As the drivers of the NASAR Sprint Cup Series entered the final 45 laps of the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway, most seemed to accept the fact that the racing was about to get a bit more intense in the closing laps.
Many though, didn’t expect as much action as drivers provided though, including five multi-car wrecks, including the largest melee wreck in recent memory.
As drivers appeared to be settling in for a late dash to the front, several cars near the front of the pack made contact, resulting in a chaotic scene where a total of 20 separate cars were involved in the resulting melee. Race officials were forced to red flag the race for over 20 minutes as crews worked feverishly to remove battered cars and debris from the raceway.
When the race did resume, Kevin Harvick was able to assume the lead and hold off late charges from teammate Clint Bowyer and the Ford of Kasey Kahne to win sweep the season races at Daytona.
“This has been a great place for us,” said Harvick, who also won the season-opening Daytona 500 in February. “Daytona has been one of those magical places for us ever since we started coming here.”
The race saw a record 47 lead changes among 18 drivers, as well as nine cautions accounting for 37 of the race’s 160 laps.
Kahne finished second, followed by the No. 24 Chevrolet of Jeff Gordon in third. Dale Eanrhardt Jr. posted his second-highest finish of 2010 in fourth, and Jeff Burton in fifth.
Several drivers found themselves in an unfamiliar spot at the end of the race, posting their highest finishes of the season following the 20-car incident. Reed Sorenson finished eighth, Mike Bliss in ninth, and Scott Speed in tenth. Steve Park, making his first Cup Series start in nearly seven years, finished 13th. Kevin Conway was 14th, and Bobby Labonte was 16th.
Several drivers were also involved in heated discussions following the race. AJ Allmendinger and owner Richard Petty were scene confronting one another in the garage following a wreck involved Allmendinger’s Dodge. Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch shared their disgust with one another’s late race driving following the race on pit road.
Mayetta, native Martin Truex Jr. was running in the top-10 for much of the race before being involved in a wreck on lap 118. He finished 36th.
Kevin Harvick remains the series points leader after recording his second victory of 2010. Positions nine through 15 are separated by less than 150 points with only eight races remaining until the 2010 Chase for the Sprint Cup begins.
Nationwide Series:
Dale Earnhardt Jr. led a race-high 33 of 102 laps to win an emotional Subway Jalapeño 250 at Daytona International Speedway. Earnhardt Jr. drove the No. 3 Wrangler Chevrolet in the race in honor of his late father Dale Earnhardt’s induction in the 2010 NASCAR Hall of Fame Class.
Joey Logano finished second, followed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in third, Brad Keselowski in fourth, and Kevin Harvick in fifth.
Coming Up:
The Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series head to Chicagoland Speedway in Illinois, while the Camping World Truck Series heads to another Midwest track, Iowa Speedway.
Bruce Knoll, 18, of Eldora, can be contacted by email at bknoll jr4cmcherald@yahoo.com
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