Event Recap: Daytona 500, NASCAR Cup Series Statistics After Round 1 of 2018 (February 18, 2018)

Event statistics following the season-opening race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, the 60th Daytona 500 on Sunday at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Austin Dillon spun leader Aric Almirola on the final lap and pushed the No. 3 Chevrolet to victory 20 years after Dale Earnhardt took the No. 3 to victory lane. Sunday’s race came on the 17th anniversary of Earnhardt’s death in a last-lap crash at Daytona.

Here are some of the race statistics.

Race Statistics

60th Daytona 500

Daytona International Speedway – Daytona Beach, Florida

- Winner (starting position): Austin Dillon (14th)

- Top Five: Austin Dillon, Darrell Wallace Jr., Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Chris Buescher

- Full Results: Austin Dillon, Darrell Wallace Jr., Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Chris Buescher, Paul Menard, Ryan Blaney, Ryan Newman, Michael McDowell, A.J. Allmendinger, Aric Almirola, Justin Marks, Trevor Bayne, David Gilliland, Clint Bowyer, Jamie McMurray, Alex Bowman, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson, Gray Gaulding, Jeffrey, Mark Thompson, William Byron, D.J. Kennington, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Matt DiBenedetto, Brendan Gaughan, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., David Ragan, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, Kasey Kahne, Danica Patrick, Erik Jones, Daniel Suarez, Jimmie Johnson, Ty Dillon, Corey LaJoie

- Laps Completed: 207

- Race Leaders: 14

- Laps Led: Ryan Blaney (118), Denny Hamlin (22), Kurt Busch (16), Alex Bowman (13), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (11), Erik Jones (11), Martin Truex Jr. (4), Chase Elliott (4), Joey Logano (3), Austin Dillon (1), Paul Menard (1), A.J. Allmendinger (1), Aric Almirola (1), Justin Marks (1)

- Pole Position: Alex Bowman (195.644 mph)

- Hard Charger: Aric Almirola (+26; 37th to 11th)

- Margin of Victory: 0.260 seconds

- Car Count: 40

- Cars Entered: 40

- Cars Running at Finish: 25 (of 40; or 63 percent of the field)

- Drivers to Finish on Lead Lap: 10

- Cautions: 8 for 37 laps

- Average Speed: 150.545 mph

- Lead Changes: 24

- Stage Winners: Kurt Busch (1), Ryan Blaney (2)

- Weather at Start of Race: 72 degrees Fahrenheit, clear, NE 13 mph

- Weather at End of Race: 68 degrees Fahrenheit, clear, winds ESE 6 mph

- Manufacturer Breakdown: Chevrolet (18); Ford (15); Toyota (7)

Notes of Interest – Race/Weekend Recap

- This is Austin Dillon’s second career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory and first of the season. This is his first victory in the Daytona 500.

- In his two victories (previous victory came in Coca Cola 600), Dillon has led only three laps. Dillon led only the final lap of this year’s Daytona 500, becoming the second driver in as many Daytona 500s to lead only the final lap of the race (Kurt Busch, 2017).

- Dillon’s previous best finish of ninth came on two occasions – 2014 and 2016. He has now led four Daytona 500s for a total of 10 laps (led seven laps in 2017 race).

- Dillon has now won races in two consecutive seasons. He is the first driver to earn a berth in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

- Dillon has now won races at Daytona in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series.

- Dillon is the 39th driver to win the Daytona 500 and fourth driver in as many years to win their first Daytona 500. This marks the longest streak of Daytona 500s with a new winner since six drivers earned their first victory in the Great American Race between 2006 and 2011 (six races).

- Dillon has now led 79 laps in his MENSC career, and at least one lap in five consecutive seasons.

- This is the first time the 14th-place starting position has won the Daytona 500.

- This marks the second time the No. 3 car has won the Daytona 500. Dale Earnhardt won the 1998 race.

- Dillon became the third 27-year-old driver to win the Daytona 500 and first since Jeff Gordon won the race in 1999.
- Dillon became first North Carolina-born driver to win the Daytona 500 since Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2014. He is responsible for the state's race-leading 17th Daytona 500 win, and the eighth driver overall born in the Tar Heel State to win the race (Lee Petty, Junior Johnson, Richard Petty, Benny Parsons, Dale Jarrett, Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Jr.).

- This was Richard Childress Racing’s third Daytona 500 victory (Dale Earnhardt, 1998; Kevin Harvick, 2007).
- This marked Chevrolet's 24th Daytona 500 and first since 2014 (Dale Earnhardt Jr.).

