In the longest Daytona 500 race ever held to begin the 75th NASCAR season, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won in double overtime on Sunday.
“This is unbelievable. This is the site of my last win back in 2017,” Stenhouse Jr. said after the race in Daytona Beach, Florida. “We worked really hard. We had a couple shots last year to get a win and fell short. It was a tough season, but hey, we got it done.”
The race entered overtime after a crash with three laps remaining, resulting in a caution that extended it to a Daytona 500 record of 212 laps. 200 laps were allotted for the competition.
A collision involving at least ten cars forced the race into a second overtime after the first overtime restart.
Stenhouse Jr. held a slight advantage over Joey Logano on the final lap of double overtime before a multiple-car accident that included the racer Kyle Larson brought out the caution flag. NASCAR officials determined that Logano finished second and Stenhouse Jr. was leading at the time of the caution flag.
The victory was Stenhouse Jr.’s third of his career and his first since July 1, 2017. Preceding Sunday, the 35-year-old’s best completion at the “Great American Race” was seventh spot.
