Chase Elliott wins at Daytona for 3rd straight road-course victory

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Make it three in a row on the road for Chase Elliott.

NASCAR’s most popular driver won the Cup Series road course race Sunday at Daytona International Speedway, holding off hard-charging Denny Hamlin after a late restart and notching his third consecutive victory away from ovals.

“I had a phenomenal car. I don’t think I did anything special today,” Elliott said.

The 24-year-old Elliott also won on road courses at Charlotte and at Watkins Glen last year. He got a tougher challenge than many expected down the stretch in his latest roadie.

Elliott had a 10-second lead with 10 laps to go and was pulling away when Kyle Busch caused a caution that gave his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr., a chance.

But Elliott stayed out front on the final restart. Hamlin got to his bumper on the last lap but couldn’t do enough to mount any real pressure.

“I kept him honest there,” Hamlin said. “He had such good drive off (the corners) I couldn’t do anything with him.”

Hamlin finished second, followed by Truex and seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson.

Elliott, Hamlin and Truex had the cars to beat all afternoon. Truex’s chances took a huge hit near the end of the second segment. He was caught speeding on pit road and forced to start the last portion at the back of the pack. Hamlin also got stuck behind slower cars early in the final stage.

Making up that kind of ground on a 14-turn, 3.61-mile road course was a nearly impossible task, especially considering Elliott was turning mistake-free laps at the front of the field.

But that late caution gave both a shot, albeit an unlikely one given Elliott’s road repertoire.

Another top contender, Kevin Harvick, got turned around while braking into the “international horseshoe” and never recovered. Rookie Christopher Bell hit Harvick in the rear and spun him out. Harvick finished 17th.

Kaz Grala finished seventh in his Cup debut. Grala stepped into the No. 3 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing after Austin Dillon tested positive for covid-19. Dillon needs two negative tests 24 hours apart before being cleared to return.

“This is far beyond my wildest dreams for this event,” Grala said.

Ryan Newman was 19th in his return to the scene of his most harrowing crash.

Newman delivered a special message to safety workers minutes before the race started. Newman spoke over his radio to the control tower, a clip that later was played during the NBC broadcast.

Newman had to be cut from his No. 6 Ford after wrecking while leading the final lap of the Daytona 500 on Feb. 17.

Heat and humidity proved to be big issues. Drivers called for ice bags and bottles of water under caution. And when the race was red flagged for nearby lightning, drivers welcomed the break.

Johnson climbed out of his car and immediately unzipped his fire suit, exposing an elaborate cooling system over his T-shirt. Michael McDowell started chugging water. Elliott grabbed a towel and wiped away sweat.

All of them headed toward haulers to cool down.

J.J. Yeley climbed out of his No. 27 a few laps before the red flag and collapsed on the pavement. He was helped onto a golf cart and taken to the medical center for evaluation and treatment.

Daniel Suarez had two crew members also leave the pits to get treatment.