- Darrell Wallace Jr. finished a career-best second in the series in his first Daytona 500. His second-place finish is the best finish by a first-time Daytona 500 driver since Trevor Bayne won the event in 2011.

- Wallace’s finish was the first top-three for the No. 43 in the Daytona 500 since Richard Petty finished third in 1987, and best finish since Petty won his seventh Daytona 500 in 1981. The last time the No. 43 won at Daytona came in the 2014 Coke Zero 400, by Aric Almirola.

- Denny Hamlin finished third, his fifth top five in 13 Daytona 500s. He led 22 laps, the second most among all drivers. Hamlin was the 2016 race winner. Hamlin drove the highest-finishing Toyota and highest-finish former Daytona 500 winner.

- Joey Logano finished fourth, the highest-running Ford, leading three laps and completing all 207 laps. He has now completed every lap of the last seven Daytona 500s, the most of any driver in this year’s field.

- Chris Buescher recorded his first top-five finish in the Daytona 500 with a fifth-place result. Buescher’s previous best finish in two races was 35th in last year’s race.

- Paul Menard finished sixth in his 400th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race. It marked his fourth top-10 finish in the Daytona 500. He led one lap, and has now led five Daytona 500s for a total of 44 laps. He has also led a total of 50 races in his series, exactly 12.5 percent.

- Ryan Blaney, who finished seventh, led 118 laps, the most laps of a driver that didn’t win the Daytona 500 since Dale Earnhardt in 1990 (Earnhardt led 155 laps). The 118 laps led without winning is the fourth most in Daytona 500 history (Fireball Roberts led 170 laps in 1961 but did not win).

- Ryan Newman, a teammate of Dillon, finished eighth, extending his consecutive race streak to 577 races, the most of any driver in this year’s field. It was Newman’s fifth top-10 finish. Newman also completed all 207 laps, becoming the 27th driver to complete at least 3,000 laps in the Daytona 500. He has now completed 3,125 laps in his Daytona 500 career.

- Michael McDowell finished ninth in his 250th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race. The result tied his best previous best Daytona 500 finish, also ninth in 2013.

- A.J. Allmendinger rounded out the top 10, his third top 10 in the Daytona 500. He led a single lap, and has now led six of his nine Daytona 500s for a total of 20 laps. Allmendinger was the final driver on the lead lap, marking the first time that 10 cars or fewer finished on the lead lap since 1992. Allmendinger was one of four drivers to complete every lap of each of the last four Daytona 500s, dating back to the 2015 race.
- In earning his 10th-place finish, Allmendinger secured a second top-10 finish for JTD-Daugherty Racing.
- In his 400th national NASCAR race, David Gilliland finished 14th.

- In addition to Hamlin and Newman, other former race winners in the field were Trevor Bayne (13th); Jamie McMurray (16th); Kurt Busch (26th); Kevin Harvick (31st); and Jimmie Johnson (38th).

- It was a rough day for Hendrick Motorsports, as all four of the team’s cars were caught up in accidents. Polesitter Alex Bowman was the best finisher, claiming 17th, finishing after he was involved in one of the accidents. William Bryon, in his first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race, finished 23rd after starting 33rd; he was also involved in multiple incidents. Chase Elliott and Jimmie Johnson also were involved in crashes.

- Gray Gaulding, the youngest driver in the field at 20 years of age, finished 20th in his first Daytona 500. Mark Thompson, the oldest driver in the field at 66 years of age, finished 22nd, also in his first Daytona 500.

- Kyle Busch was the last driver running at the finish. The 2015 series champion suffered a series of problems and finished 25th, seven laps in arrears.
- Kurt Busch, who finished just behind brother Kyle Busch in 26th, completed 198 laps, and became the 28th driver to complete at least 3,000 laps. Kurt Busch is 28th all-time in Daytona 500 laps completed now with 3,106 laps.

- Danica Patrick finished 35th in her 191st and final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race. The 2013 Daytona 500 polesitter was a victim of a midrace crash that claimed several drivers, including another former Daytona 500 polesitters, Chase Elliott.

- Jimmie Johnson finished 38th, caught up in an early race crash. It marked the second consecutive race and fourth time in 17 Daytona 500s that Johnson retired from the race after crashing, and his sixth Daytona 500 in which he’s finished 30th or worse.

- Corey LaJoie finished 40th and last, the second time in his series career and first time in his Daytona 500 career he has finished last.

- This marked the second-longest Daytona 500. The 2011 race lasted 208 laps.

- A total of 21 drivers improved on their starting position in the race.

- The next race will be Sunday, February 25, with the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia.