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Chase Elliott achieved a historic triumph on Sunday, winning the first race of the NASCAR Cup Series at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course in his third race on the road.
Elliott led 34 of the 65 laps in the first Go Bowling 235 on the 3.61 mile circuit. He drove the Hendrick Motorsports Chevolet No. 9 to his second win of the season and the eighth of his Cup Series career.
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Denny Hamlin took second place in the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota No. 11, just one car behind the checkered flag. Martin Truex Jr. was third, Jimmie Johnson fourth and Chris Buescher completed the top five.
Elliott won the first stage and Hamlin prevailed in the second stage.
SHOP: Track Chase Elliott Winner’s Gear
Front runner and pole starter Kevin Harvick spun from fifth after the start of the third stage when his Ford-Haas Racing Ford No. 4 was pushed from behind by the Leavine Family Racing Toyota No. 95 by rookie Christopher Bell. Harvick stopped at Turn 3 and continued, but in 37th place – last on the lead lap.
He spun again on lap 43 and continued after dragging car # 4 on turn 6. Harvick rallied in 17th place and finished a series of 10 straight top 10 results.
Kyle Busch had an adventurous day even before a brake problem sent his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota behind the wall for lengthy repairs. On lap 2 he blocked the brakes on the front stretch chicane and forced an unscheduled pit stop to change tires. He also spun on Turn 6 and the short off-course excursion threw him back to 13th on lap 25. With 17 laps left on his brakes, Busch drove the No. 18 into the Cup series garage, where he lost six laps to the front runners while his crew worked. His return to the track was short and he retired after both rear tires failed forcing him to crash five laps to go. Busch finished in 37th place, his fifth place outside the top 30 this year.
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Kaz Grala finished an impressive seventh place on his debut in the Cup series, leading three laps during a pit stop cycle in the final stages. He was selected by Richard Childress Racing as a late replacement in the No. 3 Chevrolet for Austin Dillon, who paused after a positive COVID-19 test on Saturday.
The race was interrupted about 30 minutes late for a late afternoon lightning strike near the speedway.
The NASCAR Cup Series returns next weekend for two races taking place on Saturday and Sunday at Dover International Speedway. Both events are scheduled for 4:00 p.m. ET starts. Both races will be broadcast on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR radio.
This story will be updated.
