Denny Hamlin won his second straight Daytona 500 and third overall, beating Ryan Blaney in an overtime photo finish marred by this terrifying crash that sent Ryan Newman to the hospital yesterday.
Newman had surged into the lead on the final lap when Blaney’s bumper caught the back of his Ford and sent Newman hard right into the wall. His car flipped, rolled, was hit on the driver’s side by another car, and finally skidded across the finish line engulfed in flames.
It took several minutes for his car to be rolled back onto its wheels. He was placed in a waiting ambulance and taken directly to a hospital.
The 0.014 margin of victory was the second closest in race history and—with the win—Hamlin is the first driver since Sterling Marlin in 1995 to win consecutive Daytona 500s, but his celebration in Victory Lane as you can imagine after watching this—was subdued to say the least.
The crash happened on the 19th anniversary of Dale Earnhardt's death at Daytona...In 2001, NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt died in a multi-car crash on the last lap of the Daytona 500. He was 51 and had raced for 22 years.
(photo: Getty images)