Dillon drives No. 3 to victory at Daytona
The No. 3 car found its way to victory lane at the Daytona 500, 20 years after Dale Earnhardt's only victory in "The Great American Race."
Austin Dillon grabbed the lead on the final lap in overtime and took the checkered flag, 17 years to the day Earnhardt was killed in an accident on the final lap at Daytona. Dillon got a push from teammate Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr. that helped him get to leader Aric Almirola. Dillon spun Almirola then whizzed on by to give his grandfather, owner Richard Childress, an iconic victory in that beloved No. 3.
Wallace finished second after becoming the first black driver in the Daytona field since 1969. Denny Hamlin was third, followed by Joey Logano and Chris Buscher.
Ryan Blaney led a race-high 118 laps but faded to seventh after giving the win away in regulation. He wrecked defending race champion Kurt Busch, who was trying to reclaim his lead.
The crash set off a 12-car melee involving numerous top contenders, including Logano, pole-sitter Alex Bowman, defending points champion Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Newman.