Pts
Behind
Wins
Starts
Top 5’s
Top 10’s
Poles
1
Denny Hamlin
45
Leader
1
1
1
1
0
2
Martin Truex Jr.
40
-5
0
1
1
1
0
3
Kyle Busch
39
-6
0
1
1
1
0
4
Kevin Harvick
37
-8
0
1
1
1
0
5
Carl Edwards
36
-9
0
1
1
1
0
6
Joey Logano
35
-10
0
1
0
1
0
7
Kyle Larson
34
-11
0
1
0
1
0
8
Regan Smith
33
-12
0
1
0
1
0
9
Austin Dillon
33
-12
0
1
0
1
0
10
Kurt Busch
31
-14
0
1
0
1
0
11
Ryan Newman
31
-14
0
1
0
0
0
12
Aric Almirola
29
-16
0
1
0
0
0
13
Kasey Kahne
28
-17
0
1
0
0
0
14
Matt Kenseth
28
-17
0
1
0
0
0
15
Michael McDowell
26
-19
0
1
0
0
0
16
Jimmie Johnson
26
-19
0
1
0
0
0
17
Jamie McMurray
24
-21
0
1
0
0
0
18
Paul Menard
23
-22
0
1
0
0
0
19
Ryan Blaney
22
-23
0
1
0
0
0
20
Brad Keselowski
22
-23
0
1
0
0
0
21
AJ Allmendinger
20
-25
0
1
0
0
0
22
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
19
-26
0
1
0
0
0
23
Brian Scott
18
-27
0
1
0
0
0
24
Landon Cassill
18
-27
0
1
0
0
0
25
Michael Annett
15
-30
0
1
0
0
0
26
Brian Vickers
15
-30
0
1
0
0
0
27
David Ragan
13
-32
0
1
0
0
0
28
Trevor Bayne
13
-32
0
1
0
0
0
29
Michael Waltrip
12
-33
0
1
0
0
0
30
Bobby Labonte
11
-34
0
1
0
0
0
31
Casey Mears
9
-36
0
1
0
0
0
32
Clint Boyer
8
-37
0
1
0
0
0
33
Greg Biffle
7
-38
0
1
0
0
0
34
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
6
-39
0
1
0
0
0
35
Danica Patrick
6
-39
0
1
0
0
0
36
Chase Elliott
5
-40
0
1
0
0
1
37
Robert Richardson
3
-42
0
1
0
0
0
38
Chris Beuschler
2
-43
0
1
0
0
0
39
Matt DiBenedetto
1
-44
0
1
0
0
0
40
Ty Dillon
0
-45
0
1
0
0
0
41
Josh Wise
0
-45
0
0
0
0
0
42
Reed Sorenson
0
-45
0
0
0
0
0
43
Cole Whitt
0
-45
0
0
0
0
0
44
David Gilliand
0
-45
0
0
0
0
0
45
Jeffrey Earnhardt
0
-45
0
0
0
0
0

 

Written by Erik the Hun

Erik's love of sports and passion for handicapping dates back over 25 years.

In fact, his handicapping angles and fantasy knowledge separates him from your common savant.

As the co-host of Get more Sport's College Football Throwdown, The Hun also brings his spirit and tenacity to the college football industry, and can fill all your Handicapping and Fantasy needs. He is currently covering the automotive and the college football sections at getmoresports.com

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